My Town Tutors is a website that connects parents with teachers who tutor. If you are a teacher who tutors, for a limited time, you can register for using promo code: usteachers. Teachers set the hourly and keep 100% of the fees! One of our teachers made $5,000 last year tutoring.
It is FREE for parents to search for a teacher in their area. Please help us find ONE MORE teacher who tutors!
The Regents Prep website is a great resource for US History teachers. The questions can be used for reviews, exams & quizzes, or as a test taking skills activity. A teacher may need to make a few adjustments when using the questions with his or her class.
There are 31 Multiple Choice questions relating to the Colonial Era. Below are 31 questions. If you like some of the questions, perhaps you could use them with your students.
Colonial Era (31 questions)
1. In the Colonial Era, developments such as the New England town meetings and the establishment of the Virginia House of Burgesses represented
a. colonial attempts to build a strong national government
b. efforts by the British to strengthen their control over the colonies
c. steps in the growth of representative democracy
d. early social reform movements
Explanation: During the period known as “salutary neglect” the English inattention to the colonies allowed for the development of self-rule as expressed through the examples provided.
2. According to the Declaration of Independence, the people have the right to alter or abolish a government if that government
a. is a limited monarchy
b. violates natural rights
c. becomes involved in entangling alliances
d. favors one religion over another
Explanation: The writings of John Locke and other authors of the Enlightenment expressed the idea of “The Consent of the Governed”. Rousseau also maintained that a “Social Contract” existed between government and the governed and when government failed to protect rights, a revolution was in order.
3. Which fundamental political idea is expressed in the Declaration of Independence?
a. The government should guarantee every citizen economic security.
b. The central government and state governments should have equal power.
c. If the government denies its people certain basic rights, that government can be overthrown.
d. Rulers derive their right to govern from God and are therefore bound to govern in the nation’s best interest.
Explanation: The writings of John Locke and other authors of the Enlightenment expressed the idea of “The Consent of the Governed”. Rousseau also maintained that a “Social Contract” existed between government and the governed and when government failed to protect rights, a revolution was in order. Much of these Enlightnment idea was used as the basis for justification of the American Revolution in the Declaration of Independence.
4. “The only representatives of the people of these colonies are persons chosen therein by themselves; and that no taxes ever have been, or can be constitutionally imposed on them but by their respective legislatures.” -Statement by the Stamp Act Congress, 1765
What is a valid conclusion that can be drawn from this quotation?
a. The colonial legislatures should be appointed by the English King with the consent of Parliament.
b. Only the colonists’ elected representatives should have the power to levy taxes.
c. The English King should have the right to tax the colonists.
d. The colonists should be opposed to all taxation.
Explanation: This idea gave rise to the call for “no taxation without representation”, a reaction to the fact that English Parliament taxed the colonists, yet gave them no representation in Parliament. This point became a key factor in bringing on the American Revolution.
5. The Mayflower Compact is important to the concept of a democratic society because it represents
a. an effort by the colonists to use force to resist the King
b. a clear step toward self-government
c. an early attempt to establish universal suffrage
d. an attempt by the colonists to establish freedom of religion
6. The British system of mercantilism was opposed by many American colonists because it
a. placed quotas on immigration
b. discouraged the export of raw materials to England
c. placed restrictions on trading
d. encouraged colonial manufacturing
7. The Mayflower Compact, House of Burgesses, and Fundamental Orders of Connecticut are all examples of the efforts of colonial Americans to
a. use democratic practices in government
b. protest British land policies
c. establish religious freedom
d. overthrow British royal governors
8. The Mayflower Compact of 1620 is considered an important step in the development of democracy in America because it
a. expressed the importance of self-government
b. established freedom of religion
c. created the first colonial judiciary
d. granted all males the right to vote
9. During the Revolutionary War period, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was important because it
a. described a military plan for the defeat of England
b. convinced many Americans who had been undecided to support independence
c. contained a detailed outline for a new form of government
d. argued for the addition of a bill of rights to the Constitution
10. The Virginia House of Burgesses was important to the development of democracy in the thirteen colonies because it
a. provided an example of a representative form of government
b. created the first written constitution in America
c. provided for direct election of senators
d. began the practice of legislative override of executive vetoes
10. The Virginia House of Burgesses was important to the development of democracy in the thirteen colonies because it
a. provided an example of a representative form of government
b. created the first written constitution in America
c. provided for direct election of senators
d. began the practice of legislative override of executive vetoes
11. “It is not the cause of one poor printer, nor of New York alone, which you are now trying. No! It may in its consequence affect every free man that lives under a British government on the main [continent] of America. It is the best cause. It is the cause of liberty. . . . Nature and the laws of our country have given us a right to liberty of both exposing and opposing arbitrary power (in these parts of the world at least) by speaking and writing the truth.” Andrew Hamilton, 1735
This courtroom summation helped establish which democratic principle in colonial America?
a. trial by jury
b. equal voting rights
c. protection of private property
d. freedom of the press
12. The pamphlet Common Sense, by Thomas Paine, aided the American cause in the Revolutionary War because it
a. convinced France to join in the fight against England
b. led to the repeal of the Stamp Act
c. created a new system of government for the United States
d. persuaded individuals who were undecided to support independence
13. Which conclusion about the American Revolutionary War is most clearly supported by information in this chart?
a. England had few advantages in a war with her American colonies.
b. The thirteen colonies had more advantages than disadvantages upon entering the war.
c. England did not believe that the thirteen colonies were worth the expense of a war.
d. The thirteen colonies had few, but important advantages in the war with England.
14. Which important reason for the American victory in the Revolutionary War is missing from the chart?
a. naval superiority of the thirteen colonies
b. aid from foreign nations
c. control of railroads and canals
d. greater number of Indian allies
15. The Mayflower Compact and the House of Burgesses were important to the development of democracy in colonial America because they
a. expanded freedom of religion
b. promoted self-government
c. protected private ownership of property
d. granted voting rights to all white males
16. Court decisions in the trial of John Peter Zenger (1735) and the case of New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) strengthened
a. freedom of religion
b. freedom of the press
c. due process rights
d. the right to counsel
17. Which heading best completes the partial outline below?
I. ____________________________________
A. Committees of Correspondence
B. Nonimportation Agreements
C. Boston Tea Party
D. First Continental Congress
Answers
a. Protests Against Slavery in the American Colonies
b. British Parliamentary Actions to Punish Colonial Americans
c. Colonial Responses to British Mercantile Policies
d. Colonial Attempts to End the British Policy of Salutary Neglect
18. In its economic relationship with its North American colonies, Great Britain followed the principles of 18th-century mercantilism by
a. outlawing the African slave trade
b. limiting the colonies’ trade with other nations
c. encouraging the development of manufacturing in the colonies
d. establishing laws against business monopolies
19. “…I challenge the warmest advocate [supporter] for reconciliation, to shew [show], a single advantage that this continent can reap [gain], by being connected with Great Britain. I repeat the challenge, not a single advantage is derived [acquired]. Our corn will fetch its price in any market in Europe, and our imported goods must be paid for, buy them where we will. . . . “ Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776 This speaker is most likely opposed to
a. mercantilism
b. capitalism
c. direct democracy
d. representative government
20. A major argument for American independence found in the Declaration of Independence was that the British
a. stopped participating in the slave trade
b. refused to sell products to Americans
c. deprived Americans of their natural rights
d. censored American representatives in Parliament
21. Which statement is most accurate about the movement for independence in the thirteen colonies?
a. The independence movement began soon after the founding of the Plymouth Colony.
b. Protests against British colonial policies gradually led to demands for independence.
c. The King of England required the colonists to become economically self-sufficient.
d. The movement for independence was equally strong in all of the colonies.
22. According to the Declaration of Independence, the fundamental purpose of government is to
a. protect people’s natural rights
b. equalize opportunities for all citizens
c. provide for the defense of the nation
d. establish a system of free public education
23. One of the principles stated in the Declaration of Independence is that government should
a. guarantee economic equality among citizens
b. have unlimited power to rule the people
c. be based upon the consent of the governed
d. be led by educated citizens
24. During the colonial period, the British Parliament used the policy of mercantilism to
a. limit manufacturing in America
b. prevent criticism of royal policies
c. deny representation to the colonists
d. force colonists to worship in the Anglican Church
25. The Mayflower Compact and the Virginia House of Burgesses are examples of
a. equal opportunities for women during the colonial period
b. steps toward representative government
c. economic agreements between the colonists and Native American Indians
d. limitations placed on colonial Americans by the British government
26. The system shown in the diagram was developed under the Articles of Confederation in order to (Go the website to see the chart.)
a. divide lands seized from the Loyalists
b. provide an orderly system of development for the Northwest Territory
c. remove Native American Indians to areas west of the Appalachian Mountains
d. extend slavery as the nation grew
27. In which area did good harbors, abundant forests, rocky soil, and a short growing season most influence the colonial economy?
a. Southern colonies
b. Middle Atlantic region
c. Northwest Territory
d. New England colonies
28. The Mayflower Compact, New England town meetings, and the Virginia House of Burgesses are examples of
a. early colonial efforts in self-government
b. colonial protests against British taxation
c. governments imposed by Parliament
d. attempts to limit democracy
29. The British benefited from their mercantilist relationship with the American colonies primarily by
a. supporting the growth of colonial industries
b. prohibiting colonists from fishing and fur trading
c. taking large amounts of gold and silver from the southern colonies
d. buying raw materials from the colonies and selling them finished products
30. The main reason Great Britain established the Proclamation Line of 1763 was to
a. avoid conflicts between American colonists and Native American Indians
b. make a profit by selling the land west of the Appalachian Mountains
c. prevent American industrial development in the Ohio River valley
d. allow Canada to control the Great Lakes region
31. The Declaration of Independence (1776) has had a major influence on peoples throughout the world because it
a. guarantees universal suffrage
b. establishes a basic set of laws for every nation
c. provides justification for revolting against unjust governments
d. describes the importance of a strong central government
Click here to see more multiple choice questions for US History.
