Quiz for Sources for America’s History, Chapter 5

Question

1. In his “Inquiry into the Rights of the British Colonies,” Virginia planter Richard Bland (Document 5-1) drew on theories advanced by which of the following individuals?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is b. Bland’s defense of the colonies’ rights relied heavily on the ideas of John Locke, who argued that all individuals possessed “natural rights” that governments had an obligation to protect.
Incorrect. The answer is b. Bland’s defense of the colonies’ rights relied heavily on the ideas of John Locke, who argued that all individuals possessed “natural rights” that governments had an obligation to protect.

Question

2. How does the argument for colonial rights advanced in the Stamp Act Congress’s “Declaration of Rights” in 1765 (Document 5-2) compare to the argument made by Richard Bland in 1766?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is a. Although they do not make identical arguments, both the Stamp Act Congress’s “Declaration of Rights” and Richard Bland’s “Inquiry into the Rights of the British Colonies” emphasize the colonists’ rights as British citizens and their lack of representation in the British Parliament.
Incorrect. The answer is a. Although they do not make identical arguments, both the Stamp Act Congress’s “Declaration of Rights” and Richard Bland’s “Inquiry into the Rights of the British Colonies” emphasize the colonists’ rights as British citizens and their lack of representation in the British Parliament.

Question

3. According to the evidence Peter Oliver presents in his Origin and Progress of the American Rebellion (Document 5-3), what was the purpose of the attacks in 1774 by the colonial mobs?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is d. Peter Oliver’s work describes many instances of colonial mobs’ attacks on British office holders. In all of these attacks, the mobs insisted that the British officials recant their Loyalist statements and promise not to execute their duties as enforcers of British policies.
Incorrect. The answer is d. Peter Oliver’s work describes many instances of colonial mobs’ attacks on British office holders. In all of these attacks, the mobs insisted that the British officials recant their Loyalist statements and promise not to execute their duties as enforcers of British policies.

Question

4. What did the Loyalist authors of the 1774 protest against the Committees of Correspondence in Worcester (Document 5-4) suggest was the motivation of the group’s actions in Massachusetts?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is b. According to the document, the Committees of Correspondence were motivated by their envy of wealthy and powerful British officials and hopeful that, by reducing “all things to a state of tumult, discord and confusion,” they could gain economic and political power.
Incorrect. The answer is b. According to the document, the Committees of Correspondence were motivated by their envy of wealthy and powerful British officials and hopeful that, by reducing “all things to a state of tumult, discord and confusion,” they could gain economic and political power.

Question

5. In his 1769 letter to Thomas Whately (Document 5-5), Massachusetts royal governor Thomas Hutchinson expressed the belief that Parliament needed to take which of the following actions in the colonies?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is d. Hutchinson expressed the belief to Whately that the situation in Massachusetts had gotten out of hand and that he hoped to see “some further restraint of liberty rather than the connexion with the parent state should be broken.” When it became public that Hutchinson had stated, “There must be an abridgment of what are called English liberties” in the colonies, colonists became even more convinced that the British officials were intent on enslaving them.
Incorrect. The answer is d. Hutchinson expressed the belief to Whately that the situation in Massachusetts had gotten out of hand and that he hoped to see “some further restraint of liberty rather than the connexion with the parent state should be broken.” When it became public that Hutchinson had stated, “There must be an abridgment of what are called English liberties” in the colonies, colonists became even more convinced that the British officials were intent on enslaving them.

Question

6. What made Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (Document 5-6) so much more widely influential in the American colonies than documents like Richard Bland’s “Inquiry into the Rights of the British Colonies” (Document 5-1)?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is c. Paine’s pamphlet was widely read and influential because of its readability. Unlike Bland’s writing, which referenced Greek and Latin and analyzed European political theorists, Paine made his arguments in plain, stirring language and helped to sway many literate but not highly educated Americans to support the Patriot cause.
Incorrect. The answer is c. Paine’s pamphlet was widely read and influential because of its readability. Unlike Bland’s writing, which referenced Greek and Latin and analyzed European political theorists, Paine made his arguments in plain, stirring language and helped to sway many literate but not highly educated Americans to support the Patriot cause.