History-120 Chapter-6
Complete the following passage about economic freedom in the early republic.
To most free Americans in the post-colonial period, equality meant that society should be structured in such a way as to provide commensurate opportunities to succeed.
Fill in the blanks to complete the passage describing the shifting relationships in North America after the Revolution.
By the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, the balance of power in North America had shifted away from the Native Americans and toward white Americans. British power continued on in Canada, but the French were wholly absent as a regional force, so Native Americans could no longer negotiate between the great powers.
Identify the statements that describe why indentured servitude declined after the American Revolution.
-The concept of servitude ran counter to the ideals of republican citizenship. -Many indentured servants fled their masters amid the instability of the war. -Increased numbers of non-indentured immigrants from Europe joined indentured servants outliving their terms of required labor.
Traditional notions of "liberty" shifted in the American colonial context and were further redefined during the early republic. Identify which characteristics describe British concepts of liberty versus those that describe American concepts of liberty.
British concept of liberty Rights are privileges held by few in society. Social status is largely hereditary and fixed. American concept of liberty One's social status may change over the course of his or her lifetime. equality of economic opportunity both British and American concepts of liberty Women had few if any legal rights.
Read the following excerpt from the March 31, 1776 letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams. "I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands... .That your sex are naturally tyrannical is a truth so thoroughly established as to admit of no dispute, but such of you as wish to be happy willingly give up the harsh title of Master for the more tender and endearing one of Friend. Why then, not put it out of the power of the vicious and the lawless to use us with cruelty and indignity with impunity. Men of sense in all ages abhor those customs which treat us only as the vassals of your sex. Regard us then as beings placed by providence under your protection and in imitation of the Supreme Being make use of that power only for our happiness."
Correct Answer(s) Abigail asks John to build legal protections for women into laws of the new republic. Abigail appeals to Enlightenment-era values such as reason and the pursuit of happiness to make her point to John. Abigail promotes the concept of companionate marriage. Incorrect Answer(s) Abigail asks John to extend the vote to women, since the values of republican motherhood deem politics an acceptable role for women. Abigail wishes John to get rid of coverture and make women the legal equals of men.
In which of the following ways were Native Americans affected by the American Revolution?
Correct Answer(s) Americans were encouraged by their military success in the Revolution to continue their expansion westward. New state governments forced Native American groups to cede lands. Indians who helped the British forces were abandoned after the war, and their land holdings were not recognized by the Treaty of Paris. After learning the American concept of "liberty," several Native American groups sought "freedom" for themselves from state governments.
Identify the factors that contributed to inflation during and immediately after the Revolutionary War.
Correct Answer(s) Basic commodities were often hoarded by Americans during the war The printing and distribution of paper currency by Congress contributed to inflation Incorrect Answer(s) Agricultural surplus during the war gave merchants more goods to sell, so they made more money. Britain flooded the American markets with cheap goods as a wartime measure.
Identify why Jefferson's assertion in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal" was viewed as a radical principle.
Correct Answer(s) In Britain and in the colonies, the conventional belief was that well-ordered society depended on obedience to authority. It implied that liberties were entitlements (rights people are entitled to by virtue of being born), rather than privileges earned through social status, familial ties, wealth, or property ownership. Incorrect Answer(s) The colonists already considered all men created equal, so they found the statement to be redundant. Colonists did not want to free their slaves, as they considered the idea of racial equality to be illegitimate. The majority of colonists wanted to create a monarchy, like that in Britain, and they still vowed obedience to King George III.
Identify the statements that were true of slavery—both the concept and the practice—in the post-revolutionary period.
Correct Answer(s) Many ex-slaves began life anew as free persons in Nova Scotia and England. Most founders owned slaves, even though they promoted the concept of liberty and equality as natural entitlements. Revolutionaries used the word "slavery" to describe the denial of personal and political rights by a tyrannical government. Some members of the founding generation argued that liberty for whites was possible only because of the enslavement of blacks. Incorrect Answer(s) Slaveowners in the Deep South (Georgia, for example) voluntarily emancipated their slaves when threatened with losing the war. Slaves in New England were granted freedom at the end of the war.
The pool of free labor grew during the post-Revolutionary period. Identify the reasons for this growth.
Correct Answer(s) Servants and apprentices took advantage of the chaos of the Revolution to run away from their masters. Indentured servants who outlived their indentures joined the free labor market. Revolutionary ideas about freedom in the new republic made apprenticeship and indenture seem oppressive and old-fashioned. Incorrect Answer(s) Enslaved persons were freed after the Revolution and joined the work force as free men and women.
Identify the statements that describe the ideas Adam Smith expressed in The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776.
Correct Answer(s) The "invisible hand" was an organic governing principle that maintained economic stability. The natural laws of supply and demand should regulate market prices. Incorrect Answer(s) It was central to economic prosperity that the government take an active role in regulating the economy. Goods should be sold only at a traditional "just price" to promote the public good.
The Revolutionary War is often thought of as a conflict between Great Britain and one of its colonies. Identify some other perspectives that can help us better understand the conflict.
Correct Answer(s) The Revolutionary War was a civil war, in a sense, because it pitted neighbor against neighbor. The Revolutionary War was a borderlands conflict because it resulted in new geographies, national and cultural identity. The Revolutionary War was an international conflict because it involved France and native nations in addition to Great Britain and its colony. Incorrect Answer(s) The Revolutionary War was a war of succession because it was prompted by an argument over who should become monarch of the American colonies. The Revolutionary War was a religious war because it involved a separation of denominations from the English (Anglican) church. The Revolutionary War was an ethnic conflict because of the vast differences between British and Anglo-American culture.
In what ways did the expansion of the definition of liberty and the proliferation of democratic practices change religious practice in the early United States?
Correct Answer(s) The disestablishment of state-sponsored churches allowed for the proliferation of religious denominations. Democratic liberty challenged the traditional authority of some religious traditions.
Identify the radically democratic elements of the Pennsylvania constitution of 1776.
Correct Answer(s) the establishment of a one-house legislature the abolition of the governor's office the abolition of property requirements for suffrage Incorrect Answer(s) the development of property requirements for suffrage the deliberate inclusion of women voters
On which of the following events did the American Revolution and its success have an important ideological and political influence?
Correct answers: -Latin American wars for independence in the early nineteenth century -the French revolution
Which characteristics of colonial America made the region uniquely suited for the development of democratic ideals?
Individual landownership in the colonies was widespread There wasn't a centrally established region in the colonies
Fill in the blanks to complete the passage describing religion and public morality.
Many members of the founding generation were Deists. Though they thought religion was fundamental to the establishment of public morality, they believed in a just God that would not intervene in the earthly world of man. The beliefs of the founders with regard to religion had much to do with influences of the Enlightenment upon their thinking.
Complete the following passage about the spread of democratic ideas in the late-eighteenth century.
The local militia was among the first institutions to embrace democratic ideals and put them into practice. Its members elected their own leaders, completely ignoring the age and property qualifications commonly associated with officeholding.
Match the trailblazer from this period with his or her correct description.
This veteran of the Massachusetts militia and noted preacher was an early proponent of extending freedom and equality to people of African heritage. Lemuel Haynes This woman joined the British army in 1745 disguised as a man; later she was awarded a soldier's pension. Hannah Snell This young Mohawk hoped to create an Indian Confederacy between the new United States and Canada. Joseph Brant The poetic talents of this woman challenged Americans' idea that black persons were devoid of intellectual ability. Phillis Wheatley This woman established the Boston Committee of Correspondence, proving that women could participate in intellectual discussion. Mercy Otis Warren
Identify the statements that were true of democracy in the eighteenth-century context.
True Democracy meant, in general, that government should serve the needs of the people as a whole, not just a moneyed elite. Democracy had several meanings, some from ancient texts. Democracy was feared by some leaders who associated it with mob rule. Not True Only elite intellectuals were in favor of democracy as people in the lower classes did not discuss politics.
