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Unit 3

3.15 MC Answers and Review

9 min read•december 15, 2021

AP US History 🇺🇸

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Answers and Review for Multiple Choice Practice on Conflict and American Independence

⛔STOP ⛔ Before you look at the answers, make sure you gave this practice quiz a try so you can assess your understanding of the concepts covered in Unit 3. Click here for the practice questions: AP US History Unit 3 Multiple Choice Questions.

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Facts about the test: The AP US History exam has 55 multiple choice questions and you will be given 55 minutes to complete the section. That means it should take you around 1 minute per question. The following questions were not written by College Board and, although they cover information outlined in the AP US History Course and Exam Description, the formatting on the exam may be different.

1. Which of these most directly led to the Intolerable (Coercive) Acts?

A. The Boston Massacre

B. The Boston Tea Party

C. The Navigation Acts

D. The Townshend Acts

Answer: While all contributed to colonial disdain for the British Crown, the Intolerable Acts were a direct response by the British Crown to the Boston Tea Party Protest. The Acts were designed to be punishment, and directly targeted Boston Harbor, closing it to all colonial merchant use and banning town-hall meetings and replacing their governor with a British-appointed representative in Massachusetts until the cost of the damage was repaid.

📄 Study AP US History, Unit 3.3: Taxation without Representation

2. This image shows the popular support for which women's movement around the Revolutionary War era?

A. The Maternalist Ethos

B. The right of women to bear arms

C. The Cult of Domesticity

D. Republican Motherhood

Answer: Republican Motherhood was the idea that women played a very important role in the Revolutionary Era - it was their responsibility to educate their children on the principles of republican governance and values. From the home.

📄 Study AP US History, Unit 3.6: Influence of Revolutionary Ideals

3. Hamilton's Financial Plan would be least likely to include which of the following components?

A. The federal assumption of state debts

B. A high tariff levied against foreign, imported goods as a means to raise revenue

C. A reduction in tariffs to stimulate international trade

D. The creation of a centralized, national bank of the United States

Answer: Hamilton's Financial Plan, which eventually would be the adopted financial plan of the United States, was designed to ease the burden on individual states by assuming their debts due to the war. His plan also included high tariffs to persuade Americans to buy American goods instead of cheap foreign goods - and to establish a national bank to manage the finances of the new United States.

📄 Study AP US History, Unit 3.10: Shaping a New Republic

4. In George Washington's Farewell address, which of the following did he most strongly caution against?

A. The formation of political parties

B. The formation of alliances with South American nations

C. The "Military Industrial Complex"

D. Investing too much in industry rather than homestead farming

Answer: George Washington was fearful from the beginning that the factions that were forming in his own government, largely by Jefferson and Hamilton, would eventually lead to political parties forming and growing too powerful. He was fearful that political factions would lead to one geographical region dominating the other, which would undermine the spirit of the balanced federal system.

📄 Study AP US History, Unit 3.10: Shaping a New Republic

5. Benjamin Franklin attempted to organize the colonies to fight against the encroaching European and American Indian forces in the French and Indian War. What was that organization called?

A. The Albany Plan of Union

B. The Continental Congress

C. The Proclamation of 1763

D. The Constitutional Convention

Answer: The Albany Plan of Union, though it never materialized, was one of the first attempts to get the colonies to work together in a unified capacity. However, the colonies weren't ready for that kind of unity and so didn't join - and the British crown didn't allow it either for fear of too much colonial independence.

📄 Study AP US History, Unit 3.2: Seven Years' War

6. In this declaration, King George III stated that American colonists could not move west past the Appalachian mountains at the end of the French and Indian War.

A. The Declaration of Independence

B. The Intolerable Acts

C. The Treaty of Paris

D. Proclamation of 1763

Answer: The Proclamation of 1763 outlawed colonists from moving west of the Appalachian Mountains. He thought that land was too filled with violent American Indians and couldn't be properly controlled by British governors, so no colonists were permitted to go there. They did anyway.

📄 Study AP US History, Unit 3.2: Seven Years' War

7. The Declaration of Independence was most strongly influenced by which European intellectual movement?

A. The Great Awakening

B. The Enlightenment

C. The Protestant Reformation

D. The Existentialist Movement

📄 Study AP US History, Unit 3.4: Philosophical Foundations of America

8. Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense was most instrumental in....

A. explaining the key components of the post-revolutionary government system

B. defining the roles that women would play in the revolutionary era

C. swaying public opinion toward independence instead of reconciliation with England

D. delaying the independence movement until the colonies were ready for war

Answer: Common Sense was one of the most influential writings in support of independence from England. The pamphlet takes on some of the misconceptions of people arguing in support of staying with the British empire and refutes them one-by-one, saying in actuality that they are liabilities that only benefit the British crown.

📄 Study AP US History, Unit 3.4: Philosophical Foundations of America

9. Which of these was a major functional problem with the Articles of Confederation?

A. It had no revenue-raising mechanism.

B. It required only 7 out of 13 states to vote in support of laws for them to be passed.

C. It provided an extremely strong federal government, taking much of the governing power away from the states.

D. The executive wielded absolute power over matters of international affairs.

Answer: The Articles of Confederation were drafted after the Revolutionary War in an attempt to unify the colonies without giving too much power to that government (remember, they just finally got rid of their imperial rulers in England). However, the system they drafted gave the central government no fund-raising capacity, so without funds for their projects - almost nothing could get done!

📄 Study AP US History, Unit 3.7: The Articles of Confederation

10. Which of these was NOT part of the Northwest Ordinances passed under the Articles of Confederation?

A. It barred slavery's expansion into the newly organized territory

B. It provided funding for a major railroad through Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois

C. It provided the mechanism for territories to attain statehood

D. It outlined a system of systematic surveying of lands that included grid-planning and funding mechanisms

Answer: The Northwest Ordinances were critical for the organization of territory that was owned by the new United States, but not yet large or established enough to become states. It provided a grid-survey system for organization of territory, the requirements for application to statehood to join the union, and a forever ban on slavery in the region, amongst other things. That last one wouldn't last forever though.

📄 Study AP US History, Unit 3.7: The Articles of Confederation

11. Which of these did the "Great Compromise" regarding representation establish?

A. The determination that for every 5 slaves owned by a slaveholder, they would receive 3 "counts" for population purposes

B. The amendment that requires presidents to only legally serve 2 terms

C. A 3-branch system of government; an executive, a judicial, and a legislative branch

D. A bi-cameral legislature; one based on state population, and one based on equal representation per state

Answer: The Great Compromise attempted to settle the debate between state representation in the federal government. The designers were concerned that equal representation per state would favor small states (because then each person's interests would be magnified in the federal government) and that representation based on population would favor the big states (a state like Rhode Island's representatives would be drowned out by states like Virginia). So they decided to do both - and then they have to agree on the final bill. What could go wrong?

📄 Study AP US History, Unit 3.8: Debates over Ratification

12. Why was the Revolution of 1800 so revolutionary?

A. It was the first time a bill had been passed by the congress with bipartisan support

B. It was the first time an American Indian group was able to win their independence in opposition to the US government

C. It was a peaceful transfer of power between opposing political parties - very unusual for its time

D. It was the first time women had been granted the right to vote

Answer: The Revolution of 1800 is unique because to this point in world history a peaceful transfer of the government between a democratically-elected opposition party was extremely unusual. Usually this kind of thing happens with bloodshed. This one just happened with bad blood.

📄 Study AP US History, Unit 3.10: Shaping a New Republic

13. Why was Shay's Rebellion so impactful?

A. It effectively ended the debate over American Native protections in the United States

B. It showed how dangerous the new Constitution's tax-raising mechanisms could be

C. It exposed that the Articles of Confederation did not provide a mechanism for solving domestic issues effectively without the willing cooperation of states

D. It was the first time a slave revolt had actually been successful in establishing freedom for its revolutionaries

Answer: Shay's Rebellion exposed a big problem with the Articles of Confederation - it had no standing military to organize an effective response to domestic revolts. It would rely on volunteering state militias - and those states weren't interested, revolts could end up being very deadly. This would ultimately cause the founders to meet to draft a new document - the constitution.

📄 Study AP US History, Unit 3.7: The Articles of Confederation

14. How did the Sons and Daughters of Liberty aid in the war effort?

A. They staged protests and created correspondence committees that united the colonial independence movement

B. They worked on the earliest drafts of the new US Constitution

C. They were the first organizers to petition in support of universal suffrage, regardless of gender or race

D. They were in charge of the medical wing of the war effort in coordination with the American Red Cross

Answer: The Sons and Daughters of Liberty were a secret organization of pro-independence colonists. Their main activities were protests - sometimes through violent means - against British law enforcement. They also maintained a network on colonial communication that went beyond New England - a big step in colonial unity.

📄 Study AP US History, Unit 3.5: American Revolution

15. How did the Alien and Sedition Acts impact the early United States?

A. They created a new government office specializing in assimilation of new immigrants to the US

B. They ignited a debate over the constitutionality of laws passed by congress and the balance of power between the branches

C. They forever protected Americans' free speech in the press

D. They provided an easier path to citizenship for newly arrived immigrants to the United States

Answer: The Alien and Sedition Acts were deeply unpopular laws in John Adam's government that directly conflicted with the protections of the Constitution. The Alien Act allowed deportation of anyone associated with an enemy territory the government deems dangerous to national security (see anyone they want). The Sedition Act allows the government to define actions such as malicious speak (talking smack) about the government as treason and thus available for criminal prosecution. John Adams didn't make any liberty-supporting friends with these ones.

📄 Study AP US History, Unit 3.10: Shaping a New Republic

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