On April 19, 1775, the battles of Lexington and Concord marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War. The Americans’ success in their war for independence from Great Britain made room for the creation and development of the American republic.
The quiz below, from the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, provides an opportunity for you to test your knowledge of the American Revolution.
1. Which of the following wasn’t among the causes of the Revolutionary War?
A. Britain’s taxation of the colonists without representation
B. Britain’s dissolution of colonial legislatures
C. Britain’s closing of the Port of Boston
D. British attempts to send dangerous criminals to the colonies
2. Which famous poet celebrated the “embattled farmers” who stood their ground at Concord’s Old North Bridge and fired “the shot heard round the world”?
A. Rudyard Kipling
B. William Cullen Bryant
C. Ralph Waldo Emerson
D. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
3. A major effort by the Second Continental Congress to reach a peaceful agreement with Great Britain was referred to as what?
A. The Olive Branch Petition
B. The Dove Accords
C. The Discourse on the Love of Our Country
D. The Colonial Peace Letters
4. Which of the following men was not a general during the Revolutionary War?
A. Marquis de Lafayette
B. Benedict Arnold
C. Henry Knox
D. Alexander Hamilton
5. Which Revolutionary War battle involved the greatest number of armed combatants?
A. Battle of Bunker Hill
B. Battle of Long Island
C. Battle of Brandywine
D. Battle of Cowpens
6. During the war, the British hired professional mercenaries to fight alongside their own troops. What was the largest group of mercenaries called?
A. Redcoats
B. Legionnaires
C. Militiamen
D. Hessians
7. France backed the Americans during the Revolutionary War. Which signer of the Declaration of Independence was integral in securing its support?
A. Thomas Jefferson
B. John Penn
C. Benjamin Franklin
D. John Adams
8. Native American Indians played a significant role in the American Revolution. Which of the following Indian groups sided with the Americans?
A. Cherokee
B. Shawnee
C. Oneida
D. Mohawk
9. In 1783, disillusioned military officers set up a secret meeting to discuss rebelling against their own Continental Congress. This planned meeting is referred to as what?
A. Pennsylvania Line Mutiny
B. Newburgh Conspiracy
C. Shays’ Rebellion
D. Mutiny on the Bounty
10. In 1783, which treaty ended the Revolutionary War?
A. Treaty of Paris
B. Treaty of Amity and Commerce
C. Treaty of Fort Stanwix
D. Treaty of Portsmouth
Answers: 1-D, 2-C, 3-A, 4-D, 5-B, 6-D, 7-C, 8-C, 9-B, 10-A
