NAME ___________________________________

Unit 2 Chapter Test

Main Ideas Choose the letter of the best answer.

1) Who was on the committee that drafted the Declaration of

Independence? (a) Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benedict Arnold,

Thomas Paine, and William Prescott (b) Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams,

Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston (c) Richard Henry Lee, Ethan Allen, George Washington,

John Hancock, and Thomas Jefferson (d) Paul Revere, Johnny Tremain, William Dawes,

Thomas Jefferson, and John Parker 2) Which of the following events became a symbol of British

tyranny? (f) the Revolutionary War (g) the Continental Army (h) the Battle of Bunker Hill (j) the Boston Massacre

3) Why were the British soldiers stationed in the colonies after 1763?

(a) to force the colonists to pay their taxes (b) to conduct searches of colonists" homes and

businesses (c) to keep peace between the colonists and Native

Americans (d) to prevent unhappy colonists from starting a revolution 4) How was the Stamp Act different from the Sugar Act? (f) Parliament passed the Stamp Act while colonial

assemblies passed the Sugar Act. (g) Parliament ended the Sugar Act but refused to repeal

the Stamp Act. (h) The colonists liked the Sugar Act but not the Stamp

Act. (j) The Stamp Act taxed the colonists while the Sugar Act

taxed trade.

“Creating America” Grade 8

McDougal Littell

Map Skills

Using the exhibit, choose the letter of the best answer.

Revere’s routeDawes’s routeBritish advanceBritish retreatBattle

The Revolution Begins, 1775

5) What was one advantage of Revere and Dawes taking

different routes? (a) They alerted the major towns from Boston to Concord. (b) They followed the British army. (c) They were separated, in case one was captured. (d) They aided in the battle of Lexington, coming from

north and south.

Using the exhibit, choose the letter of the best answer.

6) Who is trying to pull down the statue of King George III? (f) colonial loyalists (g) British soldiers (h) colonial patriots (j) British taxpayers

Main Ideas

Choose the letter of the best answer.

7) Why were George Rogers Clark’s victories important? (a) They forced the British to surrender at Yorktown,

Virgina. (b) They gave the United States claim to land west of the

Appalachians. (c) They convinced France and Spain to support the

Americans in the war. (d) They contributed to the American victory at the Battles

of Saratoga. 8) How did the war in the South differ from the fighting in the

other colonies? (f) There was more guerrilla warfare in the South. (g) The fighting in the South was less vicious. (h) Most of the fighting in the South took place at sea. (j) There were more full-scale battles in the South. 9) How did geography help the Patriots win the American

Revolution? (a) The colonies had too many cities for the British army

to conquer. (b) The British were not equipped to fight in the harsh

American winters. (c) The colonies were too large an area for the British

army to control. (d) The British colonies in the Caribbean were too far

away to provide the British with troops and supplies.

10) Who was the commander of the Continental Army? (f) Joseph Brant (g) George Washington (h) James Forten (j) John Paul Jones 11) How did the American government change after the war? (a) The government obtained its authority from the

citizens and was responsible to them. (b) The king of England appointed an aristocratic family to

rule the colonies. (c) African Americans took leadership roles in the new

government. (d) The Quaker ideal of pacifism was a central tenet of

the new government.

Map Skills

Using the exhibit, choose the letter of the best answer.

ATLANTICOCEAN

VIRGINIA

N.C.

S.C.

MD.

DEL.

PA.

N.J.

N.Y.

New York

Philadelphia

Richmond

York

Wilmington

YorktownOct. 19, 1781

Battle of the CapesSept. 5, 1781

Washington and Rochambeau, Aug. 1781

Wayne

CornwallisMay 1781

De Grasse 1781

Graves and Hood1781

Lafayette

American and allied forcesBritish forcesAmerican and allied victory

0

0

100 Miles

200 Kilometers

Revolutionary War, 1781

12) What information on the map shows the hopelessness of

the British position after the Battle of the Capes? (f) The American forces allowed the British to chase

them and wear themselves out. (g) The British general Cornwallis had set up his base at

Wilmington. (h) American and allied forces surrounded the British on

land and sea. (j) The British did not control territory in the surrounding

countryside.

Main Ideas

Choose the letter of the best answer.

13) Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress had no

power to tax. How did this weaken the national government?

(a) Congress had no way to borrow money. (b) Congress was unable to settle disputes between

states. (c) Congress was unable to issue money because it had

no income. (d) It made the national government dependent on the

states for money. 14) Which event was most important for the orderly growth of

the nation? (f) completion of the Wilderness Road (g) passage of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 (h) creation of the Northwest Territory (j) payment of Revolutionary War veterans 15) Why did Antifederalists dislike the proposed Constitution? (a) Power was divided between the national government

and the states. (b) The government would not have the power to tax. (c) The national government would be strong. (d) The nation would not be headed by a king.

16) Which of the following established the way slaves would be counted for representation in Congress?

(f) the Northwest Ordinance (g) the Great Compromise (h) the New Jersey Plan (j) the Three-Fifths Compromise 17) The delegates to the Constitutional Convention agreed

that they could not ban the slave trade until what year? (a) 1808 (b) 1800 (c) 1885 (d) 1788

Interpreting Charts. Using the exhibit, choose the letter of the best answer.

State Convention Vote Month RatifiedDelaware

Pennsylvania

New Jersey

Georgia

Connecticut

Massachusetts

Maryland

South Carolina

New Hampshire

Virginia

New York

North Carolina

Rhode Island

30–0

46–23

38–0

26–0

128–40

187–168

63–11

149–73

57–47

89–79

30–27

194–77

34–32

December 1787

December 1787

December 1787

January 1788

January 1788

February 1788

April 1788

May 1788

June 1788

June 1788

July 1788

November 1789

May 1790

Source: Encyclopedia of American History

Ratification of the Constitution

18) Which state had both the largest number of delegates and

closest vote for ratification by percentage? (f) Pennsylvania (g) North Carolina (h) South Carolina (i) Massachusetts

Main Ideas Choose the letter of the best answer.

19) Women finally gained the right to vote with the passage of (a) the Fifteenth Amendment. (b) the Bill of Rights. (c) the Nineteenth Amendment. (d) the Fifth Amendment. 20) How can Congress override a presidential veto? (f) One house must pass the bill by a two-thirds majority. (g) Both houses must pass the bill by a two-thirds

majority. (h) One house must pass the bill by a three-fourths

majority. (i) Both houses must pass the bill by a three-fourths

majority.

21) What is the only amendment to be repealed and which amendment repealed it?

(a) The Eighteenth Amendment was repealed by the

Twenty First Amendment. (b) The Twenty First Amendment was repealed by the

Twenty Forth Amendment. (c) The Thirteenth Amendment was repealed by the

Nineteenth Amendment. (d) The Ninth Amendment was repealed by the

Thirteenth Amendment.

Map Skills Using the exhibit, choose the letter of the best answer.

N.Y.31

VT. 3N.H. 4 ME.

4

PA. 21N.J. 15

MASS. 12

CONN. 7

MD. 10

D.C. 3

R.I. 4

DEL. 3W. VA.

5VA.13

N.C. 15

S.C.8GA.

15

ALASKA3

HAWAII4

FLA.27

OHIO20IND.

11

KY. 8

TENN. 11

CALIF.55

NEVADA5

TEXAS34

OKLA.7

LA.9

ALA.9MISS.

6

ARK.6

MO.11

ILL.21

KANS.6

NEBR.5

S. DAKOTA3

N. DAKOTA3

IOWA7

WIS.10 MICH.

17

MINN.10

COLORADO9

OREGON7

WASH.11

IDAHO4

MONTANA3

WYOMING3

UTAH5

ARIZONA10 N. MEXICO

5

American voters do not choose their president directly. Members of a group called the Electoral College elect the president. Each state has electors. Together they form the Electoral College. Except for Maine and Nebraska, all the electoral votes of a state go to one set of candidates.

Number of electors for each state =

Total number of its senators and representatives

N

S

EW

Electoral College (based on 2000 census)

22) If one candidate won only the five most populous states and another candidate won the rest of the other states, who would win the election?

(f) The candidate who won the five largest states. (g) The candidate who would win the remaining 45 states

combined would win. (h) The candidates would be tied, and Congress would

decide the winner. (j) The candidates would be tied, and a new election

would be held.

23) Which of the following states has the fewest electors for its size?

(a) Colorado (b) Montana (c) Vermont (d) Alabama

24) In which of the following clusters of states might a candidate campaign most heavily?

(f) Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania (g) Alabama, Georgia, Florida (h) Arizona, Utah, Colorado (j) Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa

Interpreting Charts. Using the exhibit, choose the letter of the best answer.

Checks and BalancesExecutive Branch(President)

Checks on Courts• Appoints federal judges• Can grant reprieves and pardons for federal crimes

Checks on Congress• Can veto acts of congress• Can call special sessions of congress• Can suggest laws and send messages to congress

Judical Branch(Supreme Court)

Checks on President• Can declare executive acts unconstitutional• Judges, appointed for life, are free from executive control

Checks on Congress• Judicial review–Can declare acts of Congress unconstitutional

Legislative Branch(Congress)

Checks on President• Can impeach and remove the president• Can override veto• Controls spending of money• Senate can refuse to confirm presidential appointments and to ratify treaties

Checks on Court• Can impeach and remove federal judges• Establish lower federal courts• Can refuse to confirm judical appointments

25) What is one possible effect of the Senate’s power of

impeachment and the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review?

(a) They encourage presidents to veto more acts of

Congress. (b) They help prevent presidents from becoming

dictators. (c) They make the legislative and judicial branches too

powerful. (d) They help the president win sympathy from the public.