Declaration
Which argument most logically follows from Jefferson’s expressed ideas in the Declaration of Independence?
a. The rights of men should be supported over those of women.
b. Monarchy is a bad form of government because rulers are not elected.
c. All forms of government destroy human rights and should be abandoned.
d. Any form of government that suppresses people’s freedoms should be overthrown.
d. Any form of government that suppresses people’s freedoms should be overthrown.
In the Declaration of Independence, what is Jefferson’s purpose in listing self-evident truths?
a. He is expressing the values that underlie his argument.
b. He is demonstrating that he has a factual basis for his argument.
c. He is drawing readers’ attention to his personal and strongly held opinions.
d. He is creating a connection to the colonists’ attempts to reconcile with Britain
a. He is expressing the values that underlie his argument.
Which person is the best example of someone who demonstrates tyranny?
a. a rebel
b. a dictator
c. a member
d. a challenger
b. a dictator
If you claim that someone’s actions lacked rectitude, how do you think the person most likely behaved?
a. rudely
b. carelessly
c. dishonestly
d. self-importantly
c. dishonestly
According to the Declaration of Independence, what is the main purpose of a nation’s government?
a. to keep people satisfied with their leaders
b. to help the nation grow in wealth and power
c. to see that people’s basic rights are protected
d. to maintain order and stability by staying in power
c. to see that people’s basic rights are protected
From the Declaration of Independence, what can a reader infer about Jefferson’s general attitude toward revolution?
a. Revolution is a method of last resort.
b. All cases of injustice justify a revolution.
c. People often revolt as their first course of action.
d. Revolution is a very poor way of dealing with conflict.
a. Revolution is a method of last resort.
In the Declaration of Independence, what does Jefferson mean when he says that the king has “refused his assent to laws … necessary for the public good”?
a. The king knows what is best for the colonists.
b. The king is too busy to listen to the colonists.
c. The king enjoys his absolute rule over the colonists.
d. The king has not allowed changes that would benefit the colonists.
d. The king has not allowed changes that would benefit the colonists.
In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson accuses Britain of “quartering large bodies of armed troops among us.” Which of the following best defines the word quartering as Jefferson uses it here?
a. providing board for extra charges
b. acting at fifteen-minute intervals
c. housing in assigned dwellings
d. dividing into four equal parts
c. housing in assigned dwellings
Choose the answer that most clearly illustrates a person who is trying to rectify a situation. Base your answer on your knowledge of the Latin root -rect-.
a. Since he had extra time, Ichiro looked again at one question on the chemistry exam.
b. Wondering whether she would be able to locate a bone he had hidden, Mariano led his puppy Scarlet outside.
c. Because she forgot his birthday, Josie sent a bouquet of flowers and a note of apology to her cousin Samson.
d. Before she began to assemble the dish, Aliyah read the recipe carefully and gathered the ingredients.
c. Because she forgot his birthday, Josie sent a bouquet of flowers and a note of apology to her cousin Samson.
Which quotation from the Declaration of Independence best supports the answer to Part A?
a. We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness….
b. … [To] secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.…
c. … [G]overnments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
d. … [A]s free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do
b. … [To] secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.…
Which of the following statements best expresses the point Jefferson makes with this language?
a. Jefferson suggests that foreign allies have urged Congress to declare independence.
b. Jefferson emphasizes that America has been forced into declaring its independence.
c. Jefferson implies that Britain fully approves of Congress’s decision to declare independence.
d. Jefferson explains that America never considered any action other than declaring independence.
b. Jefferson emphasizes that America has been forced into declaring its independence.
Which statement best describes the way Britain harmed the American economy, according to the Declaration of Independence?
a. Britain stopped all commerce and trade within the American colonies.
b. Britain prevented the colonies from creating a national American currency.
c. Britain raised prices on many of the basic necessities Americans had to import.
d. Britain imposed illegal taxes on the colonies and cut off America’s international trade.
d. Britain imposed illegal taxes on the colonies and cut off America’s international trade.
Which of the following statements from the Declaration of Independence makes the strongest emotional appeal to readers?
a. He has called together legislative bodies … for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
b. He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly….
c. He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection....
d. He is at this time transporting large armies … to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny.…
d. He is at this time transporting large armies … to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny.…
Which of the following best indicates how the phrase contract alliances would be expressed in modern English?
a. establish friendly relationships with other nations
b. write business contracts for individuals
c. convince others of Britain’s wrongs
d. conduct battles and wars
a. establish friendly relationships with other nations
In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson describes the king’s actions and policies as “absolute despotism,” “abuses and usurpations,” “repeated injuries and usurpations,” and so on. Which of the following statements best describes the purpose of such language?
a. The language implies that powerful authorities disapprove of the king.
b. The language provides logical evidence of the failings of the king.
c. The language demonstrates justice and fairness toward the king.
d. The language arouses readers’ emotions against the king.
d. The language arouses readers’ emotions against the king.
Which of the following statements best explains what Jefferson means by “all men are created equal”?
a. All people are equally provided with brains and talent.
b. All people are entitled to equal treatment under the law.
c. All people are equally qualified to hold high political office.
d. All people are entitled to obey only the laws they agree with.
b. All people are entitled to equal treatment under the law.
The word insurrection contains the Latin prefixes in-, meaning “not, opposite,” and sur-, meaning “above, on top of.” Use this information as well as your knowledge of the Latin root -rect- to choose the correct definition of insurrection.
a. uprising, rebellion
b. order, command
c. battle, brawl
d. strategy, plan
a. uprising, rebellion
If you acquiesce to a plan, what is most likely true?
a. You go along with it despite your reluctance.
b. You see drawbacks to it and want to modify it.
c. You want more time to consider other options.
d. You disagree with it and will not participate.
a. You go along with it despite your reluctance.
According to the Declaration of Independence, what is the main purpose of a nation’s government?
a. to keep people satisfied with their leaders
b. to help the nation grow in wealth and power
c. to see that people’s basic rights are protected
d. to maintain order and stability by staying in power
c. to see that people’s basic rights are protected
Which of the following best explains the answer to Part A?
a. The language is intense and extreme.
b. The language is careful and tentative.
c. The language is reasonable and fair.
d. The language is dry and legal.
a. The language is intense and extreme.
What does this parargraph from the Declaration of Independence reveal about Jefferson’s eighteenth-century writing style? Choose two options.
a. His approach is casual and conversational.
b. His ideas ramble and have little connection.
c. His way of expressing himself is quite formal.
d. He expresses himself only in long and complex sentences.
e. His spelling of several words differs from that used in modern English.
f. He occasionally includes words that are rarely used in modern English.
c. His way of expressing himself is quite formal.
f. He occasionally includes words that are rarely used in modern English.
According to the Declaration of Independence, which of the following statements are among the reasons the colonies determined to break away from British rule? Choose three options.
a. The majority of Americans were not ethnically or culturally British.
b. Britain was guilty of many recent abuses of its power in the colonies.
c. The American and British armies had already clashed on the battlefield.
d. Britain interfered with the operation of the legislatures in the various colonies.
e. The British army was too weak and undisciplined to effectively protect the colonies.
f. The American colonies did not wish to maintain any of the customs associated with being British.
b. Britain was guilty of many recent abuses of its power in the colonies.
c. The American and British armies had already clashed on the battlefield.
d. Britain interfered with the operation of the legislatures in the various colonies.
Why would Jefferson choose to conclude the text with such positive language?
He is discussing the possibility of a new relationship (an alliance) between America and Great Britain IF the king agrees to give the colonists their independence.
Which of the following is the central idea put forth in the Declaration of Independence?
a. The American people will fight to the death to protect themselves from attacks by Britain.
b. The American colonies are justified in rejecting British rule and setting up a new government.
c. The people of Great Britain should claim their own independence from the rule of the current king.
d. Americans who support the idea of independence from Great Britain greatly outnumber those who do not.
b. The American colonies are justified in rejecting British rule and setting up a new government.
Which quotation from the Declaration of Independence best supports the answer to Part A?
a. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.
b. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence.
c. We, therefore, … do in the name and by authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these united colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states….
d. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.
a. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.