AP US history, 1754-1783

1.Excerpt from William Pitt’s speech on the Stamp Act, January 14, 1766

The Americans have not acted in all things with prudence and temper. They havebeen wronged. They have been driven to madness by injustice. Will you punishthem for the madness you have occasioned? Rather let prudence and tempercome first from this side. I will undertake for America, that she will follow theexample. … Upon the whole, I will beg leave to tell the House what is really myopinion. It is, that the Stamp Act be repealed absolutely, totally, and immediately;that the reason for the repeal should be assigned, because it was founded on anerroneous principle. At the same time, let the sovereign authority of this countryover the colonies be asserted in as strong terms as can be devised, and bemade to extend every point of legislation whatsoever: that we may bind theirtrade, confine their manufactures, and exercise every power whatsoever, exceptthat of taking money out of their pockets without their consent.

Use the excerpt from William Pitt’s speech to answer the question.Colonists in North America undertook several acts of resistance to the StampAct. These actions helped persuade Pitt and Parliament to repeal the Stamp Actwhile encouraging them to pass the Declaratory Act. Using the excerpt above,answer (A), (B), and (C).

(A) In 2-3 sentences, describe TWO ways in which colonists “have been driven tomadness by injustice.”

(B) In 2-3 sentences, describe TWO ways in which the law encouraged greaterorganization and unity among colonists.

(C) In 2-3 sentences, explain how Pitt’s statement foreshadows the passage of theDeclaratory Act.2.That the said negroes be formed into separate corps as battalions, according tothe arrangements adopted for the main army, to be commanded by whitecommissioned and non commissioned officers. . . .Resolved, That congress willmake provision for paying the proprietors of such negroes as shall be inlisted forthe service of the United States during the war, a full compensation for theproperty at a rate not exceeding one thousand dollars for each active able bodiednegro man of standard size, not exceeding thirty five years of age, who shall beso inlisted and pass muster.That no pay or bounty be allowed to the saidnegroes, but that they be cloathed and subsisted at the expence of the UnitedStates. That every negro who shall well and faithfully serve as a soldier to the

end of the present war, and shall then return his arms, be emancipated andreceive the sum of fifty dollars.The policy of our arming Slaves is, in my opinion, a moot point, unless the enemy setthe example; for should we begin to form Battalions of them, I have not the smallestdoubt (if the War is to be prosecuted) of their following us in it, and justifying themeasure upon our own ground; the upshot then must be, who can arm fastest, andwhere are our Arms? besides, I am not clear that a discrimination will not render Slaverymore irksome to those who remain in it; most of the good and evil things of this life arejudged of by comparison; and I fear a comparison in this case will be productive ofmuch discontent in those who are held in servitude; but as this is a subject that hasnever employed much of my thoughts, these are no more than the first crude Ideas thathave struck me upon the occasion.Use the excerpts from Washington’s Letters to Henry Laurens to answer thequestion.Despite their marginalized status, free and enslaved blacks did take part in theRevolutionary War. Using the excerpt above, answer (A) and (B).(A) In 2-3 sentences, describe how slavery hurt American revolutionary efforts.(B) In 2-3 sentences, identify ways in which these excerpts reflect thecontributions made by free and enslaved Africans during the war.3.A political cartoon shows agiant American rattle snaked curled around two British armies. A sign on thesnake’s tail reads, “An Apartment to Lett for Military Gentlemen.” The snakesays, “Two British Armies I have thus Burgoyn’d, And room for more I’ve gotbehind.” The verse beneath reads, “Britons within the Yankeean Plains, Mindhow ye March & Trench, The Serpent in the Congress reigns, As well as in theFrench.”

At the start of the French and Indian War, Benjamin Franklin used the rattlesnake to represent the American colonies in his cartoon, “Join or Die.” Thesymbol stuck. Here, it appears in a British satirical cartoon. Using thecartoon above, answer (A), (B), and (C).(A) In 2-3 sentences, explain the series of events that led to the Patriots’ victory atYorktown. How does the cartoon reflect conditions at the Battle of Yorktown?(B) What was happening with the American Revolution when the cartoon wasdrawn? Your response should be 1-2 sentences in length.(C) What perspective does the cartoonist offer on these conditions? What doesthe portrayal say about the United States? Your response should be 2-3sentences in length.4.A political cartoon portraysthe United States as Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, and victorious against a defeatedBritain. A sea full of ships divides the two. An explanation beneath the cartoon reads, “I.America sitting on that quarter of the globe with the Flag of the United States displayedover her head; holding in one hand the Olive branch, inviting the ships of all nations topartake of her commerce; and in the other hand supporting the Cap of Liberty. II. Fameproclaiming the joyful news to all the world. III. Britannia weeping at the loss of the tradeof America, attended with an evil genius. IV. The British flag struck, on her strongFortresses. V French, Spanish, Dutch &c shipping in the harbours of America. VI A view

of New York wherein is exhibited the Trator [sic] Arnold, taken with remorse for sellinghis [country?] and Judas like hanging himself.”Consider the cartoon and its explanation. What challenges for the United Statesare implicit in the cartoon? What other challenges will the new nation facefollowing the war? Your response should be a paragraph in length.5.Excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, 1776We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that theyare endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among theseare Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights,Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from theconsent of the governed,—That whenever any Form of Government becomesdestructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, andto institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles andorganizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effecttheir Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments longestablished should not be changed for light and transient causes; andaccordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer,while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms towhich they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations,pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them underabsolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government,and to provide new Guards for their future security.—Such has been the patientsufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrainsthem to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the presentKing of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all havingin direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. Toprove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.Explain events and conditions in Britain’s Thirteen Colonies that culminated inthe ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence. Use the excerpt toanswer (A), (B), and (C).A. What influences on the foundational principles of the United States does theexcerpt contain? Your response should be 4-6 sentences.B. How does the Declaration demonstrate the development of republicanism inthe young nation? Your response should be 4-6 sentences.C. By the summer of 1776, was the American Revolution avoidable? Yourresponse should be 4-6 sentences.