Colonial Era

In the Colonial Era, developments such as the New England town meetings and the establishment of the Virginia House of Burgesses represented

• colonial attempts to build a strong national government
• efforts by the British to strengthen their control over the colonies
• steps in the growth of representative democracy
• early social reform movements

According to the Declaration of Independence, the people have the right to alter or abolish a government if that government 

• is a limited monarchy
• violates natural rights 
• becomes involved in entangling alliances
• favors one religion over another

Which fundamental political idea is expressed in the Declaration of Independence?

• The government should guarantee every citizen economic security.
• The central government and state governments should have equal power.
• If the government denies its people certain basic rights, that government can be overthrown.
• Rulers derive their right to govern from God and are therefore bound to govern in the nation’s best interest.

“The only representatives of the people of these colonies are persons chosen therein by themselves; and that no taxes ever have been, or can be constitutionally imposed on them but by their respective legislatures.”     -Statement by the Stamp Act Congress, 1765
What is a valid conclusion that can be drawn from this quotation?

• The colonial legislatures should be appointed by the English King with the consent of Parliament.
  
• Only the colonists’ elected representatives should have the power to levy taxes.
  
• The English King should have the right to tax the colonists.
• The colonists should be opposed to all taxation.
  

The Mayflower Compact is important to the concept of a democratic society because it represents

• an effort by the colonists to use force to resist the King
• a clear step toward self-government
• an early attempt to establish universal suffrage
  
• an attempt by the colonists to establish freedom of religion

The British system of mercantilism was opposed by many American colonists because it

• placed quotas on immigration 
• discouraged the export of raw materials to England
• placed restrictions on trading 
• encouraged colonial manufacturing 

The Mayflower Compact, House of Burgesses, and Fundamental Orders of Connecticut are all examples of the efforts of colonial Americans to

• use democratic practices in government 
• protest British land policies 
• establish religious freedom 
• overthrow British royal governors 

The Mayflower Compact of 1620 is considered an important step in the development of democracy in America because it

• expressed the importance of self-government 
• established freedom of religion 
• created the first colonial judiciary 
• granted all males the right to vote 

During the Revolutionary War period, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was important because it

• described a military plan for the defeat of England
• convinced many Americans who had been undecided to support independence
• contained a detailed outline for a new form of government
• argued for the addition of a bill of rights to the Constitution

In which area did good harbors, abundant forests, rocky soil, and a short growing season most influence the colonial economy?

• Southern colonies
• Middle Atlantic region 
• Northwest territory 
• New England Colonies