CHAPTER 8: A NEW REPUBLIC AND THE RISE OF PARTIES, 1789–1800
Multiple Choice
1. In 1790, the highest percentage of people of English descent lived in __________.
A) the West
B) the mid-Atlantic
C) the South
D) New England
2. There was little use of indentured servants or slaves in New England, because __________.
A) Quakers had the strongest influence of governments in the region
B) most of the region’s people were involved in manufacturing
C) it was an impractical place to cultivate cash crops
D) the government of Massachusetts never allowed either practice
3. What was different about the population of New England compared to other regions?
A) It had the largest number of free blacks in America.
B) Women outnumbered men in parts of the region.
C) Catholics and Quakers made up a great deal of the population.
D) New Englanders exhibited the widest range of social diversity.
4. The most ethnically and religiously diverse region in early America was __________.
A) New England
B) the mid-Atlantic region
C) the Carolinas
D) the Deep South
5. What factor made the South the most populous region in the early United States?
A) the most beneficial job market in the nation
B) a comfortable climate for doing outdoor labor
C) the appeal of a wide range of European-American cultures
D) the presence of a large number of African-American slaves
6. Which of these regions had only a minority slave population?
A) the swampy region of South Carolina
B) the Georgia low country
C) the Piedmont region near the Appalachian Mountains
D) the Tidewater region in eastern Virginia
7. Social tensions between low country and backcountry Southerners included __________.
A) residual hatred over their differing roles in the Revolution
B) the backcountry farmers’ insistence on engaging in commercial farming
C) different interpretations of their shared worship in the Anglican Church
D) vast differences in wealth and religious practices
8. Which geographic region best describes the American West in 1790?
A) from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River
B) from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean
C) from the Appalachian Mountains to the southern Canadian border
D) from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean
9. During the 1780s, __________ in the West.
A) most farmers owned their land
B) the white population surpassed the Native American population
C) there was a robust slave labor force
D) there were more Native Americans that whites
10. Why was the post-Revolution West so isolated?
A) Farmers lived on large plots of land separated from each other.
B) The Appalachian Mountains were a formidable obstacle to contact with eastern states.
C) Large, populous towns were more vulnerable to foreign attack, so few large towns were built in the
early West.
D) Few people were willing to move west.
11. The __________ Amendment discussed the need for a well-regulated militia.
A) First
B) Second
C) Fourth
D) Fifth
12. The __________ Amendment addresses the power balance between the national government and
states.
A) First
B) Fourth
C) Sixth
D) Ninth
13. The first government’s base of support was strengthened by __________.
A) stopping Fries’s Rebellion
B) repealing the Sedition Act
C) passing the Bill of Rights
D) calming Southerners with Jay’s Treaty
14. The Judiciary Act __________.
A) was a heavy-handed move for power by the Federalists
B) showed that Southerners would never compromise on judicial powers
C) was designed to raise revenues
D) represented an artful compromise that balanced legal powers
15. The framers were intentionally vague about the federal judiciary, because __________.
A) they expected individual state judiciaries to be more powerful that the federal courts
B) Antifederalists and states’ rights advocates did not want a federal judiciary enforcing a uniform
judiciary
C) the federal courts were intended to address a limited number of issues
D) they could not agree about what role the federal judiciary should play in national government
16. There was robust debate regarding __________ in the State Department, Treasury, and War
Department.
A) whether slavery as a public policy should be addressed
B) whether women could serve
C) the amount of presidential control over officials
D) how best to earn revenue
17. Sectional differences arose over the debate about __________.
A) nominations to Washington’s cabinet
B) Thomas Jefferson’s appointment as ambassador to France
C) including the right to free expression in the Bill of Rights
D) specific aspects of the Tariff Act of 1789
18. Madison was motivated to strengthen the financial foothold of the federal government, because
__________.
A) the Articles of the Confederation had crippled the government’s ability to secure revenue
B) elections were expensive
C) he believed revenue was important to international trade
D) the government had already spent a substantial amount on wars with Native Americans
19. Why did southerners and northerners disagree about the Tariff Act of 1789?
A) Southerners believed the tax fairly earned revenue from northern manufacturing, whereas northerners
disagreed with the increased financial burden on their factories.
B) The tariff was based on geography, so it was more burdensome to southerners than northerners.
C) Southerners did not want to pay a tariff on slave labor, and northerners wanted a moral take on slavery.
D) The tariff kept down foreign competition for northern manufacturers but made it more expensive for
southerners to buy goods.
20. The first Secretary of Treasury was __________.
A) Thomas Jefferson
B) Alexander Hamilton
C) James Madison
D) John Jay
21. What bold plan did Hamilton create in an effort to address the Revolutionary War debt?
A) paying the debt with duty taxes and refusing to levy internal taxes
B) forcing the individual states to pay off their own accrued debts
C) refusing to have any financial relations with Great Britain
D) having the federal government fund the national debt at its full value
22. Why did some object to Hamilton’s financial plan on republican grounds?
A) They believed the plan would be too costly for trade relations.
B) They believed the plan would slowly eliminate slavery.
C) They believed it was a plan to create permanent national debt.
D) They believed the plan would be too beneficial to industry.
23. To gain southern support for his financial plan, Hamilton offered to __________.
A) win northern support for moving the nation’s capital to a southern location
B) get an appointment for Jefferson as Secretary of State
C) drop all of his proposals that supported the promotion of industry
D) join the party that opposed the Federalists
24. Southerners were most successful in opposing what aspect of Hamilton’s financial plan?
A) his attempts to accelerate industrialization
B) the creation of the Bank of the United States
C) the use of excise taxes to generate revenue
D) the federal government’s funding of the national debt
25. Why were speculators, commercial farmers, and manufacturers supporters of Hamilton’s financial
plan?
A) They were the most integrated into and in control of the market economy.
B) Hamilton’s plan promised them substantial governmental funds and benefits.
C) They were a powerful lobby for creating a permanent national debt.
D) Hamilton’s plan included little regulation of industry.
26. Federalists were alarmed by __________.
A) the Republicans’ call for a stronger central government
B) growing support for the Direct Tax Act of 1798
C) the growing intensity of violence in the French Revolution
D) leaders who expressed broad constructionist views of the Constitution
27. Many Americans initially supported the French Revolution, because __________.
A) France was an important trade partner
B) France had been an ally during the Revolutionary War
C) it distracted France from trying to populate western territories
D) it created global economic instability that benefitted the fledging American government
28. The creation of Democratic-Republican societies in 1793 and 1794 revealed that __________.
A) American citizens were rallying behind the Federalist Party
B) there was a political split in the Republican Party
C) most Americans opposed the goals of the French Revolution
D) many Americans were beginning to support grassroots democracy
29. The Treaty of Greenville was finally signed after what historical event?
A) the Battle of Fallen Timbers
B) Washington’s Farewell Address
C) the signing of the Jay Treaty
D) the establishment of a National Bank
30. The Battle of Fallen Timbers resulted in __________.
A) an embarrassing defeat of the American army
B) a public humiliation for the Washington administration
C) the firing of Arthur St. Clair
D) the decisive defeat of the Ohio Indians
31. The Battle of Fallen Timbers led to a new treaty, the __________.
A) Treaty of Greenville
B) Pinckney Treaty
C) Jay Treaty
D) Wayne Treaty
32. The Whiskey Rebellion was spurred by __________.
A) opposition to Hamilton’s excise tax
B) a move by Congress to institute the prohibition of alcohol consumption
C) the Federalists’ refusal to permit the interstate sale of alcohol
D) farmers’ support for the French Revolution
33. Why did western Pennsylvanians start brewing their grain into whiskey?
A) The invention of the still increased interest in making whiskey.
B) The high cost of transport made it unprofitable to transport grain to the east.
C) Their grain crops were diseased and only fit for distillation.
D) They could sell most of their whiskey to Native Americans, who would not have purchased grain.
34. John Jay was sent to London in 1794 to __________.
A) negotiate for American expansion into Canada
B) seek new markets for American tobacco and cotton
C) threaten the British Parliament
D) avert war with England over disputes about trade
35. Jay’s Treaty was especially unpopular with __________.
A) northern manufacturers
B) creditors
C) Federalists
D) Southerners
36. The Treaty of San Lorenzo (Pinckney’s Treaty) __________.
A) excluded Americans from New Orleans
B) established the northern boundary of Spanish Florida
C) ceded the Louisiana Territory to France
D) transferred Spain’s Caribbean colonies to the United States
37. In his Farewell Address, Washington devoted most of his time to __________.
A) denouncing partisan politics
B) calling for foreign alliances
C) praising Alexander Hamilton
D) reminiscing about the Revolution
38. The XYZ Affair almost caused __________.
A) a declaration of war against France
B) the impeachment of John Adams
C) a trade embargo against England
D) the deportation of immigrants
39. Why did the Directory dislike the Jay Treaty?
A) It limited the availability of weapons globally.
B) The treaty undermined French interests in the Canadian territory.
C) They saw it as evidence of an Anglo-American alliance against France.
D) They believed it was a threat to the French Revolution.
40. The Quasi-War of 1798 was so-called because __________.
A) the official declaration of war listed the wrong enemy
B) it was an undeclared war against the French in the Caribbean
C) there were no casualties
D) the war required no expenditure of government funds
41. Washington’s Farewell Address set the tone for American foreign policy, which was __________.
A) anti-isolationist
B) isolationist
C) neutrality
D) aggressive and dominant
42. Why did Adams reopen negotiations with France in 1799?
A) He wanted to secure France as an ally in fighting Native Americans.
B) He feared France’s ability to disrupt American trade.
C) He understood America’s strong emotional connection with France.
D) He was unwilling to militarize the government and take on war debt.
43. The Federalists targeted immigrants in the Alien Acts because __________.
A) many immigrants were spying for France
B) the Federalists wanted a nation of English-Americans only
C) many immigrants voted for the Republican Party
D) leaders of the Republican Party had not been born in North America
44. The Sedition Act can easily be seen as a violation of __________.
A) the election promises made by Adams
B) Hamilton’s political ideals
C) the belief in a strong national government
D) First Amendment rights
45. Which of the following is true of the Alien and Sedition Acts?
A) They were designed to increase protests against the government.
B) Federalist judges were biased in enforcing the acts.
C) No one was actually imprisoned under its statutes.
D) They were supported by Democratic-Republican Societies.
46. Fries’s Rebellion was spurred by __________.
A) opposition to the Alien Acts
B) discontent over trade policies with England
C) the XYZ affair
D) anger over the Direct Tax of 1798
47. John Adams __________.
A) hoped to militarily suppress the Republicans
B) opposed the Alien and Sedition Acts
C) agreed with Hamilton throughout his presidency
D) defied his party in negotiating the Franco-American Accord of 1800
48. The Franco-American Accord of 1800 __________.
A) hurt Jefferson’s chances to become president
B) showed that Hamilton was thinking of changing his approach to France
C) revealed that Hamiltonian Federalists were losing popularity and political strength
D) nearly led to war with Spain
49. A Deist believes __________.
A) in God as a creator, but not as a being who intervenes in earthly affairs
B) that a republican state should include a national religion
C) in God as the master force behind all earthly matters
D) that school prayer and required reading of the Bible are key political issues
50. In what way do Deists think of God as a clockmaker?
A) God created the world and is involved in its operation.
B) God sets events into motion that play out in a pre-planned way.
C) God tinkers with human affairs.
D) God creates universal laws by which the world operates.
Essay Questions
51. What were the key causes and events that illustrate that the 1790s was a decade of growing
partisanship in American politics?
52. What were the different visions of America expressed by Federalists and Republicans?
53. What developments of the 1790s resulted in the rise of the Republican Party? What mistakes did the
Federalists make?