Name: __________________________________ Class: _____________ Date: _____________
Lesson Assessment: The Revolutionary War
1. Who encouraged breaking with England in the treatise Common Sense?
a) John Adams
b) Thomas Paine
c) Thomas Jefferson
d) Richard Henry Lee
2. As used in the Declaration of Independence, the concept of unalienable rights refers to rights
that are ______.
a) granted by the king
b) held in check by the law
c) inherent in our humanity
d) defined by the government
3. What erroneous assumption did British commanders make at the outset of the Revolutionary
War?
a) that Native Americans would side with Britain
b) that Southerners would not join in battle against Britain
c) that slave insurrections would occur throughout the South
d) that Canada would stage its own battles against the Americans
4. The initial fighting of the Revolutionary War fit the description of guerrilla warfare because it
included which of the following?
a) naval blockades
b) unplanned skirmishes
c) hit-and-run ambushes
d) the seizure of British forts
5. Which of the following lists the correct sequence of events in the Revolutionary War?
a) Battle of Bunker Hill, Battle of Saratoga, Battle of Yorktown, Siege of Charleston
b) Battle of Saratoga, Battle of Bunker Hill, Siege of Charleston, Battle of Yorktown
c) Battle of Bunker Hill, Battle of Saratoga, Siege of Charleston, Battle of Yorktown
d) Battle of Saratoga, Battle of Bunker Hill, Battle of Yorktown, Siege of Charleston
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Name: __________________________________ Class: _____________ Date: _____________
Lesson Assessment: The Revolutionary War
6. Why did Washington decide to cross the Delaware to enlist the British at the Battle of
Trenton?
a) He knew that his troops outnumbered the British troops in Trenton.
b) He had just received fresh troops and new supplies at Valley Forge.
c) He wanted to stage an attack before many of his troop’s enlistments expired.
d) He had received word that the British troops were planning to attack from the North.
7. Why is the 1777 Battle of Saratoga often considered a turning point in the Revolutionary War?
a) It forced Britain to negotiate peace terms with the Americans.
b) It convinced France to ally with the United States against Britain.
c) It led states to forge a new government under the Articles of Confederation.
d) It boosted morale as the first major victory for the Continental Army under George
Washington.
8. All of the following were granted to the United States in the Treaty of Paris EXCEPT
_______.
a) sole navigation rights of the Mississippi River
b) formal recognition of its independence from Britain
c) guaranteed access to the fisheries off the coast of Newfoundland
d) territory between Canada and the thirty-first parallel extending to the Mississippi
9. What was the main goal of the Committee of Secret Correspondence, which was created by
the Continental Congress in 1775?
a) to prepare state militias for battle
b) to enforce the boycott of British goods
c) to identify Loyalists among the colonists
d) to garner foreign support for the revolution
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Name: __________________________________ Class: _____________ Date: _____________
Lesson Assessment: The Revolutionary War
10. Which of the following was a major advantage of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary
War?
a) experienced military leaders
b) knowledge of the geography
c) the ability to raise money quickly
d) undivided loyalty of local populations
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Name: __________________________________ Class: _____________ Date: _____________
Lesson Assessment: The Revolutionary War
ANSWER KEY
1. b 3. b 5. c 7. b 9. d
2. c 4. c 6. c 8. a 10. b
COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS
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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and
to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to
support conclusions drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.10 Read and comprehend complex literary and
informational texts independently and proficiently.
CSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.9 Analyze seminal U.S. documents of historical and literary
significance (e.g., Washington’s Farewell Address, the Gettysburg Address, Roosevelt’s Four
Freedoms speech, King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”), including how they address
related themes and concepts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are
used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an
author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text (e.g., how
Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.9 Analyze seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century
foundational U.S. documents of historical and literary significance (including the Declaration
of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Lincoln’s Second
Inaugural Address) for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or
secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the
course of a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.3 Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text;
determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are
used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of
history/social science.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.10 By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend
history/social studies texts in the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and
proficiently.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3 Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and
determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the
text leaves matters uncertain.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.10 By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend
history/social studies texts in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band independently and
proficiently.
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