Declaration of Independence Quizzes
Think you’ve got your head wrapped around Declaration of Independence? Put your knowledge to
the test. Good luck — the Stickman is counting on you!
Q. Which of these events was a major contributor to anti-British sentiment in the colonies?
Firing on Fort Sumter
The Stamp Act
The Season 8 finale of Doctor Who
The XYZ Affair
Q. Why did the British style of governance change rather suddenly in the colonies in the 1760s?
Debt brought on by the French and Indian War meant Britain needed more revenue.
Increasing threats from neighboring Spanish and French colonies made the British worried about losing control of the colonies.
King George III went through a bad breakup, making him temperamental and angry towards anyone who seemed happier than him.
The discovery of gold in North America
Q. Who else was on the Committee of Five drafting the Declaration of Independence besides Thomas Jefferson?
Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman
Samuel Adams, John Adams, George Washington, and John Hancock
Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, FDR, and Arnold Schwarzenegger
Roger Sherman, Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin, and James Monroe
Q. Why were the colonists so angry about the Stamp Act, the Revenue Act, and the Townshend Acts?
The British government kept changing policies, seemingly at a whim, with each new first minister, and it was difficult to keep up.
The colonists did not consider themselves British subjects, and therefore resented any legislated passed by Parliament that was enforced in America.
Each of those pieces of legislation raised taxes on the colonists, without granting them representation in Parliament.
Because they increasingly criminalized various forms of entertainment, including dancing, card-playing, and orchestral concerts.
Q. Was the decision to declare independence essentially unanimous among the colonies?
No, there was strong public support and a majority in Congress, but there were also a number of Loyalists in the colonies, as well as people who thought declaring independence was too drastic a decision.
Yes, by 1776 the American colonists resented the British governance so acutely, there was overwhelming support and no one dared oppose the resolution.
It was pretty split down the middle.
No, the Committee of Five seized control of the Continental Congress and declared themselves dictators for a month until the Declaration was finished.