APUSH Test Questions on the Townshend Acts and Colonial Resistance

📚 Quick Study Guide

• 📜 Townshend Acts (1767): A series of acts passed by the British Parliament imposing duties on goods imported into the American colonies such as tea, glass, and paper.
• 💰 Purpose: To raise revenue from the colonies to pay the salaries of royal officials and assert British authority.
• 😠 Colonial Response: Colonists viewed the acts as a violation of their rights and a form of taxation without representation.
• boycotts and non-importation agreements organized by groups like the Sons of Liberty.
• 🗣️ Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania: John Dickinson's influential essays argued that the Townshend Acts were unconstitutional.
• 💥 Boston Massacre (1770): Rising tensions led to a confrontation between British soldiers and colonists, resulting in the death of several colonists.
• 🍵 Tea Act (1773): Though not part of the original Townshend Acts, it's often linked because it led to the Boston Tea Party, further escalating tensions.
• 🤝 Committees of Correspondence: Organized networks for communication among the colonies, fostering unity and resistance.

✍️ Practice Quiz

1. Which of the following goods was NOT taxed under the Townshend Acts?
   1. A. Tea
   2. B. Sugar
   3. C. Glass
   4. D. Paper
2. What was the primary goal of the Townshend Acts?
   1. A. To promote free trade between Britain and the colonies
   2. B. To punish the colonies for their role in the French and Indian War
   3. C. To raise revenue to pay royal officials
   4. D. To encourage colonial manufacturing
3. Which colonial leader wrote "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania" in response to the Townshend Acts?
   1. A. Samuel Adams
   2. B. John Adams
   3. C. Thomas Jefferson
   4. D. John Dickinson
4. What was the main form of colonial resistance to the Townshend Acts?
   1. A. Armed rebellion
   2. B. Boycotts of British goods
   3. C. Petitioning the King
   4. D. Forming a new government
5. The Boston Massacre occurred in which year?
   1. A. 1765
   2. B. 1770
   3. C. 1773
   4. D. 1775
6. Which act, though not part of the original Townshend Acts, is closely associated with the increased tensions that followed?
   1. A. Stamp Act
   2. B. Quartering Act
   3. C. Tea Act
   4. D. Intolerable Acts
7. What was the purpose of the Committees of Correspondence?
   1. A. To negotiate with the British government
   2. B. To organize colonial militias
   3. C. To facilitate communication and unity among the colonies
   4. D. To enforce the Townshend Acts