Study GuidesExam QuestionsPast Papers
AP®HistoryCollege BoardUS HistoryExam QuestionsPeriod 3: 1754-1800The American Revolution

The American Revolution (College Board AP® US History): Exam Questions

5 mins5 questions
11 mark
Illustration shows a large rattlesnake labelled with US colony names, coiled across a countryside landscape, symbolising unity and defence during colonial times.
James Gillray, The American Rattle Snake, 12th April 1782

The snakes tongue states “Two British Armies I have thus Burgoyn’d, And room for more I’ve got behind”. The snakes tail holds a sign saying “An apartment to let for Military Gentlemen”

The imagery of the rattlesnake in the cartoon is most closely associated with which of the following earlier symbols of American resistance?

  • The "Join, or Die" cartoon by Benjamin Franklin

  • The Gadsden Flag, with its motto "Don’t Tread on Me"

  • The Sons of Liberty’s use of effigy burning as a protest tactic

  • The use of Committees of Correspondence to spread revolutionary ideas

Choose your answer

Did this page help you?

21 mark
Illustration shows a large rattlesnake labelled with US colony names, coiled across a countryside landscape, symbolising unity and defence during colonial times.
James Gillray, The American Rattle Snake, 12th April 1782

The snakes tongue states “Two British Armies I have thus Burgoyn’d, And room for more I’ve got behind”. The snakes tail holds a sign saying “An apartment to let for Military Gentlemen”

The phrase “Two British Armies I have thus Burgoyn’d” in the cartoon most directly refers to which of the following?

  • The British evacuation of Boston

  • The British attempt to capture Charleston in 1780

  • The Battle of Saratoga

  • The Battle of Bennington

Choose your answer

Did this page help you?

31 mark
Illustration shows a large rattlesnake labelled with US colony names, coiled across a countryside landscape, symbolising unity and defence during colonial times.
James Gillray, The American Rattle Snake, 12th April 1782

The snakes tongue states “Two British Armies I have thus Burgoyn’d, And room for more I’ve got behind”. The snakes tail holds a sign saying “An apartment to let for Military Gentlemen”

The cartoon most directly supports which of the following arguments about the American Revolution?

  • The British defeat was inevitable due to the structural weaknesses of the empire, rather than specific military failures

  • The American Revolution was primarily a civil war between Patriots and Loyalists rather than a war for independence

  • The Revolution was won primarily because of France’s intervention rather than American military efforts

  • The British loss was largely due to their underestimation of American military strategy and resilience

Choose your answer

Did this page help you?

41 mark

"ARTICLE I. The garrisons of York and Gloucester including the officers and seamen of his Britannic Majesty’s ships, as well as other mariners, to surrender themselves prisoners of war to the combined forces of America and France. The land troops to remain prisoners to the United States, the navy to the naval army of his Most Christian Majesty. Granted."

Articles of Capitulation, Yorktown, October 19th, 1781

The excerpt most directly reflects which broader cause of the American victory in the Revolutionary War?

  • The significant role played by militias in securing American independence

  •  The logistical challenges Britain faced due to the distance

  • The military cooperation between American and French forces against Britain

  • The success of guerrilla warfare tactics in disrupting British supply lines

Choose your answer

Did this page help you?

51 mark

"ARTICLE I. The garrisons of York and Gloucester including the officers and seamen of his Britannic Majesty’s ships, as well as other mariners, to surrender themselves prisoners of war to the combined forces of America and France. The land troops to remain prisoners to the United States, the navy to the naval army of his Most Christian Majesty. Granted."

Articles of Capitulation, Yorktown, October 19th, 1781

The terms outlined in the excerpt are most similar to which of the following earlier events in the American Revolution? 

  • The consequences of the Battle of Saratoga in 1777

  • The outcomes of the Siege of Charleston in 1780 

  • The military decisions following the Siege of Boston in 1776

  • The results of the Siege of Fort Ticonderoga in 1777

Choose your answer

Did this page help you?