AP U.S. History: Period 3 (1754–1800) (Drill 3)

Question 1. Paine's distinction between 'society' and 'government' in this passage primarily serves to

• A) argue that colonial assemblies should be granted the same legal authority as the British Parliament
• B) establish a philosophical foundation for limiting governmental power and, by extension, justifying resistance to British authority ✓
• C) argue that representative governments are inherently superior to hereditary monarchies and should replace them throughout the Atlantic world
• D) warn colonists that excessive democracy would lead to social disorder and the collapse of civic institutions

Explanation: Choice B is correct. By characterizing government as a 'necessary evil' rooted in human wickedness rather than a positive good, Paine builds a philosophical case that government's power should be minimal and that resistance to tyrannical government is justified. This framework directly supports the argument for independence. Choice A is incorrect. Paine is not arguing for equal legal authority between colonial and British legislative bodies; he is arguing against monarchy and hereditary government altogether. Choice C is incorrect. While Paine does argue that representative government is superior to hereditary monarchy, the specific purpose of this passage's society-versus-government distinction is not to make that comparison; it is to establish that government is a necessary evil and that tyrannical government can be resisted. The passage moves toward justifying independence, not merely advocating for representation. Choice D is incorrect. Paine makes no warning about excessive democracy. His argument moves in the opposite direction, toward limiting government, not increasing it.

Question 2. The phrase 'the palaces of kings are built upon the ruins of the bowers of paradise' most directly conveys Paine's view that

• A) monarchies depend on the destruction of natural human happiness and innocent social life to maintain their authority ✓
• B) the wealth of European monarchs was derived from the exploitation of colonial resources in the Americas
• C) republican government could only succeed in the New World, where the corrupting influence of European monarchy had not yet taken hold
• D) religious institutions had been complicit in supporting monarchical power at the expense of ordinary people

Explanation: Choice A is correct. Paine uses this metaphor to argue that monarchy literally destroys ('ruins') the natural paradise of innocent human social life ('bowers of paradise'). Kings build their power on the wreckage of natural human happiness, a powerful moral indictment of hereditary rule. Choice B is incorrect. While Paine was aware of colonial exploitation, this specific metaphor is philosophical and moral, not an economic argument about colonial resource extraction. Choice C is incorrect. While Paine does argue that America is uniquely suited for republican government elsewhere in Common Sense, this specific passage is making a philosophical point about monarchy in general, not a geographic argument. Choice D is incorrect. There is no reference to religious institutions in this passage. Paine's target is monarchy and hereditary government, not the church.

Question 3. Common Sense was most significant in the context of the American Revolution because it

• A) provided the legal and constitutional arguments that colonial lawyers used in challenging Parliament's authority to tax the colonies
• B) shifted the debate from seeking reconciliation with Britain to arguing for complete and immediate independence ✓
• C) convinced moderate Loyalists in colonies like New York and Pennsylvania to abandon their support for the British Crown
• D) served as the primary philosophical source for the Declaration of Independence, which Jefferson drafted largely by quoting Paine directly

Explanation: Choice B is correct. Before Common Sense, the dominant colonial position was to seek reconciliation with Britain while defending colonial rights. Paine's pamphlet was revolutionary in arguing forcefully and in plain language for complete independence, shifting public and political opinion dramatically in the months before the Declaration of Independence. Choice A is incorrect. Common Sense is not primarily a legal or constitutional document. The constitutional arguments against parliamentary taxation had already been made by others like John Dickinson; Paine was making a broader moral and political case. Choice C is incorrect. While Common Sense influenced many colonists, it did not convert large numbers of Loyalists. Many remained loyal despite Paine's arguments. Choice D is incorrect. Jefferson did not quote Paine directly in the Declaration of Independence. Both drew on Enlightenment philosophy, but the Declaration reflects Jefferson's own thinking and language, not Paine's.

Question 4. Paine's argument that 'the more simple anything is, the less liable it is to be disordered' reflects the influence of which of the following intellectual traditions?

• A) Puritan theology, which taught that human institutions should reflect the simplicity and purity of early Christian communities
• B) Enlightenment rationalism, which held that natural laws and reason should guide the design of human institutions ✓
• C) Classical republicanism, which argued that virtue in citizens was more important than the structure of government itself
• D) Mercantile economics, which held that simple trade relationships between colonies and the mother country produced the greatest prosperity

Explanation: Choice B is correct. Paine explicitly frames his argument in terms of principles found 'in nature' and appeals to reason as the guide for institutional design, hallmarks of Enlightenment rationalism. His belief that simple, natural structures are superior to complex, artificial ones reflects the influence of thinkers like Locke and Rousseau. Choice A is incorrect. While Paine was writing in a culture shaped by Protestant Christianity, his argument here is secular and rational, not theological. He appeals to nature and reason, not scripture or Puritan tradition. Choice C is incorrect. Classical republicanism emphasized civic virtue and the character of citizens, but Paine's specific claim here is about the structural design of government, not the virtue of its participants. Choice D is incorrect. Mercantile economic theory has no relevance to this philosophical argument about the structural simplicity of government.

Question 5. Which of the following most directly occurred as a result of the widespread circulation of Common Sense in early 1776?

• A) the convening of the First Continental Congress, which organized the first coordinated colonial response to British taxation
• B) the passage of the Intolerable Acts by Parliament, which further unified colonial resistance to British authority
• C) a significant shift in colonial public opinion that increased support for independence and placed pressure on the Continental Congress to act ✓
• D) the expansion of colonial militia mobilization following the battles of Lexington and Concord, which had already begun before Common Sense was published

Explanation: Choice C is correct. Common Sense sold hundreds of thousands of copies and dramatically shifted colonial public opinion toward independence. Its plain language reached ordinary colonists, not just educated elites, and created political pressure on the Continental Congress that helped produce the Declaration of Independence in July 1776. Choice A is incorrect. The First Continental Congress met in 1774, nearly two years before Common Sense was published in January 1776. Choice B is incorrect. The Intolerable Acts were passed by Parliament in 1774, also before Common Sense was published. Paine did not cause Parliament to act. Choice D is incorrect. Militia mobilization following Lexington and Concord was already well underway by the time Common Sense was published in January 1776. The pamphlet did not cause militia expansion; it channeled existing military conflict into a political argument for independence.