Y212: the American Revolution 1740-1796 | OCR A-Level History A (H505)

Y212: the American Revolution 1740-1796

79 questions
7 subtopics
Non-British period study, one of twenty-four
Y201 to Y224

The American Revolution 1740–1796 is unit Y212 of OCR History A, one of the twenty-four options in unit group 2, the non-British period study; a student sits one of them.

Its four key topics are the development of British hegemony in America, causes of the American Revolution, the American Revolution 1774–1783 and the early Republic 1783–1796. 79 recall questions across 7 subtopics.

Sample questions from Y212: the American Revolution 1740-1796

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

The development of British hegemony in America: the colonies in 1740, their economies, government and Native relations

Compare the economies of the different British colonial regions.

Show the answer
New England lived by fishing, timber, shipbuilding and carrying trade, the middle colonies exported grain and flour, and the southern colonies grew tobacco in the Chesapeake and rice and indigo further south using large numbers of enslaved Africans.
The development of British hegemony in America: the colonies in 1740, their economies, government and Native relations

Explain what is meant by salutary neglect.

Show the answer
It describes the long period before 1763 in which Parliament rarely legislated for the colonies and trade laws such as the Molasses Act of 1733 were loosely enforced, allowing the colonies to develop habits of self-government and widespread smuggling.
The development of British hegemony in America: territorial expansion to 1765

Explain what the Albany Congress was.

Show the answer
A meeting of colonial delegates with the Iroquois in 1754 to secure Native support and coordinate defence, at which Benjamin Franklin's plan for a permanent union of the colonies was adopted by the delegates but rejected by every colonial assembly and by London.
The development of British hegemony in America: territorial expansion to 1765

Why was Britain successful in the wars with France in America?

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British America had twenty times the population of New France and could raise large provincial forces, the Royal Navy cut French reinforcement and supply, British finance sustained a long war, Prussian resistance kept France occupied in Europe, and Pitt's strategy concentrated resources where they were decisive.
Causes of the American Revolution: relationship between Britain and the colonies

Describe the Stamp Act.

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Passed in 1765, it required a revenue stamp to be bought and fixed to newspapers, pamphlets, legal documents, licences and playing cards, the first direct internal tax Parliament had ever imposed on the colonies.
Causes of the American Revolution: relationship between Britain and the colonies

Describe the Townshend Duties.

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Import duties imposed in 1767 on glass, lead, paper, paint and tea, designed as external customs charges that colonists might accept, and intended to provide a fund to pay governors and judges independently of the colonial assemblies.
Causes of the American Revolution: Tea Act and response, colonial and political ideas

Why did the Quebec Act add to colonial anger?

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Passed in 1774, it extended Quebec's boundary to the Ohio, guaranteed the Catholic Church its position and provided government without an elected assembly, so colonists read it as blocking western settlement and as evidence that Britain intended arbitrary rule.
Causes of the American Revolution: Tea Act and response, colonial and political ideas

How did Samuel Adams help to organise resistance?

Show the answer
He was the leading agitator in Massachusetts, working through the Boston town meeting and the Sons of Liberty, publicising incidents such as the massacre, and creating the committees of correspondence from 1772 that linked the towns and then the colonies.

The 7 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
The development of British hegemony in America: the colonies in 1740, their economies, government and Native relations	Recall questions on the British, French and Spanish in North America in 1740, colonial economies and population growth, colonial government, the Navigation Acts, salutary neglect and relations with Native peoples.	10
The development of British hegemony in America: territorial expansion to 1765	Recall questions on territorial expansion to 1765 and wars with France, reasons for British success including War of Austrian Succession, Seven Years War.	10
Causes of the American Revolution: relationship between Britain and the colonies	Recall questions on the relationship between Britain and the colonies in 1763, British policy and America reaction including Proclamation Act.	10
Causes of the American Revolution: Tea Act and response, colonial and political ideas	Recall questions on Tea Act and response including the Intolerable Acts, developments in political thought and emerging leaders, colonial and political ideas including views on trade and taxation.	10
The American Revolution 1774–1783: move towards independence 1774–1776	Recall questions on the move towards independence 1774–1776 including the first and second Continental Congresses.	9
The American Revolution 1774–1783: Saratoga, the French alliance, Yorktown and the Peace of Paris	Recall questions on Saratoga, the French alliance and widening war, Valley Forge, threats to American unity, the southern strategy, Yorktown, British leadership, the reasons for defeat and the Peace of Paris.	10
The early Republic 1783–1796: the Confederation, the Constitution and Washington’s presidency	Recall questions on the Articles of Confederation, the republic’s economic and foreign problems, Shays’ rebellion, the Philadelphia Convention and its compromises, the Constitution and ratification, Washington’s government and the Bill of Rights.	20

Y212: the American Revolution 1740-1796 is 79 of the 6,240 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.