Changes

:16. President John Adams had an undeclared naval war against which nation?

:16. President John Adams had an undeclared naval war against which nation?

:(a) the Confederacy

::(a) the Confederacy

:(b) England

::(b) England

:(c) Spain

::(c) Spain

:(d) France

::(d) France

Suppose you do not know the answer immediately.  How can you figure it out?  First, estimate when John Adams was president (1797-1801).  That time period rules out choice (a) as the correct answer, because the Confederacy did not arise until the Civil War beginning in 1861.  That improves our chance of guessing the correct answer from 1 in 4 to a better 1 in 3.

Suppose you do not know the answer immediately.  How can you figure it out?  First, estimate when John Adams was president (1797-1801).  That time period rules out choice (a) as the correct answer, because the Confederacy did not arise until the Civil War beginning in 1861.  This improves our chance of guessing the correct answer from 1 in 4 to a better 1 in 3.

Next we can rule out choice (b) as the correct answer, because John Adams had been a diplomat to England and was a member of the Federalist Party which was pro-British.  Adams had even successfully defended the British soldiers who were prosecuted for the Boston Massacre.  Now our changes of guessing the correct answer improves to 1 in 2, a choice between Spain and France.

Next we can rule out choice (b) as the correct answer, because John Adams had been a diplomat to England and was a member of the Federalist Party, which was pro-British.  Adams had even successfully defended the British soldiers who were prosecuted for the Boston Massacre.  It was Adams' rival, Thomas Jefferson, who was pro-France.  By eliminating England as the answer, our changes of guessing the correct answer improves to 1 in 2, a choice between only Spain and France.

Spain, choice (c), can be eliminated as the answer because its navy was mostly destroyed by Britain in the Spanish Armada in 1588, and it did not have any involvement with the British colonies in North America.  But France did.  It was at war with Britain in the French and Indian War, and France sold us land in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.  As the only remaining choice, France (choice (d)) is the correct answer.

Spain, choice (c), can be eliminated as the answer because its navy was mostly destroyed by Britain in the Spanish Armada in 1588, and it did not have any involvement with the British colonies in North America.  But France did.  It was at war with Britain in the French and Indian War, and France sold us land in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.  As the only remaining choice, France (choice (d)) is the correct answer.