Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) Practice Exam

Which of the following statements is not true about the time of the American Revolution?

1. Most white residents of the 13 colonies were of northern or western European descent

2. The Naturalization Act of 1790 made citizenship available only to free white men of European descent

3. The right to be educated in the language spoken at home was first granted during the 1820s to Pennsylvania's German-speaking population

4. Less than half of all southern whites belonged to slave-owning families

The correct answer is: The right to be educated in the language spoken at home was first granted during the 1820s to Pennsylvania's German-speaking population

The statement regarding the right to be educated in the language spoken at home being first granted during the 1820s to Pennsylvania's German-speaking population is not accurate when considering the broader historical context of the time of the American Revolution. During and after the American Revolution, the focus on education and language rights was limited, and additional developments took place in the subsequent decades. The first public schools in the United States, which promoted the idea of schooling in the native languages of immigrant populations, did arise later, particularly with the increasing immigrant populations and the push for public education in the 19th century. The specific inclusion of German-speaking populations in Pennsylvania pertains to changes that occurred well after the Revolution, as that era was marked by different considerations and a foundational establishment of the English language in American education. In contrast, the other statements accurately reflect the historical context of the time. The demographic makeup of the 13 colonies was predominantly Northern and Western European, which provided a basis for the Naturalization Act of 1790. Additionally, understanding the social structure of the Southern states is pivotal in grasping the complexity of slavery and its impact; hence, information regarding the proportion of slave-owning families is supported by historical data from that period.