Question

after the colonies declared and then won their independence, the united states no longer had to follow british laws. the country started producing its own official coins in 1792. the number of coins made each year was not nearly enough to satisfy the needs of the people. therefore, the spanish - milled dollar and other foreign coins remained in use. actually, one - quarter of the coins in the united states were made in spain.
in 1857 congress passed the coinage act. earlier laws had allowed citizens to use coins from other countries. congress revised those laws by passing the coinage act, which made it illegal to use foreign coins in the united states. citizens still owned a lot of silver coins from other nations. the u.s. mint came up with a way to help remove these coins from circulation. it allowed people to exchange them for copper u.s. coins for the next two years. the mint took in a lot of silver. since silver was worth more than copper, the mint profited. in fact, in 1858, the mint made enough silver to pay for all of its operating costs.
six years later the government passed the national banking act. this law created a national banking system and set up a national currency. for the first time, the united states had a single form of money that everybody used. the government began to offer paper money called greenbacks. having a national currency made it simpler for people to pay for the goods they needed.

1. what effect did british laws about coins have on the american colonies?

a they forced the colonists to use only paper money.
b they made it difficult for the colonists to find money.
c they kept the colonists from using any foreign money.
d they prevented the colonists from using money for business.

1. what is the central idea of paragraph 3?

a colonists were unhappy with english laws.
b england wanted to run businesses in the colonies.
c colonists found many different ways to buy things.
d native americans had the same money as the colonists.

Explanation:

1. The text mentions that after the colonies declared and won independence, the U.S. started producing its own coins but the supply was insufficient, and foreign coins like the Spanish - milled dollar remained in use. This implies that British laws made it difficult for colonists to find enough money. There is no mention of being forced to use only paper money, being kept from using foreign money, or being prevented from using money for business.
2. Paragraph 3 is not visible in full, but based on the context of the overall text which is about the money - related situation in the colonies and the U.S., none of the options in question 2 seem to be related to the main idea of the text which is about the development of currency in the U.S. after independence. However, if we consider the general theme of the text about money and laws, the idea that colonists were unhappy with English laws (especially related to money) could be a central idea.

Answer:

1. B. They made it difficult for the colonists to find money.
2. A. Colonists were unhappy with English laws.