Question 1

In the mid-nineteenth century, what percentage of all slaves worked as field hands?

Accepted Answer

A)  35 percent 
B)  50 percent 
C)  60 percent 
D)  75 percent 
A)  35 percent 
B)  50 percent 
C)  60 percent 
D)  75 percent

Question 2

In what sort of communities did most slaves live from 1800 to 1860?

Accepted Answer

A)  in groups of 10 or more on plantations 
B)  in groups of 5 or fewer on small farms 
C)  in gangs of about 100 on commercial farms 
D)  dispersed in small groups on small farms 
A)  in groups of 10 or more on plantations 
B)  in groups of 5 or fewer on small farms 
C)  in gangs of about 100 on commercial farms 
D)  dispersed in small groups on small farms

Question 3

Why was Harriet Tubman unusual as a runaway slave?

Accepted Answer

A)  She was a woman, and most runaways were young men. 
B)  She was a Christian, and most runaways practiced African religions. 
C)  She escaped alone, and most runaways escaped in large groups. 
D)  Her master never offered a reward for her return or made any effort to find her. 
A)  She was a woman, and most runaways were young men. 
B)  She was a Christian, and most runaways practiced African religions. 
C)  She escaped alone, and most runaways escaped in large groups. 
D)  Her master never offered a reward for her return or made any effort to find her.

Question 4

About what proportion of white Southerners did not own any slaves?

Accepted Answer

A)  two-thirds 
B)  one-third 
C)  one-half 
D)  three-quarters 
A)  two-thirds 
B)  one-third 
C)  one-half 
D)  three-quarters

Question 5

How did field workers on cotton plantations generally do farm work?

Accepted Answer

A)  in gangs of 20 to 25, under the supervision of overseers with whips 
B)  independently and at their own pace 
C)  by working as family units on their own plots of land 
D)  divided by gender into gangs with same-sex overseers 
A)  in gangs of 20 to 25, under the supervision of overseers with whips 
B)  independently and at their own pace 
C)  by working as family units on their own plots of land 
D)  divided by gender into gangs with same-sex overseers

Question 6

Why did white Southerners fear the presence of free blacks in their midst?

Accepted Answer

A)  Free blacks challenged the basic assumption that white equaled freedom and black equaled slavery. 
B)  Free blacks had the same legal rights as whites. 
C)  Free blacks were constantly involved in leading slave rebellions. 
D)  By 1860, free blacks had become the largest group in southern society. 
A)  Free blacks challenged the basic assumption that white equaled freedom and black equaled slavery. 
B)  Free blacks had the same legal rights as whites. 
C)  Free blacks were constantly involved in leading slave rebellions. 
D)  By 1860, free blacks had become the largest group in southern society.

Question 7

Which statement best describes changes in American society after 1793?

Accepted Answer

A)  While the North became more urban and industrial, the South became a slave society. 
B)  Urban and industrial development proceeded at an equal rate in the North and the South. 
C)  The South abandoned the agrarian ideal, but the North continued to embrace it. 
D)  The South led the North in building canals and railroads. 
A)  While the North became more urban and industrial, the South became a slave society. 
B)  Urban and industrial development proceeded at an equal rate in the North and the South. 
C)  The South abandoned the agrarian ideal, but the North continued to embrace it. 
D)  The South led the North in building canals and railroads.

Question 8

Of all the New World slave societies, the one that existed in the South was the only one that __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  grew by natural increase 
B)  freed the children of slaves 
C)  imported its slaves from Africa 
D)  never had a slave rebellion 
A)  grew by natural increase 
B)  freed the children of slaves 
C)  imported its slaves from Africa 
D)  never had a slave rebellion

Question 9

What did Mary Boykin Chesnut, the wife of a South Carolina slave owner, mean when she described the plantation elite in her diary as being part of "a monstrous system"?

Accepted Answer

A)  White masters sexually abused their female slaves and rarely acknowledged fathering mixed-race slave children. 
B)  Plantation mistresses frequently whipped their house slaves, often more violently than how a man would administer the punishment. 
C)  Planters sometimes had loving, long-term intimate relationships with female slaves, which Chesnut believed to be immoral. 
D)  Plantation mistresses lived hard lives in relative isolation with infrequent contact with outsiders. 
A)  White masters sexually abused their female slaves and rarely acknowledged fathering mixed-race slave children. 
B)  Plantation mistresses frequently whipped their house slaves, often more violently than how a man would administer the punishment. 
C)  Planters sometimes had loving, long-term intimate relationships with female slaves, which Chesnut believed to be immoral. 
D)  Plantation mistresses lived hard lives in relative isolation with infrequent contact with outsiders.

Question 10

Why were slave children taught to call all adults of a certain age "aunt" or "uncle" and children of their own age "brother" and "sister"?

Accepted Answer

A)  Since slave marriages were often broken or slave children separated from their parents, slave communities sought to act like extended families. 
B)  Since slave marriage was illegal, children had no idea who their real relatives were. 
C)  White masters insisted that their slaves mimic white patterns of addressing each other. 
D)  If the slaves on a plantation made it appear they were all blood relatives, they could convince the master not to sell and send any of them away. 
A)  Since slave marriages were often broken or slave children separated from their parents, slave communities sought to act like extended families. 
B)  Since slave marriage was illegal, children had no idea who their real relatives were. 
C)  White masters insisted that their slaves mimic white patterns of addressing each other. 
D)  If the slaves on a plantation made it appear they were all blood relatives, they could convince the master not to sell and send any of them away.

Question 11

Slave marriages __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  were expressly forbidden by most slave owners 
B)  were considered legal in most southern states 
C)  were encouraged by most owners 
D)  had little chance to survive 
A)  were expressly forbidden by most slave owners 
B)  were considered legal in most southern states 
C)  were encouraged by most owners 
D)  had little chance to survive

Question 12

Why might wealthy cotton planters have viewed successful commercial and industrial enterprises in southern towns with suspicion?

Accepted Answer

A)  The growth of commerce and industry threatened the slave system in southern cities, as well as planters' social and political leadership in the South. 
B)  Since manufacturing required free labor, it threatened to make slave labor less valuable. 
C)  Poor whites might find it too easy to buy or rent land and would no longer want to sharecrop for planters. 
D)  Goods produced by slave artisans on plantations would be driven off the market by cheap manufactures. 
A)  The growth of commerce and industry threatened the slave system in southern cities, as well as planters' social and political leadership in the South. 
B)  Since manufacturing required free labor, it threatened to make slave labor less valuable. 
C)  Poor whites might find it too easy to buy or rent land and would no longer want to sharecrop for planters. 
D)  Goods produced by slave artisans on plantations would be driven off the market by cheap manufactures.

Question 13

How did the growth of cotton production in the Lower South and the Old Southwest transform the national economy by 1860?

Accepted Answer

A)  Cotton made up nearly 60 percent of American exports. 
B)  Most southern cotton was sold at the local level, rather than at the national or international level. 
C)  New England merchants and investors faced economic ruin as they were excluded from the sale and transport of cotton to European industrialized nations. 
D)  The price and number of slaves in cotton-producing areas of the Lower South and Old Southwest decreased rapidly as the cotton gin made it easier to prepare cotton for sale. 
A)  Cotton made up nearly 60 percent of American exports. 
B)  Most southern cotton was sold at the local level, rather than at the national or international level. 
C)  New England merchants and investors faced economic ruin as they were excluded from the sale and transport of cotton to European industrialized nations. 
D)  The price and number of slaves in cotton-producing areas of the Lower South and Old Southwest decreased rapidly as the cotton gin made it easier to prepare cotton for sale.

Question 14

Although free blacks in the North could not, many blacks in the South, both free and slave, worked __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  in professions such as medicine and law 
B)  in skilled trades such as carpentering and blacksmithing 
C)  as butlers and valets 
D)  in domestic service 
A)  in professions such as medicine and law 
B)  in skilled trades such as carpentering and blacksmithing 
C)  as butlers and valets 
D)  in domestic service

Question 15

Most runaway slaves were __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  young men 
B)  young women 
C)  older men 
D)  older women 
A)  young men 
B)  young women 
C)  older men 
D)  older women

Question 16

George Fitzhugh defended slavery, claiming __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  it was justified by the Bible 
B)  slaves were better off than northern "wage slaves" 
C)  the Constitution explicitly protected slavery 
D)  might makes right 
A)  it was justified by the Bible 
B)  slaves were better off than northern "wage slaves" 
C)  the Constitution explicitly protected slavery 
D)  might makes right

Question 17

What was life like for slaves living on a large plantation in the South in the early nineteenth century? How much control did masters have? How did slaves exert control over their own lives?

Accepted Answer

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Question 18

In the first half of the nineteenth century, the American economy __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  benefited greatly from the connection between southern slavery and northern industry 
B)  suffered because of the South's slave system 
C)  depended primarily on northern industrial production 
D)  depended primarily on profits from slave-grown cotton 
A)  benefited greatly from the connection between southern slavery and northern industry 
B)  suffered because of the South's slave system 
C)  depended primarily on northern industrial production 
D)  depended primarily on profits from slave-grown cotton

Question 19

As the experiences of James G. Birney and the Grimké sisters demonstrate, Southerners who questioned slavery were __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  pressured to leave the South if they would not be silent 
B)  tolerated by Southerners confident of slavery's superiority 
C)  extremely rare and had little influence 
D)  among the most enthusiastic supporters of secession 
A)  pressured to leave the South if they would not be silent 
B)  tolerated by Southerners confident of slavery's superiority 
C)  extremely rare and had little influence 
D)  among the most enthusiastic supporters of secession

Question 20

What uncomfortable truth that many Southerners would have preferred to ignore was demonstrated by Nat Turner's revolt?

Accepted Answer

A)  Only force kept African Americans enslaved. 
B)  Most Southerners were secretly opposed to slavery. 
C)  Unless slaves were Christianized, they would continue to rebel. 
D)  The greatest threat to slavery came from free blacks. 
A)  Only force kept African Americans enslaved. 
B)  Most Southerners were secretly opposed to slavery. 
C)  Unless slaves were Christianized, they would continue to rebel. 
D)  The greatest threat to slavery came from free blacks.

Exam 10: The South and Slavery

In the mid-nineteenth century, what percentage of all slaves worked as field hands?

In what sort of communities did most slaves live from 1800 to 1860?

Why was Harriet Tubman unusual as a runaway slave?

About what proportion of white Southerners did not own any slaves?

How did field workers on cotton plantations generally do farm work?

Why did white Southerners fear the presence of free blacks in their midst?

Which statement best describes changes in American society after 1793?

Of all the New World slave societies, the one that existed in the South was the only one that __________.

What did Mary Boykin Chesnut, the wife of a South Carolina slave owner, mean when she described the plantation elite in her diary as being part of "a monstrous system"?

Why were slave children taught to call all adults of a certain age "aunt" or "uncle" and children of their own age "brother" and "sister"?

Slave marriages __________.

Why might wealthy cotton planters have viewed successful commercial and industrial enterprises in southern towns with suspicion?

How did the growth of cotton production in the Lower South and the Old Southwest transform the national economy by 1860?

Although free blacks in the North could not, many blacks in the South, both free and slave, worked __________.

Most runaway slaves were __________.

George Fitzhugh defended slavery, claiming __________.

What was life like for slaves living on a large plantation in the South in the early nineteenth century? How much control did masters have? How did slaves exert control over their own lives?

In the first half of the nineteenth century, the American economy __________.

As the experiences of James G. Birney and the Grimké sisters demonstrate, Southerners who questioned slavery were __________.

What uncomfortable truth that many Southerners would have preferred to ignore was demonstrated by Nat Turner's revolt?

A Continent of Villages

When Worlds Collide

Planting Colonies in North America

Slavery and Empire

The Cultures of Colonial North America

From Empire to Independence

The American Revolution

The New Nation

An Empire for Liberty

The Growth of Democracy

Industry and the North

Immigration

The Territorial Expansion of the United States

The Coming Crisis

The Civil War

Reconstruction

The Trans-Mississippi West

Production and Consumption in the Gilded Age

Democracy and Empire

Urban America and the Progressive Era

The United States in the Era of the Great War

The Twenties

The Great Depression and the New Deal

World War Ii

The Cold War Begins

America at Mid-Century

The Civil Rights Movement

War Abroad

The Conservative Ascendancy

Inequality in the Global Age

Filters