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72. In which role was a slave most likely to experience the harshest conditions?
a. doing fieldwork on a sugar plantation in southern Louisiana
b. doing fieldwork on a rice plantation in South Carolina
c. manning a riverboat on the Mississippi
d. serving the master and his family in “the house” on a large plantation
e. serving as overseer on a cotton plantation in Alabama.
73. Urban slaves
a. most often were servants, cooks, and other domestic servants.
b. was a term coined by southerners to describe northern factory workers.
c. had less autonomy than plantation slaves because there were more authorities to watch them.
d. could work on their own and always kept the majority of their earnings.
e. increasingly replaced skilled white laborers as the Civil War approached.
74. The plantation masters had many means to maintain order among their slaves. According to the text, what was the most
powerful weapon the plantation masters had?
a. requiring slaves to attend church
b. the threat of sale
c. exploiting the divisions among slaves
d. withholding food
e. denying a marriage between two slaves
75. Which is true of slave communities in the American South?
a. The slave church was the center of community on large plantations.
b. Slave communities typically adopted the values of their masters.
c. Women’s and men’s worlds were even more separate than among whites.
d. As with white families, the family was the primary transmitter of culture and values.
e. All traces of African culture had disappeared from slave culture by the middle of the nineteenth century.
76. Slave cultures
a. were semi-independent and centered on family and church.
b. were based on the same fundamental ideas and culture as their masters’ culture.
c. were entirely African and did not embrace any American elements.
d. were entirely American and retained no African cultural elements.
e. are lost to history, as no evidence of them has survived.
77. In what way did slave families differ from those of their white masters?
a. Slaves did not view marriage as a lifelong commitment.
b. Slaves did not think it appropriate to marry first cousins.
c. Slaves viewed the mother as the head of the family.
d. Slaves did not practice any type of marriage ceremony.
e. Slaves did not name their children until they were five years old.
78. Jumping over a broomstick was a ceremony celebrating
a. a fugitive slave arriving in a free state.
b. a slave marriage.
c. the birth of a slave baby.
d. surviving the Middle Passage.
e. a slave’s promotion from field hand to domestic servant.
79. Slave families
a. were rare because there were too few female slaves.
b. were more common in the West Indies, where living conditions favored their formation and survival.
c. were headed by women more frequently than were white families.
d. usually were able to stay together because most slaveowners were paternalistic.
e. avoided naming children for family members because children so often were sold, and it was better not to build strong kinship
ties.
80. What was the biggest fear of a slave of any age?
a. being whipped
b. not being taught to read
c. not being fed
d. having to work in a cotton field
e. a family member being sold
81. Which statement is true about slave families?
a. Slave families were in constant danger of being broken apart by the slaveowners through the sale of family members.
b. Slave families mirrored kinship patterns among whites.
c. Slave families were more often headed by men than white families, due to slaveowners’ selling family members.
d. The family was not central to slave culture.
e. Slave families were more patriarchal than white families.
82. Gender roles under slavery
a. were the same as those that existed in white society.
b. differed from those of white society because men and women alike suffered a sense of powerlessness.
c. greatly differed from those of whites when slaves were able to work on their own; the men took on more women’s work and
vice versa.
d. meant that slave husbands refused to let their wives work in the fields.
e. were unaffected by the ability of masters to take advantage of female slaves sexually.
83. Which is typical of slave religion in the first half of the nineteenth century?
a. It relied on a literal interpretation of the Bible.
b. It rejected Christian teachings in favor of African religious beliefs.
c. It centered on enslaved chaplains who were mouthpieces for the owner’s religious understanding.
d. It included both African traditions and Christian beliefs.
e. It focused on the idea that whites were God’s “chosen people.”
84. Which is true regarding Christianity in slave culture?
a. Few slaves were able to really grasp the meaning of biblical teachings and stories.
b. Most slaveholders forbade their slaves from learning about Christianity.
c. Slaveholders focused on biblical teachings about obedience when presenting Christianity to slaves.
d. Slaves rejected the Old Testament, believing it outdated and untrue.
e. Slaves who converted to Christianity were often scorned for having betrayed their original culture.
85. Which describes a typical black preacher on slave plantations?
a. a free black, often from the North, who ministered to the slaves voluntarily
b. a house slave taught to read by his master and instructed on the sermons to deliver to the field slaves
c. a female healer with knowledge of traditional African spiritual practices
d. a self-educated slave who established a reputation for public speaking and biblical knowledge
e. a “mystic,” often a very elderly man or woman, who communicated directly with God on behalf of others
86. Which of the following statements about religious life among African-Americans in southern cities is true?
a. Blacks usually worshipped in churches where they sat side by side with whites.
b. Urban free blacks sometimes formed their own churches.
c. African-Americans, free and slave, were banned from religious services.
d. Free blacks could worship publicly, but slaves were not permitted to do so.
e. The formation of the Afro-Catholic Church in 1844 was a major development in black Christianity.
87. Seeing themselves as a chosen people, blacks viewed which biblical story as playing a central role in their version of
Christianity?
a. Genesis
b. Matthew and the whale
c. Moses and the exodus from Egypt
d. Noah and the ark
e. Book of Revelation
88. The Brer Rabbit stories of slave folklore
a. celebrated how the weak could outsmart the more powerful.
b. borrowed heavily from English folktales but added some African elements.
c. formed the basis of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
d. introduced the character Paul Bunyan to American culture.
e. were largely unknown until the making of a series of animated films in the twentieth century.
89. Compared to slave revolts in Brazil and in the West Indies, slave revolts in the United States were
a. larger in scale but less frequent.
b. smaller in scale but more frequent.
c. larger in scale and more frequent.
d. smaller in scale and less frequent.
e. bloodier and more successful.
90. Which of the following would be an example of “silent sabotage”?
a. With other slaves, Denmark Vesey planned a rebellion.
b. Joseph Taper escaped to Canada and then wrote a letter about his new home.
c. Nat Turner killed a white person during his rebellion.
d. A slave on a large plantation slowed the work pace.
e. Harriet Tubman helped lead slaves to freedom.
91. From which of the following states did the greatest number of slaves successfully escape to freedom?
a. Alabama
b. Mississippi
c. Louisiana
d. South Carolina
e. Maryland
92. Which is true of the Underground Railroad?
a. It was created by Harriet Tubman following her escape from slavery.
b. Three of its “conductors” were jailed for treason and held until the beginning of the Civil War.
c. It began in New Orleans and reached south to Mexico City.
d. It focused on helping escaped slaves reach either free states or Canada.
e. By the time of the Civil War, it is believed to have helped 100,000 slaves to reach freedom.
93. Fugitive slaves
a. generally understood that the North Star led to freedom.
b. were more likely to be women than men, because they were trying to escape sexual assault.
c. succeeded in escaping more frequently from the Lower South because they had access to ships leaving ports like New Orleans
and Charleston.
d. benefited from the refusal of non–slave owners to participate in patrols that looked for fugitives.
e. who escaped to Canada were routinely returned to slavery by the British authorities.
94. A slave from which state had the best chance of escaping to freedom permanently?
a. Alabama
b. Maryland
c. South Carolina
d. Florida
e. Mississippi
95. Approximately how many slaves are thought to have successfully escaped in the thirty years before the Civil War?
a. 1,000
b. 3,000
c. 30,000
d. 300,000
e. 500,000
96. Which is true of Northerners who assisted escaped slaves?
a. If caught, they were sent to the South for trial.
b. Many were part of a movement that urged the North to secede from the union.
c. They were breaking federal law.
d. They were typically Canadian citizens.
e. Many traveled into the South to liberate slaves from plantations.
97. Harriet Tubman
a. was a mythical character about whom runaway slaves told many stories.
b. led a slave rebellion in Maryland in 1849 that resulted in two dozen deaths.
c. was born free in New York but was kidnapped and made a slave in Louisiana.
d. cleverly escaped from slavery by pretending to be a sickly male slaveowner.
e. was a fugitive slave who risked her life many times to bring others out of slavery.
98. After escaping slavery in the South, what was the primary reason why Henry “Box” Brown moved to England?
a. He wanted to do lectures in Europe.
b. He had family there.
c. He wanted to speak to Queen Victoria about his bondage.
d. He feared being recaptured.
e. He hoped to locate his wife, who was also an ex-slave.
99. On what grounds did the Supreme Court decide in favor of the slaves on the Amistad?
a. They had reached British soil and were therefore emancipated.
b. They were free according to the provisions of New York State law.
c. They had been brought from Africa in violation of the international ban on the slave trade.
d. As they had not yet been purchased by any white owner, they were still free men.
e. They shared the same constitutional rights as any American.
100. Which statement is true about Harriet Tubman?
a. Tubman rescued about seventy-five people from slavery.
b. Tubman was born free in Philadelphia in 1800.
c. After escaping slavery in 1849, Tubman never returned to the South.
d. Frederick Douglass criticized Tubman’s work.
e. William Lloyd Garrison criticized Tubman’s work.
101. The Underground Railroad
a. was a single, centralized system with clearly defined routes designed to transport enslaved people to freedom.
b. enabled approximately 30,000 fugitives to escape from the South.
c. was the system used to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act.
d. was the system slave traders used in the South to avoid public scrutiny of family separation.
e. managed to help only a few dozen people escape slavery.
102. Enslaved people’s efforts to escape from slavery
a. always succeeded.
b. always failed.
c. undermined proslavery propaganda about contented slaves.
d. were undermined by Canada, which returned all fugitive slaves to the United States.
e. were undermined by Mexico, which returned all fugitive slaves to the United States.
103. The slave rebellion aboard the Amistad
a. nearly captured a fort in Charleston, South Carolina.
b. led to a Supreme Court decision freeing the slaves.
c. inspired the gag rule.
d. took place off the coast of Virginia.
e. helped establish the Republic of Haiti.
104. Denmark Vesey’s conspiracy
a. reflected a combination of American and African influences.
b. took place in 1831 and was a success.
c. reflected the belief of the conspirators that the Bible endorsed slavery.
d. was discovered, but Vesey escaped north to freedom.
e. resulted in over twenty deaths of white men, women, and children.
105. The Haitian slave revolt was successful and the attempts by Denmark Vesey and Nat Turner ultimately failed because
a. slaves in the United States had less desire to be free.
b. slaves in Haiti had the help of the Spanish government.
c. most of the South had a higher percentage of whites than blacks who were armed and united.
d. none of the black leaders of revolts in the United States were literate.
e. in the United States, the slaves rebelling had no weapons.
106. What view did Nat Turner express prior to his execution?
a. He expressed remorse for having killed women and children.
b. He compared his death to the crucifixion of Jesus.
c. He regretted that he had not been born white.
d. He warned slave owners that slave rebellions would continue.
e. He hoped that the wrath of God would come down upon the South.
107. Why is 1831 considered a turning point for slavery in the American South?
a. The slave population outnumbered the white population for the first time.
b. Virginia became the first southern state to abolish slavery.
c. The U.S. Supreme Court decided in favor of the slaves aboard the Amistad.
d. William Lloyd Garrison’s abolitionist journal, The Liberator, ceased publication.
e. The proslavery argument became more strident as forces seemed to be aligning against slavery.
108. Which statement about Nat Turner’s Rebellion is true?
a. Turner and his followers assaulted mostly men.
b. Fewer than twenty whites were killed during the rebellion.
c. Turner escaped capture.
d. Many southern whites were in a panic after the rebellion.
e. It occurred in Georgia.
109. Nat Turner’s Rebellion demonstrated
a. that slaves would be at a fatal disadvantage if they were outnumbered by armed whites.
b. that most slave rebellions occurred in the Lower South.
c. that many southern whites would fight with enslaved people to end slavery.
d. that most white Virginians were inclined to end slavery.
e. that resistance to slavery among enslaved people was waning.
110. After an 1831 slave rebellion, which state’s legislature debated, but did not approve, a plan for gradual emancipation of slaves in
that state?
a. Virginia
b. South Carolina
c. Maryland
d. North Carolina
e. Louisiana
111. As the sectional conflict over slavery intensified, southern states
a. scheduled open debates on the topic of slavery.
b. encouraged membership in abolitionist societies.
c. suppressed the expression of proslavery views.
d. suppressed the expression of antislavery views.
e. promised to abolish slavery within twenty years.
Matching
TEST 1
___ 1. Frederick Douglass
___ 2. Andrew Johnson
___ 3. Celia
___ 4. Nat Turner
___ 5. John C. Calhoun
___ 6. Harriet Tubman
___ 7. John Quincy Adams
___ 8. Martin Van Buren
___ 9. George Fitzhugh
___ 10. Denmark Vesey
___ 11. Solomon Northup
___ 12. Charles C. Jones
a. southern politician who spoke against the slavocracy
b. led a “successful” slave rebellion in Virginia
c. favored returning the slaves of the Amistad to Cuba
d. favored returning the slaves of the Amistad to Africa
e. escaped slave who led the abolitionist movement
f. slave executed for conspiracy
g. defended slavery as a natural part of hierarchical society
h. outspoken proslavery politician
i. part of an organization helping slaves escape to the North
j. slave executed for killing her master
k. paternalist planter who promoted improvements to slave housing and diets
l. kidnapped free black who spent twelve years in slavery
TEST 2
___ 1. white gold
___ 2. overseer
___ 3. Underground Railroad
___ 4. Brer Rabbit
___ 5. yeoman farmers
___ 6. Mason-Dixon Line
___ 7. silent sabotage
___ 8. peculiar institution
___ 9. paternalism
___ 10. gang labor
___ 11. Israel Hill
___ 12. Second Middle Passage
a. system to help slaves escape to the North
b. slave trade within the United States
c. poor work and breakage of tools
d. slavery
e. managed slaves in the field
f. community of freed Virginian slaves
g. treating slaves in a fatherly manner
h. working in the fields side by side
i. had one or two, if any, slaves
j. boundary line between Pennsylvania and Maryland
k. cotton
l. trickster tale
True/False
1. By 1860, the economic investment represented by the slave population exceeded the value of the nation’s factories, railroads, and
banks combined.
2. Slave trading, while legal and profitable, was considered disreputable and slave traders were looked down up by their fellow
southerners.
3. The internal slave trade was a key component in supporting the Cotton Kingdom.
4. Slavery did not affect northern merchants and manufacturers.
5. None of the cities of the South had a significant immigrant culture prior to the Civil War.
6. Most white southern families owned at least one slave.
7. Paternalism both masked and justified the brutal reality of slavery.
8. In the southern slave society, white women on plantations were seen as weak and helpless.
9. After 1830, defense of slavery by southerners increased and intensified.
10. Slaves had a few legal rights, but they were not well enforced.
11. By the 1830s, it was illegal to teach a slave to read or write.
12. The United States had three racial categories in the mid-nineteenth century: black, white, and mulatto.
13. By the 1850s most southern states had made it illegal for free blacks to enter their territory.
14. Despite being forbidden by law to marry, many slaves were able to create a family life on the plantation.
15. Slaves frequently named children after other family members to retain family continuity.
16. Slave traders tried hard to keep slave families together.
17. When not in the field, slaves observed more traditional gender roles.
18. As a general rule, slaveowners never allowed their slaves to listen to a white preacher in church.
19. A shared religion (Christianity) resulted in slave values that were very similar to the values of their masters.
20. Slave owners were very successful at keeping slaves from encountering the rhetoric of political liberty or from hearing about the
efforts of abolitionists.
21. Black Christianity is best described as a blend of African traditions and Christian beliefs.
22. Some slaves actually used trains to escape to freedom in the North.
23. The respective Canadian and Mexican governments regularly returned escaped slaves to southern slaveholders.
24. All but one of America’s significant slave revolts occurred prior to 1820.
25. Denmark Vesey’s 1822 slave rebellion resulted in the deaths of more than thirty whites in Charleston.
26. In the two decades before the Civil War, public debate about the morality and future of slavery became common throughout the
South.
27. Nat Turner was not a particularly religious man.
28. After Nat Turner’s Rebellion, the Virginia legislature discussed ending slavery in that state.
Short Answer
Identify and give the historical significance of each of the following terms, events, and people in a paragraph or two.
1. fugitive slaves
2. plain folk
3. the Amistad
4. free blacks
Essay Questions
1. One historian has observed of southern slavery, “nothing escaped, nothing and no one.” What do you think that historian meant by
that statement? What evidence can you provide to support that observation?
2. Despite unimaginable hardships, slaves were able to maintain a sense of identity and a determination to attain freedom. Describe
how slave culture aided those endeavors and drove slaves’ desire for freedom. Be sure to consider African heritage and slave family
life, folklore, and religious life in your response.
3. What made slavery “peculiar” in the United States?
4. For the most part, white southerners defended the “peculiar institution” whether or not they had slaves, whether they were rich or
poor, and whether they lived on large plantations or small farms. Why was this the case?
5. Discuss the relationship between masters and slaves in the American South. Did masters have all the power in this relationship, or
did the enslaved exert some power? Points to consider include paternalism, the size of slaveholdings, slavery and the law, forms of
slave resistance, and labor organization (task and gang systems).
6. Slave rebellions were rare but important. Compare the slave rebellions (merely planned or actually carried out) of Denmark Vesey
and Nat Turner. What did Vesey attempt to do? What did Turner attempt to do? How were these men similar? How did they view
slavery and freedom? How did white society react to them, and why?
7. Discuss the fugitive slave and the different types of escaping (permanent and temporary). How did whites in the North and South
react to runaways? What role did the Underground Railroad play?
