Question 1

Which of the following is NOT true of the role of women in the abolitionist?

Accepted Answer

There were no restrictions on women's contact with slaves, particularly since women were slave owners and often had personal attendants. Criticism over women's participation in the movement generally centered around the gender prejudice of the time, which prohibited women form speaking in public and demanded that they attend to their family's needs first and foremost. Many abolitionists also feared that women's demands for their own rights would detract from the abolitionist cause.

Question 2

Which of the following was the purpose of the Freedmen's Bureau?

Accepted Answer

The Freedmen's Bureau was created by President Lincoln in 1865 to help freedmen enter into equitable business relationships with landowners and secure their basic needs, like food, housing, medical care, and schools for their children. The organization was intended to last for one year, but Congress continued the program until 1869. In addition to helping freed slaves establish themselves in society, the bureau also settled disputes between freedmen and their former owners, white citizens who did not treat them fairly, and landowners who were trying to take advantage of them in employment arrangements.

Question 3

The Free Soil Party formed in 1848 in response to which of the following?

Accepted Answer

The Free Soil Party emerged after the failure of the Wilmot Proviso, which would have banned the spread of slavery by forbidding it in the newly acquired Western territories. The Free Soil Party was centered in New York and drew support from abolitionists intent on shifting the balance of power to enable the banning of slavery. This party was short lived, ending when the Civil War broke out since the war itself resolved the issue of slavery.

Question 4

All of the following statements about the Emancipation Proclamation are true EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation in his 1862, well into his first presidential term. Initially, he did not ban slavery both to keep the border states in the Union and in the hopes of negotiating an agreement for the South to rejoin the Union. However, when it became clear that only a military victory would restore the Union, Lincoln had to act decisively on the issue of slavery to maintain failing abolitionist support.

Question 5

Which of the following strategies employed by the North at the end of the Civil War heightened Southern animosity?

Accepted Answer

Animosity between the South and North was greatly exacerbated by the total war tactics of General Sherman, who burned all of the cities and farms between Atlanta and Savannah. This unleashing of total war on the South, which rendered many non-combatants homeless, struck the Southerners as unjust given the limited resources in the South by this point in the war. This resentment made the reconciliation at the end of the war more difficult.

Question 6

Which of the following was the term used for white Southern Republicans who promoted Reconstruction in their home states?

Accepted Answer

Scalawags were white Southern Republicans who favored Reconstruction and helped enact its reforms in their home states. They were despised by their neighbors, who viewed them as traitors. Scalawags were often viewed as being akin to carpetbaggers, who were Northern Republicans who moved to the South during Reconstruction to direct the course of the new state governments or capitalize financially on the region's troubled state following the war.

Question 7

The decision on whether to admit the states of New Mexico and Arizona as free states or slave states was made by:

Accepted Answer

Popular sovereignty allowed the states to determine for themselves whether they would have slaves or not. It was the method of determination championed by Stephen Douglas, who hoped to replace Henry Clay as the orchestrator of compromise. Although pro-slavery vote tampering in Kansas illustrated the limitations of the popular sovereignty approach, it did temporarily present a strategy that stalled the coming of the Civil War.

Question 8

Northerners who were previously indifferent to the condition of African Americans began to oppose slavery for which of the following reasons?

Accepted Answer

The attention that the abolitionists brought to slavery helped Northerners see it as an affront to liberty. While racism in the North prevented many from being sympathetic to the plight of African Americans, they were not indifferent to the ways in which the institution threatened freedom. This shift in the rhetoric of the abolitionist movement helped strengthen support.

Question 9

The majority of abolitionists believed that their message to end slavery should be spread through

Accepted Answer

While there are a few examples of those who felt ending slavery required violence, most abolitionists argued that slavery should be ended through moral suasion, or convincing people it was the only moral choice. Abolitionism was spread through the pulpit, and it increasingly became part of secular public culture as well. It was also thread through educational materials, such as children's books.

Question 10

Which of the following is not one of the reasons Reconstruction was ultimately considered a failure?

Accepted Answer

The economic panics that occurred from the 1870s to the 1890s are not considered byproducts of the failure of Reconstruction. Reconstruction was ultimately a bust because it wasn't nearly aggressive enough in mandating changes to the economic, social, and legal institutions in the Southern states. In the decades following Reconstruction, it became glaringly apparent that the South was significantly behind the North in terms of economic prosperity and diversity, education, and racial integration and suffrage. The regressive political factions that took control of state and local governments in the South once federal troops were removed in 1877, not only sought to establish segregationist legislation, but refused federal intervention in a number of areas, like education and business, thus dooming the region to stagnation that is still readily apparent today

Question 11

The Southern response to Northern demand for abolitionism-put forward by notable politicians like George Fitzhugh-included all of the following arguments EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Advocates of slavery had a wide range of justifications for slavery, but the sentiment that slaves would actively chose it was not among them. Many plantation owners claimed that the dynamics of slavery were more like that of a parent and child than the oppressive abuser portrayed in the Northern press. They also pointed to the universality of slavery in human history to justify their position as slave owners.

Question 12

In terms of Southern Reconstruction, President Lincoln's assassination was ironic because:

Accepted Answer

John Wilkes Booth's deranged motive to assassinate President Lincoln to reclaim the South's pride was ultimately considered ironic because Lincoln's successors treated the South much more harshly than he would have had he not been killed. His assassination led to the beginning of a divisive and fractured political climate, coupled with a weak president (his successor, Andrew Johnson). Without a decisive leader or a long-term plan for rebuilding the South effectively, Reconstruction ultimately doomed the region to economic, educational, and social bankruptcy, the ramifications of which are still readily apparent 150 years later.

Question 13

Mob attacks against prominent abolitionists, such as the one that killed abolitionist editor Elijah P. Lovejoy in 1837, had what effect on the abolitionist movement?

Accepted Answer

Mob attacks generated negative publicity for slave owners, so these acts of violence helped increase support for the abolitionist cause. As the Civil War approached, violence increased as tensions further divided the nation. However, thanks to the numerous presses, these events generally worked to the South's disadvantage.

Question 14

The Second Great Awakening helped spread abolitionism because of which core belief?

Accepted Answer

The Second Great Awakening aided the abolitionist movement because it sought to elevate the common man. Because ministers emphasized the moral improvement of society as a primary focus, maintaining the immoral institution of slavery worked directly against their purposes. In addition, the Second Great Awakening was a highly mobile movement; its beliefs spread across the country rather quickly. More established churches with solid roots in the Northeast, such as the Catholic and Episcopal Churches, largely did not participate.

Question 15

Which of the following events was turning point of the Civil War in favor of the Union?

Accepted Answer

The Battle of Gettysburg on July 1-3, 1863 was the turning point of the Civil War. The Confederacy had been successful at protecting the capital of Richmond from Union advances. However, the Northern blockade became increasingly effective, making it difficult for Robert E. Lee's army to live off the land. Lee advanced north as part of his plan to capture Washington D.C., and the foray into Pennsylvania was to raid a shoe factory in order to supply his troops. Although the South was soundly defeated, the Civil War continued for almost two more years.

Question 16

Which of the following best summarizes the goals of the Constitutional Unionist party, which emerged briefly for the 1860 presidential election?

Accepted Answer

The Constitutional Unionists sought to maintain the status quo be reaffirming the Constitution, including the legality of slavery, in order to preserve the union. The party was hastily put together and sponsored John Bell from Tennessee as a presidential candidate. In a heated election that implied that transformation was imminent, the Constitutional Unionists were hoping to preserve the Union by ensuring that there would be no change. The party was pivotal in the election of Lincoln, which was a four-way race.

Question 17

In the early 19^th century, many people headed west across the US on a network of wagon trails, such as the Oregon Trail. Which of the following describes the interaction of Native Americans with settlers heading west on these trails?

Accepted Answer

In the early 19^th century, there were relatively few conflicts between the Native Americans and the settlers who traveled to the West. The wagon trains did not encroach upon the Native American's way of life the way the railroad later would, so Native American attacks on settlers were rare. Some Native Americans acted as guides or traded with settlers. Following the Civil War, the rise of the railroad threatened the game that that the Native Americans depended on, leading the Plains War, which continued until the end of the century.

Question 18

Which of the following men was a militant abolitionist who was hanged?

Accepted Answer

John Brown was a militant abolitionist who was hanged. He began his work with the abolitionist movement as a speaker and in the Underground Railroad. However, as the 19th century progressed with little discernible improvement in the status of slaves, he became increasingly militant. Like other militant abolitionists-such as David Walker-Brown came to believe that slavery had to be stopped at any cost, so Brown murdered 5 pro-slavery settlers in Kansas in 1854. He would then go on to raid a federal arsenal in 1859 as part of his plan to incite an armed insurrection among the slaves in the South. He was hanged for his participation in this raid.

Question 19

Which event ultimately led to the end of the Reconstruction Era?

Accepted Answer

Back-room deals that settled the disputed presidential race between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden included Hayes' agreement to remove federal troops from the states still undergoing Reconstruction in exchange for the electoral votes necessary to give him the presidency. By removing the troops, states were left to their own devices to finish re-establishing their governments. The rise of militant forces in the Southern states led to political takeovers by regressive leaders, who instituted segregationist policies and refused federal intervention in social programs.

Question 20

Which of the following statements describes the role of women in the abolitionist movement?

Accepted Answer

While there were many highly visible women in the abolitionist movement, they were heavily criticized if they publically spoke or gave lectures on the topic. In addition, they were excluded from many gatherings because of their gender. This exclusion contributed to the women's rights movement, especially after Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were barred from entering an international abolitionist conference in London in 1840 because of their gender. This exclusion extended their focus to women's issues.

Quiz 2: Civil War