Deck 9: Slavery and the Old South

Question 1

Laws to control the domestic slave trade were

A) enacted by Congress in 1808.
B) poorly enforced.
C) passed to protect slave families.
D) regulated by the British navy.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The typical slaveholder owned

A) fewer than 10 slaves.
B) more than 20 slaves.
C) between 10 and 15 slaves.
D) only one or two slaves.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Prior to 1830, southerners generally defended slavery as a

A) historical inevitability.
B) positive good.
C) necessary evil.
D) biblical injunction.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The Tredegar Iron Company of Richmond decided in 1847 to shift from white to slave labor to

A) destroy the potential power of organized white workers to strike.
B) reduce the costs of labor and capital investments.
C) offer slaves useful skills for their later lives as free blacks.
D) expand the pool of slave laborers for industrial enterprises.

Question 5

Slavery inhibited the economic growth of the South because of the slaveholders'

A) low profit yields.
B) high maintenance costs.
C) undiversified capital investments.
D) unstable cotton prices.

Question 6

Robert Francis Allston's chief concern as a slaveholder was to guard against his slaves'

A) disobedience.
B) escape.
C) sickness and death.
D) education.

Question 7

For South Carolinian Robert Francis Allston, a "plain, honest, common-sense reading of the Constitution" meant the

A) legitimacy of abolitionism.
B) constitutionality of slavery.
C) support of the United States Bank.
D) disapproval of nullification.

Question 8

Between 1815 and 1860, southern production of cotton

A) represented more than half of all American exports.
B) harmed the interests of northern merchants and western farmers.
C) contributed to a steady decline in the region's per capita income.
D) surpassed the corn crop in terms of total acreage.

Question 9

The lesson Frederick Douglass learned to survive slavery was to

A) endure all suffering in silent dignity.
B) understand and outwit his oppressors.
C) obey every command of his master or mistress.
D) act defiantly at every opportunity.

Question 10

All of the following describe the historical development of sugar within the Latin American system of slavery EXCEPT:

A) Its output doubled at the beginning of the 1800s.
B) Slaves were indispensable to the growth of sugar in the Caribbean and Brazil.
C) Sugar was to Latin America what cotton was to the American South.
D) European demand for sugar declined over time before 1860.

Question 11

Southerners migrated southwestward in huge numbers between 1830 and 1860, seeking new lands for the

A) diversification of agriculture.
B) cultivation of tobacco.
C) production of cotton.
D) development of industry.

Question 12

Which of the following nations practiced slavery in Latin America and the West Indies?

A) England
B) Spain
C) Portugal
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 13

The majority of slaves were engaged in

A) agricultural labor.
B) industrial tasks.
C) mining operations.
D) domestic service.

Question 14

White artisans in the South viewed black workers as

A) fellow workers.
B) no real competition.
C) threats to their livelihoods.
D) valuable assets.

Question 15

In which of the following industries did slaves work in Central and South America?

A) cacao
B) coca
C) cotton
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 16

Compared to the United States, slavery in Latin America

A) encouraged slave marriages and families more.
B) was more benign.
C) was just as harsh.
D) ended much earlier.

Question 17

Most whites in the antebellum South

A) regarded slaveholding as a path to upward economic mobility.
B) avoided the social stigma of slaveholding.
C) held fewer than 10 slaves by 1860.
D) resented the political influence of white slaveholders.

Question 18

For southern white women, Mary Boykin Chestnut regarded "the sorest spot" of slavery as the

A) excessive cruelty of the overseers.
B) social isolation and loneliness.
C) obligation to feed, clothe, and nurse additional children.
D) double standard of plantation sexuality.

Question 19

The yeoman farmers of the South

A) lived in the Appalachian Mountains.
B) were fiercely proud of their independence.
C) owned very few slaves.
D) formed a small portion of the population.

Question 20

The most recent historical interpretations of slavery have viewed the institution

A) through life in the slave quarters.
B) through the interactions of masters and slaves.
C) as relatively humane and paternalistic.
D) as uniformly cruel and oppressive.

Question 21

All of the following statements characterize the life of Rev. J.C. Pennington EXCEPT:

A) He led slave revolts.
B) He attended lectures at Yale Divinity School.
C) He was licensed to preach in 1838.
D) He headed prominent black churches and started schools.

Question 22

In what physical areas did urban whites attempt to restrict free black mobility?

A) grogshops
B) gambling halls
C) brothels
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 23

The slave conspiracies of Gabriel in 1800 and Vesey in 1822 were both thwarted by

A) random killing of innocent blacks.
B) mass executions of the leaders.
C) internal betrayal by fellow slaves.
D) white discovery of the plots.

Question 24

Increasingly attacked as immoral, southerners felt compelled to justify the institution of slavery. How and why did their defense of slavery change during the antebellum era?

Question 25

Following the convergence of Nat Turner's revolt and William Lloyd Garrison's publication of the abolitionist Liberator in 1831,

A) laws protecting slaves from overly severe treatment were repealed.
B) the material conditions for slaves worsened.
C) state laws prohibiting manumission were passed in the South.
D) the slaves' expectations of freedom were heightened.

Question 26

How did the church impact the free black community?

A) It provided spiritual solace.
B) It set community standards.
C) It offered recreational opportunities.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 27

Slave spirituals reiterated one basic Christian theme:

A) servants, obey your masters.
B) if someone slaps you, turn the other cheek.
C) a chosen people were held captive but would be delivered.
D) do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Question 28

Sociologist George Fitzhugh argued that southern black slaves

A) received better treatment than northern factory workers.
B) should be gradually amalgamated with the white race.
C) did not need the paternal guidance of white masters.
D) deserved gradual emancipation and limited economic opportunities.

Question 29

Wealthy southern planters justified slavery in terms of white superiority because such a defense

A) reflected their blind racism.
B) coincided with the main ideological directions of the time.
C) deflected potential class antagonisms among whites.
D) emphasized the profitability of the institution.

Question 30

The free black population of the United States increased from 1820 to 1860 because of all of the following reasons EXCEPT the

A) successful escapes of slaves from the South.
B) continuing immigration of blacks from Africa.
C) natural increase of the free black population.
D) results of personal purchases and manumissions.

Question 31

Since the vast majority of southern whites owned few or no slaves, why did they support the "peculiar institution"?

Question 32

Free African Americans were likely to

A) have fewer skills than slaves.
B) be younger and more aggressive.
C) live near dense plantation centers.
D) be older and more literate.

Question 33

All of the following describe the historical development of the free black church EXCEPT the

A) number of free black churches increased over time.
B) number of religious denominations increased over time.
C) church was the key institution that helped free blacks adjust to racism.
D) free black church did not reach out to slaves.

Question 34

Many slaveholders urged their slaves to attend church because it

A) improved the intelligence and morals of the slaves.
B) offered the slaveholder a form of social control.
C) enhanced the slaveholder's reputation and social standing.
D) allowed slaves an opportunity for singing and dancing.

Question 35

Which of the following groups of blacks did NOT compose the Catholic population of Baltimore and New Orleans?

A) former slaves
B) abolitionists from Boston
C) Haitian refugees
D) new converts

Question 36

All of the following describe the lives of free southern blacks EXCEPT:

A) One-third of the population lived in cities or towns.
B) Whites feared them due to slave revolts.
C) Many lived in rural areas.
D) They owned substantial amounts of property.

Question 37

Was slavery a "profitable" institution for the South? Explain why or why not.

Question 38

Which of the following southern cities had large free black communities?

A) Baltimore
B) Charleston
C) New Orleans
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 39

House slaves, in contrast to field slaves, had

A) less food to eat.
B) a specific task to complete daily.
C) more difficult assignments.
D) less privacy.

Question 40

Discuss the causes and results of economic expansion in the South from 1820 to 1860.

Question 41

However burdensome their lives from sunup to sundown, after work slaves established a sense of self-worth and community. Discuss the factors that made this possible.

Question 42

Analyze the various forms and results of black protest against slavery.

Question 43

Not all southern blacks were slaves, but even for free blacks, freedom seldom meant equality. How and why were free blacks denied equality in the South from 1820 to 1860?

Question 44

You are a slave field hand in Louisiana during the 1840s. Your wife and daughter are house servants on the same large plantation. Describe your family's health, security, and typical workday.