Deck 3: Black People in Colonial North America

Question 1

What does the story of Anthony Johnson, a black man in early Virginia, tell us about blacks in general in the colonies before the 1670s?

A) Blacks never were able to gain their freedom from slavery.
B) Blacks had no legal rights in the courts, as opposed to the Spanish system.
C) Blacks could own fairly substantial amounts of property, and have their own servants and slaves.
D) Blacks were rarely allowed any types of rights, as they were always considered "chattel."

Answer 1

Blacks could own fairly substantial amounts of property, and have their own servants and slaves.

Question 2

Which of the following was not a way Native American culture influenced European and black lives and culture?

A) Indians assisted Europeans with planting and understanding native crops like corn, potatoes and pumpkins.
B) Generally, because the Native Americans were so decimated by disease, they really had no opportunity to influence either culture.
C) Indian modes of transportation and clothing became common among European colonists.
D) The use of an Indian crop, tobacco, led to the enslavement of Africans in North America.

Answer 2

Generally, because the Native Americans were so decimated by disease, they really had no opportunity to influence either culture.

Question 3

Who was the first English explorer to reach North America in 1497?

A) Sir Francis Drake
B) John Smith
C) John Cabot
D) Christopher Columbus

Answer 3

John Cabot

Question 4

Where was the first permanent British settlement in North America?

A) Jamestown
B) Newfoundland
C) Roanoke
D) Massachusetts Bay

Question 5

By about 1700, the British colonies had practically replaced indentured servitude with black slavery. What was not a factor that caused this to happen?

A) The British had gained control of the slave trade in Africa, and this caused the price of slaves to go down.
B) Fewer indentured servants were willing to go to the Chesapeake.
C) The British could look to their established precedent of slavery in the Caribbean as an example.
D) The British decided to outlaw indentured servitude, as they believed labor should only be done by Africans.

Question 6

Why did the British not establish colonies as rapidly as the Spanish?

A) The English monarchy was not as wealthy as the Spanish monarchy.
B) The English people were going through a lot of religious turmoil with the Protestant Reformation.
C) The climate in North America was far different than that in England.
D) All of these are correct.

Question 7

Which statement is true of the colonists at Jamestown in the early months of 1619?

A) The colonists were all white until a Dutch warship brought about 20 Africans to the colony.
B) The colonists were roughly half white and half black.
C) The colonists included some of African descent.
D) The colonists were evenly divided between blacks, whites and Native Americans.

Question 8

The term chattel means _________________.

Question 9

What is true about Native American relationships with African slaves?

A) Native Americans saw African slaves as very different, and quickly adopted racist views similar to those of the British.
B) Being very proud culturally, Native Americans refused to mix sexually with slaves.
C) Native Americans often provided refuge to escaping slaves and some areas saw extensive race mixing.
D) Native Americans never owned slaves, as they believed in the fundamental equality of people.

Question 10

What happened to the sophisticated Mississippian culture during the fourteenth century?

A) They were wiped out by European diseases.
B) They were destroyed by climatic change and warfare.
C) They became the most dominant culture in the hemisphere, after destroying a rival tribe.
D) They were the first culture to begin to use domesticated animals in agriculture in the world.

Question 11

Which word or phrase best describes the status of black people in early Virginia?

A) ambiguous
B) completely subordinate
C) independent
D) set in stone

Question 12

How do most historians believe the Native Americans arrived in North America?

A) Asians moved across a land bridge from Siberia to Alaska.
B) Native Americans originated here, just as other types of humans originated on other continents.
C) Native Americans originated in present day Peru, and migrated northward with population expansion.
D) Native Americans are believed to have originated in Africa, and migrated prior to the movement of the continents.

Question 13

What effect did the discovery of tobacco as a cash crop in Virginia have on the colony's labor supply?

A) The British immediately began to import African slaves to do the heavy work on the tobacco plantations.
B) It really had no effect, since tobacco was not thought of as desirable, so Virginians had to turn to other crops, like cotton, to make a living.
C) Early tobacco was a very dangerous product, and quickly killed off the Indians the white settlers had used as slave labor.
D) The British needed more labor, although they initially turned to their "undesirables" as a source.

Question 14

What types of achievements did Native Americans in North and South America make before the arrival of Columbus?

A) Native Americans actually had an incredibly primitive society, and had accomplished very little at the time Columbus arrived.
B) Native Americans had made some simplistic efforts at understanding science, but had very little political organization.
C) Native Americans had established religions and large cities, but had made few cultural achievements, like art or literature.
D) Native American civilizations had established religions, political systems, and large, complex cities. They had also made many discoveries in science, especially astronomy and mathematics.

Question 15

How did British racism affect the nature of slavery in their colonies during the 1600s?

A) Laws in the early 1600s forced all blacks into slavery for life, allowing only whites to be indentured servants.
B) Laws were made, making penalties for blacks harsher than that for whites.
C) Black women were never assigned to do anything except the most routine house chores.
D) British racism had really not developed at this time. Racism only came about later, when slavery was well established.

Question 16

Who were the largest class of laborers in British North America before 1670?

A) black slaves
B) white slaves
C) Russian immigrants
D) indentured servants

Question 17

Which of the following is not true about indentured servitude in British North America?

A) Black people were often considered and treated as indentured servants.
B) Masters were often very brutal and controlling over their servants.
C) Indentured servants could become free once their term of service to their master was complete.
D) Indentured servitude was completely race-based among the British. Only whites could be indentured servants.

Question 18

Which of the following is true of the Spanish Empire in America?

A) The Spanish came in large numbers, and were able to maintain a rigid system of slavery.
B) The Spanish overseers were often much more kind and generous than in other cultures.
C) The Spanish, Indian, and African cultures intermingled in these areas.
D) Africans only arrived in the Spanish colonies after 1600.

Question 19

The early status of blacks in North America under the British colonies was initially unfree, but they were not slaves. Why was this so?

A) Unlike Spain and Portugal, England had no legal experience with slavery, and had no codes to guide them.
B) The British were intent on converting the pagan Africans to Christianity.
C) The first arrivals had been stolen from the Spanish, and British common law required that they be set free immediately.
D) All of these are correct.

Question 20

What can we tell about the early population statistics of blacks in Virginia?

A) Because African men and women were imported in equal numbers, the population grew very rapidly.
B) Until the mid 1600s, people of African descent remained a very small minority in the British colonies.
C) Blacks immediately began to reproduce very successfully in the colony.
D) Early blacks quickly intermarried with local British colonists and produced a thriving mulatto population.

Question 21

What factor contributed most to the preservation and continuation of West African culture?

A) the increased importation of West African men
B) the crackdown on slaves by white masters in the British colonies
C) the slaves considering it an important part of their lives
D) more balanced sex ratios

Question 22

What is not generally a characteristic of chattel slavery, which began to develop in the British colonies in the 1660s?

A) Slaves lost many of their legal rights, although they could still be married in the eyes of the law.
B) The condition of the mother dictated the condition of the child.
C) Slaves could not own property, vote, or bear arms.
D) Being a Christian had no effect on a slave's status.

Question 23

How did slaves influence the choice of cash crop in Carolina?

A) West African slaves had experience with rice cultivation.
B) Slaves arriving from Virginia knew more about tobacco cultivation than the British plantation owners from Barbados.
C) West Africans had learned how to produce silk from trade with Arabs and the East.
D) West African slaves enjoyed foods prepared with corn, and planted this in abundance.

Question 24

___________ Rebellion in 1676, a rebellion by former indentured servants demanding political change, pushed concerned wealthy white men in Virginia to use slavery over the older form of labor.

Question 25

What African characteristics did second generation slaves lose in America?

A) language and ethnic identity
B) elements of family structure and concepts of self worth
C) second generation slaves generally adopted European practices and shunned all African ways
D) knowledge about agricultural production

Question 26

What status did slaves have during approximately the first 20 years of Georgia's existence?

A) Slaves actually had about equal status to whites early in Georgia.
B) Slaves were treated far more harshly in Georgia than anywhere else, primarily because they outnumbered white settlers.
C) Slaves had an ambiguous status in Georgia. Historians cannot tell if they were considered slaves or indentured servants.
D) Slavery was outlawed in Georgia during the early years of the colony.

Question 27

How did the work of black women vary from that of black men?

A) They never had to work in the fields.
B) They frequently had to work longer hours, since their tasks included being domestic servants.
C) They had access to some skilled occupations, like carpentry and shoemakers.
D) They were not allowed to participate in the annual harvest festival.

Question 28

What colonies made up the "low country"?

A) Virginia and Maryland
B) Carolina and Georgia
C) Georgia and Florida
D) all the southern colonies, from Virginia southwards

Question 29

How would the British have described the race of a person who was part white and part black?

A) The child was always considered the same race as the mother.
B) Anyone with black blood was automatically considered black, and therefore inferior.
C) That person would be adopted into white society if his or her skin color was light enough.
D) As a "mestizo."

Question 30

The ________________ was a large religious revival in the British colonies in the mid- to late-eighteenth century.

Question 31

What legal and cultural effect did the black majority population not have on Carolina and Georgia?

A) Carolina adopted the harshest set of laws for slaves, since they were very fearful of slave revolts.
B) They were able to alter the system of racism in the area to make it more equal and just.
C) A distinct class system arose among blacks, with some creoles enjoying more privileges.
D) Blacks on the plantations worked on daily tasks in the fields, without much white supervision.

Question 32

What evidence shows historians that blacks' labor status evolved into a lifetime term, rather than just the 5-7 years of a typical indentured servant?

A) Laws in Virginia and Maryland forbid blacks being held for life until about 1800.
B) Prices for blacks became more expensive than whites.
C) Legal punishments for both blacks and whites could include life terms added to service.
D) Manumissions became more common.

Question 33

What was characteristic of most slaves' daily lives on plantations from 1700-1750?

A) Most slaves lived on small tracts of land and worked closely with their masters.
B) Most slaves worked in the homes of their masters.
C) Most slaves worked seven days a week, without rest from dawn to dusk, and had other tasks at night to complete before sleeping.
D) Most slaves were beaten and abused horribly through physical punishment on a daily basis.

Question 34

How was slavery in the low country different from slavery in the Chesapeake?

A) Slavery was much more lenient, and kept the characteristics of indentured servitude through the American Revolution.
B) African slaves outnumbered European whites, most of whom arrived from Barbados.
C) The low country never developed a cash crop like the Chesapeake did.
D) Christian slaves tended to have many more rights than those who maintained an indigenous religion.

Question 35

In the British colonies, slaves generally had the same status as domestic animals. What was the main exception to this rule?

A) White slaves maintained all their legal rights. They were just servants for life.
B) Laws forbid masters from killing their slaves through any kind of punishment.
C) Slaves were held responsible for any violations of civil or criminal law.
D) There were no exceptions to the rule.

Question 36

Interracial sexual contact is also called ___________________.

Question 37

Which statement is true of African religious beliefs in the American colonies?

A) Because African Americans were forced to convert to Christianity, little remained of their African religious origins.
B) Africans really had no true type of religion, and therefore accepted Christianity easily.
C) Until the nineteenth century, African Americans continued many aspects of their indigenous or Islamic religions.
D) Africans quickly adopted a mixture of Christianity and Native American religions.

Question 38

What statement is true about miscegenation in European colonies?

A) Because of the extreme racism of the British, racial mixing never occurred.
B) Miscegenation was more extensive and accepted in French and Spanish colonies.
C) Less racial mixing between blacks and Native Americans occurred in Spanish colonies.
D) Miscegenation was a rare occurrence, backed up by strict legal rules against it.

Question 39

How did black slaves demonstrate some of their African culture through their everyday lives?

A) Slave men used elaborate jewelry made of flowers and shells.
B) Slaves continued the African style of housing, generally hollowed out caves with elaborate connecting tunnel systems.
C) Slave women created African-style head wraps and clothing.
D) They had large wardrobes of clothing, with many changes of clothes for their private festivals and celebrations.

Question 40

Advances in plantation technology tended to:

A) Make life much easier, and work much cleaner, for slaves in general.
B) Be quite advanced for the time period, in fact, well advanced from European methods.
C) Be used only by the masters, since they did not trust slaves to perform complicated tasks.
D) Be concentrated in agriculture, particularly with tobacco and indigo.

Question 41

Most slave resistance before the late eighteenth century was generally not part of a coordinated attempt to break down slavery. Why was this so?

A) Ideas of natural human rights and equality of all would not spread until the American Revolution.
B) Most slaves could not read or write, and therefore could not communicate with each other.
C) Slaves were so psychologically damaged during slavery that they simply failed to resist their masters in any way.
D) Slaves really didn't understand the nature of slavery, and therefore could not attempt to break it down in any organized way.

Question 42

What area did slaves see as an escape from slavery during the early 1700s?

A) the North
B) Spanish Florida
C) any area west of the Mississippi
D) Canada

Question 43

Although the Great Awakening included elements of equality, some factors pushed blacks to organize their own churches. Which was not one of those factors?

A) Black members had to sit apart from white members in church services.
B) Black men were never allowed to hold leadership roles or become preachers in the church.
C) White masters emphasized elements of Christianity "appropriate" to slaves, like obedience, and subservience.
D) Black churchgoers wanted to continue some elements of African worship, like dancing, shouting, clapping and singing that some denominations thought inappropriate.

Question 44

Which group of slaves was the most open in defying their masters?

A) newly arrived Africans
B) female slaves, especially those wishing to free their children
C) older slaves who had extensive knowledge of the area and its inhabitants
D) teenaged slaves

Question 45

How were slaves in the Spanish colony of St. Augustine different than slaves under British rule?

A) St. Augustine slaves were treated far worse than slaves under British rule.
B) Slaves had some social standing and power from their positions and church membership.
C) The Spanish considered slavery to be a temporary condition, and freed all slaves after 5 years of service.
D) Spanish slaves were considered the social and political equals to whites in the colony.

Question 46

What was not true about the city of New Orleans under French control in the early 1700s?

A) Most African Americans in Louisiana lived there.
B) New Orleans had a large Creole population, many of whom gained their freedom.
C) The Louisiana blacks remained in the colony to become a part of the United States.
D) New Orleans blacks maintained close cultural and family ties to the Congo region, and trips between those places were common.

Question 47

In what types of ways did black women's lives differ from black men's under slavery?

A) Black women were limited to domestic labor only, as whites did not think that women should do field work.
B) Black women were only allowed to work in the fields, although at very different tasks than men.
C) Black women were separated from men at an early age, so that white masters could control the "breeding" process.
D) Black women were under constant threat of sexual exploitation.

Question 48

What was the overall result of the New York 1712 rebellion and the 1739 Stono Rebellion among slaveholders, especially in the South?

A) Because the revolts were put down successfully, whites felt satisfied with the example they set.
B) The revolts led to many colonies in the North abolishing slavery, since the whites had been so vicious in beginning the riots against blacks.
C) The revolts inspired tremendous fear and concern among whites, who attempted to crack down on opportunities for slaves to make any type of resistance.
D) Many of the slaves became free, and escaped to the island of Haiti.

Question 49

What was not true about northern slaves' labor and culture before about 1700?

A) Slave codes were milder and not generally enforced. Some slaves could own property.
B) Some slaves could obtain jobs and training in skilled positions in the northern cities.
C) Because there were fewer slaves and they were more isolated, less African heritage was preserved.
D) When not working for their masters, all slaves lived in large, run-down housing in segregated parts of cities.

Question 50

What factor did not prevent the spread of Christianity among slaves prior to the Great Awakening?

A) Masters had prohibited slaves from converting to Christianity.
B) Masters feared that Christianity would bring ideas of freedom and equality to slaves.
C) Africans continued to practice their own native religions.
D) Catholic leaders at the Vatican refused church admission to non-whites.

Question 51

Which of the following is not true about African American's cultural influence on whites?

A) Southerners began to use African-style phrases and intonations in language.
B) Whites frequently consulted slaves for herbal remedies and other medicines on the plantations.
C) Whites refused to eat African-style cooking, forcing them to make European-inspired dishes like fried chicken, black-eyed peas and collard greens.
D) Sometimes whites participated in the pre-Easter celebrations of Pinkster.

Question 52

Which of the following was not a usual type of resistance to slavery among slaves?

A) working slowly
B) destruction of the masters' property, theft, and lying
C) mass violence in the form of rebellions
D) performing a job incorrectly or not doing work at all.

Question 53

How did slavery differ in the northern British colonies before about 1750?

A) Slavery never existed in the North.
B) Slavery was less extensive in the North, because more white labor was available and it had a more diversified economy.
C) Almost no slaves performed agricultural labor, since the North was mostly industrial.
D) Slaves had extensive legal rights and obligations in the North that were non-existent in the South.

Question 54

Which African instrument survived to be used by slaves on American plantations?

A) flute or piccolo
B) tambourine
C) harpsichord
D) banjo

Question 55

How was the Christianity of the Great Awakening similar to many native African practices?

A) The evangelical Protestant ministers' preaching style was similar to African "spirit possession."
B) The Christian trinity was similar to African beliefs about gods and the creator.
C) Baptism, as a form of rebirth and renewal, was similar to West African water rituals.
D) All of these are correct.

Question 56

What types of labor were most common for slave women?

A) field labor, but only in the late seventeenth centuries, when whites began to import more black men
B) field labor, often accompanied by white women
C) field labor, throughout the history of slavery
D) field labor, but only doing very light tasks like bringing water to the men

Question 57

Which English word does not have African roots or origins?

A) banjo
B) violin
C) voodoo
D) gumbo

Question 58

In the _____________ Rebellion in 1739, newly arrived Africans began a bloody revolt against slavery, killing more than thirty whites and inspiring a spirit of rebellion in South Carolina.

Question 59

What was the occupation of many black slaves in the Spanish colony of St. Augustine?

A) soldiers
B) agricultural workers
C) house servants
D) Workers in gold mines.