Question 1

What was the primary source of income for most yeoman farmers?
A) sugar
B) rice
C) whiskey
D) livestock
E) lumber

Accepted Answer

Livestock, including cattle, pigs, and chickens, were a primary source of income for most yeoman farmers. They would sell the animals or their products, such as dairy, eggs, and meat, to local or regional markets.

Question 2

What was one goal of the American Colonization Society?
A) to enact gradual voluntary emancipation for slaves
B) to force an immediate end to slavery
C) to settle the West with freed slaves
D) to reunite former slaves with their families
E) to bring slavery to every state in the union

Accepted Answer

The American Colonization Society, founded in 1816, aimed to support the migration of free African Americans to the continent of Africa, which indirectly involved the idea of gradual voluntary emancipation for slaves. This was seen as a solution to the problem of slavery and racial conflict in the United States by some of its members.

Question 3

Slave marriages tended to last longer on ________.
A) plantations in the upper South
B) small farms
C) smaller plantations
D) large plantations
E) urban estates

Accepted Answer

Slave marriages tended to last longer on large plantations because these environments often had larger enslaved populations, allowing for more stable family units and community support systems, despite the harsh conditions of slavery.

Question 4

What was the Underground Railroad?
A) a train line that many white Southerners used when hunting for escaped slaves
B) a formal network that helped return fugitive slaves to their masters
C) an organization that helped fugitive slaves escape to Mexico
D) an informal network of people that helped return fugitive slaves to their masters
E) an informal network that helped fugitive slaves make their way to the North

Accepted Answer

The Underground Railroad was an informal network of people who helped fugitive slaves make their way from the South to the North, often through a system of safe houses and secret routes. It was not a physical train line or a formal organization that helped return fugitive slaves to their masters.

Question 5

Slave religion was typically ________.
A) the same as indigenous African religion
B) a version of Christianity shaped by African traditions
C) overseen by the established white churches
D) shaped by white evangelization
E) underdeveloped because of slaves' work schedule

Accepted Answer

Slave religion was a syncretic mixture of African traditions and Christianity. Slaves were often forced to convert to Christianity by their white masters, but they incorporated their own beliefs and practices into the religion. This resulted in a unique form of Christianity that was shaped by African traditions.

Question 6

The most profitable commodity bought and sold in the upper tier of the southern states was ________.
A) tobacco
B) cotton
C) slaves
D) wheat
E) corn

Accepted Answer

Slaves were the most profitable commodity bought and sold in the upper tier of the southern states. Tobacco and wheat were important crops, but not as profitable as cotton, which was primarily grown in the lower tier of the southern states. Corn was also an important crop but did not have the same profitability as cotton or slaves.

Question 7

The majority of slaves worked ________.
A) in industry
B) as skilled tradesmen
C) as house servants
D) as field workers
E) in restaurants, hotels, and saloons

Accepted Answer

The majority of slaves worked as field workers, primarily on cotton, tobacco, and sugar plantations.

Question 8

Planters who owned large plantation houses with at least fifty slaves made up about ______ percent of the white population in the South in 1860.
A) 1
B) 75
C) 25
D) 40
E) 90

Accepted Answer

Planters who owned large plantation houses with at least fifty slaves were a very small elite, making up about 1 percent of the white population in the South in 1860. This group had a disproportionate influence on the economy and politics of the region.

Question 9

What did the young children of plantation slaves do while their parents worked?
A) They often accompanied their parents and were cared for by older children.
B) They often went to segregated schools before they were old enough to work.
C) They were often cared for at home by their mothers.
D) They were often sent to nurseries where other slaves cared for them.
E) They often played with the young children of the plantation owners.

Accepted Answer

Young children of plantation slaves often accompanied their parents to the fields where they were cared for by older children, as the parents worked. This arrangement was due to the lack of formal care structures and the necessity for all able members of a slave community to contribute to the labor force in whatever capacity they could.

Question 10

How did southern opinion about the morality of slavery change during the 1830s?
A) People began to describe slavery as a positive good.
B) People began to describe slavery as a necessary evil.
C) People began to describe slavery as a doomed institution.
D) People began to describe slavery as a simple business arrangement.
E) People began to describe slavery as a sinful enterprise.

Accepted Answer

Southern opinion about the morality of slavery changed during the 1830s from viewing it as a necessary evil to a positive good. Plantation owners and slaveholders began to argue that slavery was good for both the economy and the slaves themselves, claiming that they were providing for their basic needs and protecting them from the dangers of the outside world. This belief became known as the "proslavery argument" and was used to justify the institution of slavery in the South.

Question 11

At the time of the Civil War,there were approximately ________ slaves in the South.
A) 200,000
B) 400,000
C) 1,000,000
D) 2,000,000
E) 4,000,000

Accepted Answer

According to the United States Census of 1860, there were approximately 4.4 million slaves in the United States, with the majority (nearly 4 million) living in the Southern states.

Question 12

Most southern whites ________.
A) owned at least one slave
B) were nonslaveholding yeoman farmers
C) were poor people who sympathized with the slaves
D) owned at least five slaves
E) favored abolishing slavery

Accepted Answer

While some southern whites did own slaves, the majority were actually nonslaveholding yeoman farmers who did not own any slaves. The idea that most white southerners were wealthy slave owners is a common misconception.

Question 13

How did apologists describe the institution of slavery before the 1830s?
A) as a benefit to the slaves themselves
B) as a necessary evil
C) as an inevitable institution
D) as a neutral business arrangement
E) as a sinful enterprise

Accepted Answer

Before the 1830s, apologists for slavery described it as a necessary evil. They argued that slavery was a necessary institution to maintain economic stability and order in society. They justified the institution by claiming that slaves were barbaric and unable to function as free citizens without the guidance and protection of their owners. They also argued that slaves were treated well and provided for by their owners. However, the growing abolitionist movement in the 1830s challenged these ideas and exposed the brutal realities of slavery, leading to greater criticism of the institution.

Question 14

Who was the typical small slaveholder?
A) an urban merchant
B) a wealthy land owner
C) a small business owner
D) a shopkeeper
E) a farmer

Accepted Answer

The typical small slaveholder was a farmer who owned a small plot of land and a few slaves to work on it. They often lived in rural areas and depended on agriculture as their main source of income. They were not typically wealthy landowners or urban merchants. Small business owners and shopkeepers also did not typically have enough wealth to own slaves.

Question 15

If a former slave could not prove he or she had been legally freed,then he or she was likely to be ________.
A) reenslaved
B) deported
C) arrested
D) fined
E) executed

Accepted Answer

If a former slave could not prove he or she had been legally freed, then he or she was likely to be reenslaved. This was because without proof of legal freedom, the individual was seen as a runaway slave and could be returned to their former owner.

Question 16

The leader of the 1831 slave uprising in Southampton County,Virginia,was ________.
A) Denmark Vesey
B) Hinton R. Helper
C) George Fitzhugh
D) Daniel Webster
E) Nat Turner

Accepted Answer

The leader of the 1831 slave uprising in Southampton County, Virginia was Nat Turner. A skilled preacher, Turner believed he was chosen by God to lead a rebellion against white slave owners. On August 21, 1831, Turner and a group of followers began their revolt, killing almost 60 white people before they were captured and executed. The rebellion led to even harsher laws and restrictions on African Americans in the South.

Question 17

At the time of the Civil War,________.
A) almost all Southerners owned at least one slave
B) most white Southerners owned three or more slaves
C) most white households had a house slave
D) one-quarter of white Southerners owned slaves
E) one-half of white Southerners owned slaves

Accepted Answer

According to the 1860 census, approximately one-quarter of white Southerners owned slaves. This means that the majority of white Southerners did not own slaves.

Question 18

The typical way for most slaves to express discontent was ________.
A) political protest
B) open, armed rebellion
C) passive resistance
D) participation in conspiracies
E) organizing boycotts

Accepted Answer

Slaves often expressed their discontent through passive resistance, such as slowing down work or performing tasks improperly. This was a way to resist their enslavement without risking violent punishment or retaliation. Other forms of resistance such as political protest, armed rebellion, and participation in conspiracies were much riskier and could lead to severe consequences. Organizing boycotts was also not a common form of resistance for slaves, as they typically did not have the resources or leverage to effectively organize such actions.

Question 19

The yeoman farmers of the South ________.
A) were typically slave owners
B) did not own the land they worked
C) were located primarily in the backcountry
D) were clustered around the large plantations
E) were quite different from their northern counterparts

Accepted Answer

Yeoman farmers were typically small-scale, self-sufficient farmers who owned their own land and did not rely on enslaved labor. They were located primarily in the backcountry, away from the large plantations dominated by wealthy slave-owning families. Therefore, option C is the best choice.

Question 20

Why were slave families in the upper South so often headed by women?
A) They were following African traditions.
B) Husbands often worked elsewhere.
C) Mortality rates were unusually high there.
D) Women tended to work inside the house.
E) Industry was more common in that region.

Accepted Answer

Husbands often worked elsewhere, such as being hired out to other plantations or industries, which left women to head the families.

Quiz 11: Slaves and Masters

What was the primary source of income for most yeoman farmers?

What was one goal of the American Colonization Society?

Slave marriages tended to last longer on ________.

What was the Underground Railroad?

Slave religion was typically ________.

The most profitable commodity bought and sold in the upper tier of the southern states was ________.

The majority of slaves worked ________.

Planters who owned large plantation houses with at least fifty slaves made up about ______ percent of the white population in the South in 1860.

What did the young children of plantation slaves do while their parents worked?

How did southern opinion about the morality of slavery change during the 1830s?

At the time of the Civil War,there were approximately ________ slaves in the South.

Most southern whites ________.

How did apologists describe the institution of slavery before the 1830s?

Who was the typical small slaveholder?

If a former slave could not prove he or she had been legally freed,then he or she was likely to be ________.

The leader of the 1831 slave uprising in Southampton County,Virginia,was ________.

At the time of the Civil War,________.

The typical way for most slaves to express discontent was ________.

The yeoman farmers of the South ________.

Why were slave families in the upper South so often headed by women?