Question 1

The chapter introduction tells the story of Benjamin Montgomery to make the point that
A) former slaves who really tried could achieve a measure of prosperity in the postwar South.
B) Reconstruction clearly hinged on northern rather than southern actions after the war.
C) Reconstruction was an impossible task, for neither northerners nor southerners wanted African Americans to gain political and economic opportunity.
D) for former slaves to attain meaningful lives as free citizens, they would need economic power, which in turn required political power.

Accepted Answer

Benjamin Montgomery's story illustrates that for former slaves to achieve meaningful lives as free citizens, they needed economic power, which was closely tied to gaining political power.

Question 2

According to your text, what two issues lay at the heart of Reconstruction?
A) whether the federal or state government was ultimately sovereign, and whether African Americans or Native Americans were the most oppressed minority group
B) which party would gain the ascendancy, and how the government could regulate the economy
C) the future of political and economic power for African Americans, and the future of North-South economic and political relations
D) rebuilding the North's shattered economy, and restoring the South's shattered society

Accepted Answer

Reconstruction focused on integrating African Americans into society with political and economic rights and redefining the relationship between the North and South after the Civil War.

Question 3

During the war, congressional leaders felt that Lincoln's plan ________, so they passed ________.
A) would cost them votes in the North; a program designed to attract white support in the South
B) ignored the reality of slavery; the Thirteenth Amendment over the president's objections
C) was too lenient; the more stringent Wade-Davis bill, which Lincoln pocket-vetoed
D) was acceptable; its essential provisions, but shifted primary responsibility to Congress

Accepted Answer

Congressional leaders believed Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction was too lenient on the Southern states, so they passed the Wade-Davis Bill, which imposed stricter requirements for re-admittance to the Union. Lincoln ultimately pocket-vetoed this bill.

Question 4

Both Lincoln's and Johnson's Reconstruction plans shared an intent to
A) provide economic assistance to former slaves.
B) punish the southern planter class for its rebellion.
C) liberally grant pardons to Confederate soldiers.
D) give Congress the final say in shaping the Reconstruction process.

Accepted Answer

Both Lincoln's and Johnson's Reconstruction plans aimed to reunite the nation quickly and included provisions for granting pardons to many former Confederates to facilitate this process.

Question 5

The Radical Republicans in Congress approached Reconstruction with the conviction that
A) to heal the nation, the South should be treated with generosity and compassion.
B) to avoid any recurrence of southern resistance, the power of the planter class should be restored, with full land ownership.
C) to complete the task of the war, slavery must be totally and irrevocably abolished.
D) to keep faith with the antislavery crusade, the rights of freedmen must include rights for white and black women.

Accepted Answer

The Radical Republicans believed that slavery must be completely abolished to fulfill the goals of the Civil War and ensure freedom for former slaves.

Question 6

The southern response to war's end and Johnson's program of Reconstruction indicated
A) despair and defiance.
B) remorse and resolve to rebuild.
C) willingness to give an appearance of accommodation to northern desires.
D) grudging recognition that they had to repudiate their old-line Confederate leadership.

Accepted Answer

The southern response was characterized by despair over their defeat and defiance against the changes imposed by the Reconstruction policies.

Question 7

Under new president Andrew Johnson, presidential Reconstruction
A) would implement a harsher program on the South than Lincoln had called for.
B) adhered substantially to the views of congressional leaders.
C) made it possible for former high-ranking Confederates to assume positions of power in the reconstructed southern governments.
D) was never implemented, because Congress passed its own program before Johnson's could go into effect.

Accepted Answer

Under Andrew Johnson, presidential Reconstruction allowed former high-ranking Confederates to regain power in the southern governments, as he was lenient and offered pardons to many of them.

Question 8

Which of the following is true about the Radical-dominated Reconstruction Congress?
A) The central focus of its program was to protect the land rights of blacks.
B) It sought to build Republican Party support in the South by winning the black vote and curtailing the power of the planter class.
C) Its influence grew when Johnson's vetoes drove moderates into the Democratic Party.
D) Its influence waned when northern voters repudiated Radical congressmen at the polls in 1866.

Accepted Answer

The Radical-dominated Reconstruction Congress aimed to secure rights for freed slaves and build Republican support in the South by enfranchising black voters and reducing the power of the Southern planter class.

Question 9

The central issue that divided Johnson and congressional Radicals was
A) the future place of African Americans in U.S. society.
B) how to win votes for the Republican Party in the South.
C) whether the power of the planter class should be broken.
D) whether federal troops should be stationed as an occupying force in southern states.

Accepted Answer

The central issue that divided President Andrew Johnson and the congressional Radicals was the future place of African Americans in U.S. society, particularly regarding their rights and integration into American life post-Civil War. The Radicals sought to ensure civil rights and suffrage for African Americans, while Johnson's policies were more lenient towards the Southern states and less supportive of African American rights.

Question 10

The North interpreted black codes as
A) evidence that the South sought to keep freedmen in an economically dependent and legally inferior status.
B) evidence that the South, by granting limited rights such as allowing jury service, was slowly accommodating to an improved status for former slaves.
C) a realistic solution by the South to the problems created by sudden emancipation.
D) a dangerous experiment by the South that could lead to social equality for blacks in the North.

Accepted Answer

The North saw black codes as an attempt by the South to maintain a system similar to slavery, keeping African Americans in a subordinate position despite their emancipation.

Question 11

The southern governments, as initially reconstituted after the war, alarmed northern public opinion because
A) former Confederate leaders were elected to office.
B) they were blatantly corrupt and wasteful in spending tax dollars.
C) many refused to free their slaves.
D) all enacted restrictive legal codes that reinstated slavery.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The southern governments, as initially reconstituted after...

Question 12

What won the support of congressional moderates for the Radical program?
A) the behavior of southern reconstruction governments
B) the persuasive actions of Radicals in rallying public opinion for their program
C) secret lobbying offering lucrative opportunities in a South occupied by northern troops
D) the president's uncompromising veto of a civil rights bill

Accepted Answer

The answer of What won the support of congressional moderates...

Question 13

Which of the following did the congressional Reconstruction program enacted in 1866-1867 NOT provide for?
A) citizenship and suffrage for former slaves
B) a requirement that southern states ratify the Fourteenth Amendment before readmission
C) military occupation
D) a land reform measure that would grant small tracts of farmland to deserving freedmen

Accepted Answer

The congressional Reconstruction program did not include a land reform measure to grant farmland to freedmen. The other options were part of the Reconstruction Acts, which aimed to integrate former slaves into society and ensure their rights.

Question 14

The Fifteenth Amendment
A) abolished slavery.
B) defined citizenship.
C) expanded suffrage.
D) officially ended Reconstruction.

Accepted Answer

The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870, expanded suffrage by prohibiting the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Question 15

Andrew Johnson narrowly avoided conviction on impeachment charges because
A) of his earlier cooperative attitude toward Congress.
B) Radical Republicans were beginning to support his policies.
C) some Republicans feared that removal would set a bad precedent for using impeachment as a political weapon against the presidency.
D) only a minority of the Senate voted to convict.

Accepted Answer

Some Republicans were concerned that removing Johnson would set a dangerous precedent for using impeachment as a political tool, which led to his narrow acquittal.

Question 16

Which of the following most accurately explains the meaning of the refusal of Congress to convict Johnson?
A) Johnson's influence in Congress was increasing.
B) The power of the Radicals in Congress was waning.
C) The country's support for Johnson was increasing.
D) Radicals in Congress feared counteraction by the Supreme Court if they convicted Johnson.

Accepted Answer

The refusal to convict Johnson indicated that the Radical Republicans did not have enough power or support to remove him from office, suggesting their influence was diminishing.

Question 17

African Americans who held political office in southern Reconstruction governments generally
A) alienated whites by pushing for social equality and land reform.
B) were more radical in their views than the black population at large.
C) manipulated the Freedmen's Bureau to impose unequal labor contracts on white planters.
D) were educated professionals, independent landowners, or otherwise from the ranks of black elites.

Accepted Answer

African Americans who held political office during Reconstruction were often from the educated and elite classes, such as professionals and independent landowners, rather than being radical or alienating whites.

Question 18

What is true about southern economic redevelopment?
A) Northerners known as "scalawags" came south to exploit the South's economic vulnerability.
B) Republican-dominated Reconstruction governments sought to encourage southern industry.
C) Unlike the North, southern governments became notorious for corruption, which explains the skyrocketing public debt.
D) One success of the postwar South was in laying as much railroad track as the rest of the nation combined.

Accepted Answer

Republican-dominated Reconstruction governments aimed to modernize the Southern economy by encouraging industrial growth and infrastructure development.

Question 19

One measure of black efforts to experience freedom was the
A) fact that males would rather work for wages than live the rough life of a sharecropper.
B) small but tidy homes built by hand in villages separate from the land they farmed.
C) tendency of husbands to insist that their wives and children work alongside them in the fields.
D) adoption of a surname.

Accepted Answer

Adopting a surname was a significant measure of black efforts to experience freedom, as it represented a personal identity and autonomy that was denied during slavery.

Question 20

After emancipation, the most important institutions for African Americans as they tried to establish their own independent family and community life were
A) the Freedmen's Bureau and the Supreme Court.
B) the black-controlled state legislatures and the land reform program.
C) the sharecrop system and the black codes.
D) the schools and the churches.

Accepted Answer

After emancipation, schools and churches became central to African American communities, serving as places for education, social gatherings, and spiritual support, helping to build independent family and community life.

Quiz 17: Reconstructing the Union 1865-1877

The chapter introduction tells the story of Benjamin Montgomery to make the point that

According to your text, what two issues lay at the heart of Reconstruction?

During the war, congressional leaders felt that Lincoln's plan , so they passed .

Both Lincoln's and Johnson's Reconstruction plans shared an intent to

The Radical Republicans in Congress approached Reconstruction with the conviction that

The southern response to war's end and Johnson's program of Reconstruction indicated

Under new president Andrew Johnson, presidential Reconstruction

Which of the following is true about the Radical-dominated Reconstruction Congress?

The central issue that divided Johnson and congressional Radicals was

The North interpreted black codes as

The southern governments, as initially reconstituted after the war, alarmed northern public opinion because

What won the support of congressional moderates for the Radical program?

Which of the following did the congressional Reconstruction program enacted in 1866-1867 NOT provide for?

The Fifteenth Amendment

Andrew Johnson narrowly avoided conviction on impeachment charges because

Which of the following most accurately explains the meaning of the refusal of Congress to convict Johnson?

African Americans who held political office in southern Reconstruction governments generally

What is true about southern economic redevelopment?

One measure of black efforts to experience freedom was the

After emancipation, the most important institutions for African Americans as they tried to establish their own independent family and community life were