The Institution of Slavery
The paternalistic view of slavery held that
A. slavery was a necessary evil that should be phased out as soon as was economically possible
B. slavery was a totally unjustifiable abuse of humanity demanding immediate abolition
C. slavery was an artifact of a primitive past that would eventually fade out on its own
D. slavery was necessary to protect blacks from mistreatment and abuse if freed
E. slavery was necessary to keep blacks from developing superior potential and dominating whites
D. slavery was necessary to protect blacks from mistreatment and abuse if freed
Which of the following authors is correctly paired with a novel or short story he wrote?
A. Herman Melville – The Sketch Book
B. James Fenimore Cooper – Conspiracy of Pontiac
C. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Scarlet Letter
D. Washington Irving – The Raven
E. Edgar Allan Poe – The House of the Seven Gables
C. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Scarlet Letter
The most significant improvement to America’s system of transportation during the 1850s was ___.
A. The completion of the Erie Canal
B. A surge in turnpike building
C. The completion of the transcontinental railroad
D. The invention of the steamboat
E. A surge in railroad building
E. A surge in railroad building
The “minstrel shows” of the early and mid-19th century featured ___.
A. Readings of serious poetry B. Operatic performances C. Exhibitions of foreign objects D. White men in blackface singing and dancing E. Traveling lectures
D. White men in blackface singing and dancing
Most white Southerners were ___.
A. Planter aristocrats B. Small slave owners C. Yeoman farmers D. People of the pine barrens E. Mountain people
C. Yeoman farmers
In 1860, about ____ of white Southern families owned slaves.
A. one-fourth B. one-third C. one-half D. two-thirds E. three-fourths
A. one-fourth
Henry David Thoreau did all of the following except ___.
A. Wrote “that if a man does not keep pace with his companions…”
B. Believed “that government is best which governs least or not at all.”
C. Exercised influence on Gandhi’s passive resistance.
D. Refused to pay his poll tax against slavery.
E. Opposed abolitionism as disruptive.
E. Opposed abolitionism as disruptive.
The completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 resulted in all of the following except ___.
A. Increased profitableness of farming in the Old Northwest
B. Encouraged European immigration
C. Forced farmers to switch to dairy farming
D. Weakened political alliances between farmers and planters
E. Strengthened dependency on the Mississippi River
A. Increased profitableness of farming in the Old Northwest
German and Irish immigration to the South remained limited for all of the following reasons except ___.
A. Competition from slave labor B. High cost of land C. European ignorance of cotton growing D. Immigration laws by Southern states E. High rates of alcoholism
E. High rates of alcoholism
Even those who did not own slaves supported slavery for all the following reasons except ___.
A. They dreamed of owning slaves. B. They presumed racial superiority. C. They were always better off than slaves. D. They feared economic issues after emancipation. E. They feared social equality.
C. They were always better off than slaves
Gabriel Prosser, Denmark Vesey, and Nat Turner were leaders of ___.
A. post-Revolutionary church movements for free blacks
B. unsuccessful slave revolts in the Southern states
C. efforts to educate free blacks in the antebellum South
D. the movement to return freed slaves to Africa
E. the American Anti-Slavery Society, the American Colonization Society, and the Knights of Liberty, respectively
B. unsuccessful slave revolts in the Southern states
Noah Webster, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and James Fenimore Cooper were all significant as ___.
A. Literary figures of the Transcendentalist movement
B. Pioneers in the American novel
C. Compilers of an American dictionary
D. Contributors to distinctly American literature
E. Trendsetters in popular culture
A. Literary figures of the Transcendentalist movement
Cotton became important to the prosperity of the North as well as the South because ___.
A. Two-thirds of the Southern crop was sold to New England textile mills
B. Northern merchants handled the shipping of Southern cotton
C. Northern farmers sold foodstuffs to feed slaves
D. Cotton was profitable with or without slave labor
E. Northern mills could undercut British textile prices
B. Northern merchants handled the shipping of Southern cotton
As the new continental economy grew, ___.
A. Households became self-sufficient B. The home became a refuge from work C. Women’s work was more valued D. Respect for women declined E. The gap between rich and poor narrowed
B. The home became a refuge from work
Most white Southerners were ___.
A. Planter aristocrats B. Small slave owners C. Non-slaveholding subsistence farmers D. “Poor white trash” E. Mountain people
C. Non-slaveholding subsistence farmers
All of the following about free blacks prior to the Civil War are true except ___.
A. They found their greatest sympathizers in poor Irish immigrants.
B. They were often mulatto offspring of white fathers and black mothers.
C. They were often forbidden basic civil rights.
D. They were more likely to live in towns than in rural areas.
E. A much higher percentage were free in the Upper South than in the Lower South.
A. They found their greatest sympathizers in poor Irish immigrants.
“Civil Disobedience,” an essay that influenced Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., was written by ___.
A. William Cullen Bryant B. Ralph Waldo Emerson C. James Fenimore Cooper D. Henry David Thoreau E. Walt Whitman
D. Henry David Thoreau
In foreign trade in the early 19th century, Americans ____ agricultural products and ____ manufactured goods and they generally imported ______ than they exported.
A. Imported, exported, less B. Imported, exported, more C. Exported, imported, less D. Exported, imported, more E. Exported, exported, less
C. Exported, imported, less
The Hudson River School excelled in the art of painting ___.
A. Portraits B. Landscapes C. Animal life D. Daguerreotypes E. Native Americans
B. Landscapes
By the mid-19th century, ___.
A. Most Southerners owned slaves B. Smaller slaveholders owned most slaves C. Most slaves lived on large plantations D. Slavery was dying E. Planters used overseers
C. Most slaves lived on large plantations
The South’s “positive good” argument for slavery claimed all of the following except ___.
A. Slavery was supported by the Bible and Aristotle.
B. Slavery was good for barbarous Africans because it introduced them to Christianity.
C. Slaves were treated as members of the family.
D. Slaves were better off than northern wage earners.
E. Slaves contributed to U.S. economic productivity.
C. Slaves were treated as members of the family.
The Poet Laureate of Democracy, whose writings exposed his love for America and the common man, was ___.
A. Edgar Allan Poe B. Nathaniel Hawthorne C. Walt Whitman D. Herman Melville E. John Greenleaf Whittier
C. Walt Whitman
By 1850, America’s factory system was producing all of the following except ___.
A. Textiles B. Boots and shoes C. Firearms D. Sewing machines E. Standard gauge railroad track
E. Standard gauge
All of the following were weaknesses of the slave plantation system except ___.
A. It relied on one-crop economy B. It repelled European immigration C. It lost people to the West D. Its land remained in small farmer hands E. It was increasingly monopolistic
E. It was increasingly monopolistic
The most pro-Union of the white Southerners were ___.
A. Pine barrens people B. Mountain whites C. Small slaveholders D. Non-slaveholding subsistence farmers E. Factory workers
B. Mountain whites