Q&A Hero

Q: As women began to take an active role in abolition, public speaking for women became socially acceptable to most Americans.

Q: The internal slave trade in the United States involved the movement of hundreds of thousands of enslaved persons from a. older states like Virginia to the Lower South. b. Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi to Kentucky, Virginia, and Maryland. c. the West Indies to the Mississippi River valley. d. the Lower South to the Upper South. e. the lower Mississippi River valley to the upper Mississippi River valley.

Q: Nearly all abolitionists, despite their militant language, rejected violence as a means of ending slavery.

Q: What economic effect did southern slavery have on the North? a. It was minimal at best, which helps to explain why northerners routinely opposed slavery. b. Many northerners profited from investing in real estate partnerships that controlled southern plantations. c. A few New York shipping companies benefited from slavery, but the institution had little effect otherwise. d. Southern slavery helped finance industrialization and internal improvements in the North. e. Southern slavery drained resources from the North and helped keep the whole nation in a depression during the 1850s.

Q: Abolitionists agreed with the labor movements argument that workers were subjugated to wage slavery.

Q: Which statement is true about slave trading within the United States between 1820 and 1860? a. More than 2 million enslaved people were sold during this time. b. The states of the Upper South were known as importing states, because of the vast number of slaves they purchased from the Lower South. c. Slave trading was illegal and took place in secret. d. Cotton Kingdom states refused to take part in slave trading. e. Southern states and municipalities did not tax the sale of slaves, because slave trades were performed off the books.

Q: Slave rebellions were rare but important. Compare the slave rebellions (merely planned or actually carried out) of Denmark Vesey and Nat Turner. What did Vesey attempt to do? What did Turner attempt to do? How were these men similar? How did they view slavery and freedom? How did white society react to them, and why?

Q: Discuss the fugitive slave and the different types of escaping (permanent and temporary). How did whites in the North and South react to runaways? What role did the Underground Railroad play?

Q: On the eve of the Civil War, approximately how much of the worlds cotton supply came from the southern United States? a. 90 percent b. 75 percent c. 50 percent d. 33 percent e. 25 percent

Q: Which is true of plantation owners in the nineteenth century? a. They frequently broke the law by knowingly buying slaves imported from Africa. b. They were often first-generation British or French immigrants. c. They typically supported the Republican Party. d. They were very public about their ambivalence toward slavery. e. They insisted that slavery was required in order for whites to be truly free.

Q: When considering slaverys geographic extent, the numbers held in bondage, and the institutions economic importance, what was the largest and most powerful slave society the modern world has known? a. the U.S. South b. Brazil c. the French Caribbean colonies d. the Spanish Caribbean colonies e. the British Caribbean colonies

Q: Frederick Douglass a. argued that knowledge was essential to achieving freedom from slavery. b. spent the whole time he was enslaved doing plantation field work. c. opposed the womens rights movement. d. was freed by his enslaver. e. believed resistance to slavery was futile.

Q: In the nineteenth century, why did cotton become the most important commodity in international trade? a. No one country dominated the production of cotton. b. The early industrial revolution centered on factories that made cloth out of cotton. c. Europeans had stopped using tobacco. d. Brazilians had stopped using sugar. e. There was a wool shortage because Britain had banned sheep-farming in Ireland.

Q: On what grounds did Frederick Douglass claim his authority as a spokesperson against slavery? a. He could read and write. b. He was born free and educated as a child. c. He had experienced slavery. d. He had converted to Quakerism. e. His wife and child were sold away from him.

Q: Frederick Douglass argued that a. in desiring freedom, slaves were truer to the nations founding than were most white Americans. b. the United States should adopt a gradual emancipation plan that would eliminate slavery within forty years. c. free blacks would be better off if they moved to Liberia, where a colony of former American slaves had been founded. d. blacks should not serve in the U.S. Army during the Civil War because of the racial discrimination they faced. e. free African-Americans should let down their buckets where they were and accept inequality, at least for a period of time.

Q: The U.S. slave population on the eve of the Civil War was approximately a. 1 million. b. 2 million. c. 3 million. d. 4 million. e. 5 million.

Q: What was true of the South and slavery in nineteenth-century America? a. England did not need cotton from the South. b. The Souths total population consisted of 20 percent slaves. c. As it moved closer to 1860, the rate of natural increase for the slave population was decreasing. d. The amount of money invested in slavery was a small part of the economy. e. The Old South had developed into the largest and most powerful slave society the modern world has known.

Q: Discuss the relationship between masters and slaves in the American South. Did masters have all the power in this relationship, or did the enslaved exert some power? Points to consider include paternalism, the size of slaveholdings, slavery and the law, forms of slave resistance, and labor organization (task and gang systems).

Q: In the nineteenth century, which product was the worlds major crop produced by slave labor? a. tobacco b. indigo c. sorghum d. cotton e. rice

Q: A shared religion (Christianity) resulted in slave values that were very similar to the values of their masters.

Q: Nat Turner was not a particularly religious man.

Q: Slave owners were very successful at keeping slaves from encountering the rhetoric of political liberty or from hearing about the efforts of abolitionists.

Q: After Nat Turners Rebellion, the Virginia legislature discussed ending slavery in that state.

Q: Black Christianity is best described as a blend of African traditions and Christian beliefs.

Q: One historian has observed of southern slavery, nothing escaped, nothing and no one. What do you think that historian meant by that statement? What evidence can you provide to support that observation?

Q: Some slaves actually used trains to escape to freedom in the North.

Q: Despite unimaginable hardships, slaves were able to maintain a sense of identity and a determination to attain freedom. Describe how slave culture aided those endeavors and drove slaves desire for freedom. Be sure to consider African heritage and slave family life, folklore, and religious life in your response.

Q: What made slavery peculiar in the United States?

Q: The respective Canadian and Mexican governments regularly returned escaped slaves to southern slaveholders.

Q: For the most part, white southerners defended the peculiar institution whether or not they had slaves, whether they were rich or poor, and whether they lived on large plantations or small farms. Why was this the case?

Q: All but one of Americas significant slave revolts occurred prior to 1820.

Q: Denmark Veseys 1822 slave rebellion resulted in the deaths of more than thirty whites in Charleston.

Q: In the two decades before the Civil War, public debate about the morality and future of slavery became common throughout the South.

Q: By the 1830s, it was illegal to teach a slave to read or write.

Q: The United States had three racial categories in the mid-nineteenth century: black, white, and mulatto.

Q: Slavery did not affect northern merchants and manufacturers.

Q: By the 1850s most southern states had made it illegal for free blacks to enter their territory.

Q: None of the cities of the South had a significant immigrant culture prior to the Civil War.

Q: Most white southern families owned at least one slave.

Q: Despite being forbidden by law to marry, many slaves were able to create a family life on the plantation.

Q: Slaves frequently named children after other family members to retain family continuity.

Q: Paternalism both masked and justified the brutal reality of slavery.

Q: In the southern slave society, white women on plantations were seen as weak and helpless.

Q: Slave traders tried hard to keep slave families together.

Q: After 1830, defense of slavery by southerners increased and intensified.

Q: When not in the field, slaves observed more traditional gender roles.

Q: Slaves had a few legal rights, but they were not well enforced.

Q: As a general rule, slaveowners never allowed their slaves to listen to a white preacher in church.

Q: Why is 1831 considered a turning point for slavery in the American South? a. The slave population outnumbered the white population for the first time. b. Virginia became the first southern state to abolish slavery. c. The U.S. Supreme Court decided in favor of the slaves aboard the Amistad. d. William Lloyd Garrisons abolitionist journal, The Liberator, ceased publication. e. The proslavery argument became more strident as forces seemed to be aligning against slavery.

Q: Slave trading, while legal and profitable, was considered disreputable and slave traders were looked down up by their fellow southerners.

Q: Which statement about Nat Turners Rebellion is true? a. Turner and his followers assaulted mostly men. b. Fewer than twenty whites were killed during the rebellion. c. Turner escaped capture. d. Many southern whites were in a panic after the rebellion. e. It occurred in Georgia.

Q: The internal slave trade was a key component in supporting the Cotton Kingdom.

Q: Nat Turners Rebellion demonstrated a. that slaves would be at a fatal disadvantage if they were outnumbered by armed whites. b. that most slave rebellions occurred in the Lower South. c. that many southern whites would fight with enslaved people to end slavery. d. that most white Virginians were inclined to end slavery. e. that resistance to slavery among enslaved people was waning.

Q: After an 1831 slave rebellion, which states legislature debated, but did not approve, a plan for gradual emancipation of slaves in that state? a. Virginia b. South Carolina c. Maryland d. North Carolina e. Louisiana

Q: The slave rebellion aboard the Amistad a. nearly captured a fort in Charleston, South Carolina. b. led to a Supreme Court decision freeing the slaves. c. inspired the gag rule. d. took place off the coast of Virginia. e. helped establish the Republic of Haiti.

Q: As the sectional conflict over slavery intensified, southern states a. scheduled open debates on the topic of slavery. b. encouraged membership in abolitionist societies. c. suppressed the expression of proslavery views. d. suppressed the expression of antislavery views. e. promised to abolish slavery within twenty years.

Q: Denmark Veseys conspiracy a. reflected a combination of American and African influences. b. took place in 1831 and was a success. c. reflected the belief of the conspirators that the Bible endorsed slavery. d. was discovered, but Vesey escaped north to freedom. e. resulted in over twenty deaths of white men, women, and children.

Q: ___ 1. Frederick Douglass ___ 2. Andrew Johnson ___ 3. Celia ___ 4. Nat Turner ___ 5. John C. Calhoun ___ 6. Harriet Tubman ___ 7. John Quincy Adams ___ 8. Martin Van Buren ___ 9. George Fitzhugh ___ 10. Denmark Vesey ___ 11. Solomon Northup ___ 12. Charles C. Jones a. southern politician who spoke against the slavocracy b. led a successful slave rebellion in Virginia c. favored returning the slaves of the Amistad to Cuba d. favored returning the slaves of the Amistad to Africa e. escaped slave who led the abolitionist movement f. slave executed for conspiracy g. defended slavery as a natural part of hierarchical society h. outspoken proslavery politician i. part of an organization helping slaves escape to the North j. slave executed for killing her master k. paternalist planter who promoted improvements to slave housing and diets l. kidnapped free black who spent twelve years in slavery

Q: The Haitian slave revolt was successful and the attempts by Denmark Vesey and Nat Turner ultimately failed because a. slaves in the United States had less desire to be free. b. slaves in Haiti had the help of the Spanish government. c. most of the South had a higher percentage of whites than blacks who were armed and united. d. none of the black leaders of revolts in the United States were literate. e. in the United States, the slaves rebelling had no weapons.

Q: ___ 1. white gold ___ 2. overseer ___ 3. Underground Railroad ___ 4. Brer Rabbit ___ 5. yeoman farmers ___ 6. Mason-Dixon Line ___ 7. silent sabotage ___ 8. peculiar institution ___ 9. paternalism ___ 10. gang labor ___ 11. Israel Hill ___ 12. Second Middle Passage a. system to help slaves escape to the North b. slave trade within the United States c. poor work and breakage of tools d. slavery e. managed slaves in the field f. community of freed Virginian slaves g. treating slaves in a fatherly manner h. working in the fields side by side i. had one or two, if any, slaves j. boundary line between Pennsylvania and Maryland k. cotton l. trickster tale

Q: What view did Nat Turner express prior to his execution? a. He expressed remorse for having killed women and children. b. He compared his death to the crucifixion of Jesus. c. He regretted that he had not been born white. d. He warned slave owners that slave rebellions would continue. e. He hoped that the wrath of God would come down upon the South.

Q: By 1860, the economic investment represented by the slave population exceeded the value of the nations factories, railroads, and banks combined.

Q: From which of the following states did the greatest number of slaves successfully escape to freedom? a. Alabama b. Mississippi c. Louisiana d. South Carolina e. Maryland

Q: On what grounds did the Supreme Court decide in favor of the slaves on the Amistad? a. They had reached British soil and were therefore emancipated. b. They were free according to the provisions of New York State law. c. They had been brought from Africa in violation of the international ban on the slave trade. d. As they had not yet been purchased by any white owner, they were still free men. e. They shared the same constitutional rights as any American.

Q: Which is true of the Underground Railroad? a. It was created by Harriet Tubman following her escape from slavery. b. Three of its conductors were jailed for treason and held until the beginning of the Civil War. c. It began in New Orleans and reached south to Mexico City. d. It focused on helping escaped slaves reach either free states or Canada. e. By the time of the Civil War, it is believed to have helped 100,000 slaves to reach freedom.

Q: Which statement is true about Harriet Tubman? a. Tubman rescued about seventy-five people from slavery. b. Tubman was born free in Philadelphia in 1800. c. After escaping slavery in 1849, Tubman never returned to the South. d. Frederick Douglass criticized Tubmans work. e. William Lloyd Garrison criticized Tubmans work.

Q: Fugitive slaves a. generally understood that the North Star led to freedom. b. were more likely to be women than men, because they were trying to escape sexual assault. c. succeeded in escaping more frequently from the Lower South because they had access to ships leaving ports like New Orleans and Charleston. d. benefited from the refusal of nonslave owners to participate in patrols that looked for fugitives. e. who escaped to Canada were routinely returned to slavery by the British authorities.

Q: The Underground Railroad a. was a single, centralized system with clearly defined routes designed to transport enslaved people to freedom. b. enabled approximately 30,000 fugitives to escape from the South. c. was the system used to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act. d. was the system slave traders used in the South to avoid public scrutiny of family separation. e. managed to help only a few dozen people escape slavery.

Q: A slave from which state had the best chance of escaping to freedom permanently? a. Alabama b. Maryland c. South Carolina d. Florida e. Mississippi

Q: Enslaved peoples efforts to escape from slavery a. always succeeded. b. always failed. c. undermined proslavery propaganda about contented slaves. d. were undermined by Canada, which returned all fugitive slaves to the United States. e. were undermined by Mexico, which returned all fugitive slaves to the United States.

Q: Approximately how many slaves are thought to have successfully escaped in the thirty years before the Civil War? a. 1,000 b. 3,000 c. 30,000 d. 300,000 e. 500,000

Q: Which is true of Northerners who assisted escaped slaves? a. If caught, they were sent to the South for trial. b. Many were part of a movement that urged the North to secede from the union. c. They were breaking federal law. d. They were typically Canadian citizens. e. Many traveled into the South to liberate slaves from plantations.

Q: Harriet Tubman a. was a mythical character about whom runaway slaves told many stories. b. led a slave rebellion in Maryland in 1849 that resulted in two dozen deaths. c. was born free in New York but was kidnapped and made a slave in Louisiana. d. cleverly escaped from slavery by pretending to be a sickly male slaveowner. e. was a fugitive slave who risked her life many times to bring others out of slavery.

Q: Which of the following would be an example of silent sabotage? a. With other slaves, Denmark Vesey planned a rebellion. b. Joseph Taper escaped to Canada and then wrote a letter about his new home. c. Nat Turner killed a white person during his rebellion. d. A slave on a large plantation slowed the work pace. e. Harriet Tubman helped lead slaves to freedom.

Q: After escaping slavery in the South, what was the primary reason why Henry Box Brown moved to England? a. He wanted to do lectures in Europe. b. He had family there. c. He wanted to speak to Queen Victoria about his bondage. d. He feared being recaptured. e. He hoped to locate his wife, who was also an ex-slave.

Q: Slave cultures a. were semi-independent and centered on family and church. b. were based on the same fundamental ideas and culture as their masters culture. c. were entirely African and did not embrace any American elements. d. were entirely American and retained no African cultural elements. e. are lost to history, as no evidence of them has survived.

Q: Which is true regarding Christianity in slave culture? a. Few slaves were able to really grasp the meaning of biblical teachings and stories. b. Most slaveholders forbade their slaves from learning about Christianity. c. Slaveholders focused on biblical teachings about obedience when presenting Christianity to slaves. d. Slaves rejected the Old Testament, believing it outdated and untrue. e. Slaves who converted to Christianity were often scorned for having betrayed their original culture.

Q: In what way did slave families differ from those of their white masters? a. Slaves did not view marriage as a lifelong commitment. b. Slaves did not think it appropriate to marry first cousins. c. Slaves viewed the mother as the head of the family. d. Slaves did not practice any type of marriage ceremony. e. Slaves did not name their children until they were five years old.

Q: Which describes a typical black preacher on slave plantations? a. a free black, often from the North, who ministered to the slaves voluntarily b. a house slave taught to read by his master and instructed on the sermons to deliver to the field slaves c. a female healer with knowledge of traditional African spiritual practices d. a self-educated slave who established a reputation for public speaking and biblical knowledge e. a mystic, often a very elderly man or woman, who communicated directly with God on behalf of others

Q: Jumping over a broomstick was a ceremony celebrating a. a fugitive slave arriving in a free state. b. a slave marriage. c. the birth of a slave baby. d. surviving the Middle Passage. e. a slaves promotion from field hand to domestic servant.