History Alive
Grade 7
Social Studies
Name: ______________________________
Date: _______________
Period: _____________
Ch 20 African Americans at Mid-Century
Answer the following questions.
Ch 20.1 pp 269
1. By the 1850’s there were 23 million Americans. How many were African Americans and in what condition
did a majority of them live?
2. Story quilts and songs were an essential way for African Americans to share their stories. What skill were
they forbidden to learn that caused images and songs to become the essential method of sharing stories?
Ch 20.2 pp 270-271
3. Frederick Douglas was an abolitionist. What does this mean and how did he spread his message?
4. Under the law slaves were listed as property. According to Douglas what were several things they were not
able to own.
5. By 1860 many slaves worked in both cities and farms. Name two differences between the city and farming
slaves? About half of free African Americans lived in the South. What jobs did they hold and how
southern whites viewed the free blacks?
6. In the north free African Americans faced discrimination and segregation. What do these two terms mean
and how did this effect the types of jobs free blacks were able to get?
Ch 20.3 pp 272
7. Although a great majority of southern whites did not own slaves, what invention caused the huge growth of
cotton in the south? And by how much did cotton production increase from 1790 to 1850?
8. Economist Robert Fogel compared the cotton economy of the south to several European economies. What
were these countries and how did the South compare?
9. How did the high price of cotton affect the slaves? In a good way? In a bad way?
Ch 20.4 pp 274
10. About ¾’s of slaves were field workers. Their working conditions were very difficult. How long was a
typical work day and what types of jobs were they expected to complete?
Ch 20.5 pp 275
11. Slaves were poorly housed, and clothed. They were kept in conditions that were needed only to keep them
healthy enough to work. Describe their living conditions, the quantity of food they were given to eat, and
the clothing that was provided for them.
Ch 20.6 pp 276
12. Slaveholders had to keep slaves firmly under their control. Describe the harsh punishment they used, why
some say it “backfired”, and another more preferred method of control.
13. What was a slave breaker? Why were they used and what were some methods they used?
Ch 20.7 pp 278-279
14. Slaves found countless ways to resist slavery. List several ways in which slaves resisted on a day to day
basis.
15. Many slaves resisted slavery. What were the two main methods of resistance and describe details of each.
Ch 20.8 pp 279
16. Slavery made family and community life difficult. What rights were denied the slaves, how were they
married, and what did they teach their children?
Ch 20.9 pp 280
17. Slaves worked from Monday to Saturday night. After this the time was theirs. Explain what a Corn
husking party, a quilting bee, and a quilting feast were and how the Slaves spent their Sundays.
Ch 20.10 pp 281
18. What was the “Invisible Church”? Where did they meet and what message did they share?
Ch 20.11 pp 282
19. African arriving to a new land combined their traditions with their own. Name at least three ways African
Americans preserved their cultural heritage while adopting a new language and way of life.