Practice Test Antebellum America
1. By the 19th Century, (A) most southerners owned slaves (B) the smaller
slaveowners owned a majority of the slaves (C) most slaves lived on large
plantations (D) slavery was a dying institution.
2. The most pro-Union of the white southerners were (A) “poor white trash” (B)
mountain whites (C) small slaveowners (D) non-slaveowning subsistence farmers.
3. Northern attitudes towards free blacks can be best described as (A) supporting
their right to full citizenship (B) supporting black voting (C) advocating black
movement into the new territories (D) most Northern whites did not care much for
blacks
4. The clash between Preston S. Brooks and Charles Sumner revealed (A) the
seriousness of political divisions in the North (B) how important honor was to
Northerners (C) that despite divisions over slavery, the House of Representatives
would unite to expel a member for bad conduct (D) how dangerously inflamed
passions were becoming over slavery in the North and South.
5. The South became the Cotton Kingdom in the early nineteenth century because of
(A) Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin (B) the new profitability of shortstaple cotton (C) the opening of rich river bottomlands in the Gulf Coast states
(D) all of these.
6. In ruling in Dred Scott v Sanford (1858), the United States Supreme Court (A)
hoped to promote further debate on the slavery issue (B) ruled that Scott was not
free (C) supported the concept of popular sovereignty (D) reunited the
Democratic Party.
7. Even those who did not own slaves in the pre-Civil War South supported that
institution because they (A) dreamed of someday owning slaves themselves (B)
presumed themselves racially superior to black slaves (C) were afraid of being
overwhelmed by the black race (D) all of these.
8. In the 1840s, the view that God had ordained the growth of an American nation
stretching across North America was called (A) continentalism (B) isolationism
(C) Anglophobia (D) Manifest Destiny.
9. In 1846, the United States went to war with Mexico for all of the following
reasons except: (A) Manifest Destiny (B) the deaths of American soldiers at the
hands of Mexicans (C) Mexican objections to the admission of Texas to the
Union (D) end slavery in Mexico
10. During the Mexican War, the Polk administration was several times called upon
to respond to “spot” resolutions indicating where American blood had been shed
to provoke the war. The resolutions were frequently introduced by (A) Abraham
Lincoln (B) Henry Clay (C) Robert Gray (D) David Wilmot.
11. The United States’ victory in the Mexican War resulted in (A) renewed
controversy over the issue of extending slavery into the territories (B) a possible
split in the Whig and Democrat Parties over slavery (C) Mexico relinquishing an
enormous amount of land to America (D) all of the above.
12. The Wilmot Proviso introduced into Congress during the Mexican War declared
that (A) Mexican territory would not be annexed to the United States (B) slavery
would be banned from all territories Mexico ceded to the United States (C) the
United States should annex all of Mexico (D) the United States should have to
pay Mexico a financial indemnity for having provoked the war.
13. Those people most opposed to President James K. Polk’s expansionist program
were the (A) western Democrats (B) antislavery forces (C) Senate Democrats (D)
supporters of John C. Calhoun.
14. The principle of “popular sovereignty” would have the question of slavery in the
territories determined by (A) the vote of the people in any given territory (B) a
national referendum (C) congressional legislation (D) a Supreme Court decision.
15. In the 1844 presidential election, (A) Polk won by promoting Manifest Destiny
(B) slavery was outlawed (C) the Whigs nominated Davy Crockett (D) Polk won
because he promised to end the war with Mexico
16. By 1850, the South (A) was more populated than the North (B) feared that slavery
might be abolished in states where it already existed (C) had more electoral votes
than the North (D) had most of the US’ industry
17. President Zachary Taylor unknowingly helped the cause of compromise in 1850
when he (A) led an invasion of Texas to halt its attempts to take part of New
Mexico (B) supported fellow Southerner John C. Calhoun’s plan for union (C)
died suddenly and Millard Fillmore became president (D) ushered in a second Era
of Good Feelings.
18. In the Compromise of 1850, Congress determined that slavery in the New Mexico
and Utah territories was (A) to be banned (B) protected by federal law (C) to be
decided by popular sovereignty (D) to be ignored until either territory applied for
admission to statehood.
19. The fatal split in the Whig party in 1852 was over the issue of (A) the nomination
of General Winfield Scott or Daniel Webster (B) slavery (C) protective tariffs (D)
homestead laws.
20. Many northern states passed “personal liberty laws” in response to the
Compromise of 1850’s decision on (A) slavery in the District of Columbia (B)
slavery in the territories (C) runaway slaves (D) the interstate slave trade.
21. Stephen Douglas promoted the Kansas-Nebraska Act because (A) he wanted to
end slavery in Nebraska (B) he wanted to promote a railroad to the west coast
which would begin in Illinois (C) he wanted to end slavery in Nebraska (D)
Mexican leader Santa Anna agreed to contribute money for a transcontinental
railroad.
22. Stephen A. Douglas proposed that the question of slavery in the Kansas-Nebraska
Territory be decided by (A) popular sovereignty (B) making Kansas a free
territory and Nebraska a slave territory (C) the Supreme Court (D) admitting both
California and Kansas-Nebraska to the Union.
23. The Kansas Nebraska Act led to (A) civil war in Kansas (B) a ban on slavery
west of the Mississippi (C) the admission ofKansas to the Union as a slave state
(D) the destruction of the Republican Party
24. After John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, the South concluded that (A) it was an
isolated incident (B) the North was dominated by “Brown-loving” Republicans
(C) Brown should be put in an insane asylum (D) Brown had been attempting to
defend his right to own slaves.
25. The scene depicted above
I
is the beating of Charles Sumner by Preston S. Brooks
II
is blatant Northern propaganda, revealing the bias of the Northern press
III
is an accurate depiction of the incident
IV
the incident, and the reaction, showed how seriously of the Nation was
divided
(A) (A) I only
(B) (B)
I & II
(C)
(D)
II & III
I, III, & IV
26. At the beginning of the Civil War, the North had all of the following advantages
over the South except: (A) more manpower (B) more industry (C) stronger
consensus concerning war aims (D) an established government recognized by all
countries (E) making government more directly responsible to the electorate.
27. Which is the correct order chronology of these inventions?
(A) Reaper, steamboat, telegraph , cotton gin
(B) Cotton gin, steamboat, reaper, telegraph
(C) Steamboat, cotton gin , telegraph, reaper
(D) Cotton gin, reaper, steamboat, telegraph
(E) Cotton gin, steamboat, telegraph, reaper
28. Which of the following can be verified by the map above?
I
The greatest percentage of slaves resided in the Deep South
II
Kentucky was not a cotton producing area
III
Virginia was not a cotton producing area
IV
The Florida panhandle was not a prime area for slavery
V
South Carolina had the greatest percentage of cotton and slaves
(A)
I only
(B) III only
(C) IV only
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
C
D
D
A
D
B
D
D
D
A
D
B
B
A
A
B
C
C
B
C
B
A
A
B
D
X
X
X
(D)
(E)
II only
I, II, III, IV & V