History Midterm Study Guide
Review Vocabulary:
1. Compromise of 1850- measures passed by Congress in 1850 to admit California into the Union as a free state, to divide the rest of the Southwest into the New Mexico and Utah territories, with the people there determining for themselves through popular sovereignty whether or not to accept slavery, to ban slavery in Washington, D.C., and to establish a new, stronger fugitive slave law.
2. Kansas-Nebraska Act- a law passed by Congress in 1854 to establish Kansas and Nebraska as territories with popular sovereignty
3. Missouri Compromise- measures passed by Congress in 1820 to admit Missouri into the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state while also setting a line at latitude 36° 30' (Missouri's southern border) north of which all Louisiana Purchase territory would be free
4. Northwest Ordinance- a law passed by Congress in 1787 specifying how western lands would be governed
5.
Chapter 9
1.
Why did Preston Brooks attack abolitionist and Massachusetts Senator, Charles Sumner, in 1856?
all of the above
2.
What problem did the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 cause?
It divided the country by creating sectional differences over slavery.
3.
Why was Missouri's application as a slave state problematic?
The North and South would no longer have a balance of power in the Senate.
4.
The measure that admitted Missouri as a slave state, and Maine as a free state, is known as
the Missouri Compromise.
5.
In the 1800s, sectionalism was a major political issue in America. Sectionalism is a
strong attachment to local interests.
6.
Which of the following statements is true of the South's economy during the 1800s?
The South's production was mostly agricultural.
7.
In the 1800s, what innovation helped the Northerners transport their goods to customers?
the rail line
8.
In the 1800s, many Northern moderates favored a Free-Soil position. The Free-Soil position is the
objection to expanding slavery into new territories and states.
9.
Why were many Southern radicals against limiting the expansion of slavery into new territories?
They felt it deprived them of their property rights.
10.
Both Southern and Northern moderates suggested settling new territories using popular sovereignty. Popular sovereignty would allow
voters to determine if slavery was permitted in their territory.
11.
Which of the following is an aspect of the Compromise of 1850?
all of the above
12.
What did the Fugitive Slave Law advocate?
requiring escaped slaves to return to their owners
13.
Who formed the Republican Party in 1854?
Free-Soilers against the Kansas-Nebraska Act
14.
What happened in Kansas at the Sack of Lawrence in 1856?
Border ruffians raided Lawrence because it was a Free-Soil town.
15.
How did John Brown and his followers react to the proslavery activists' violence?
They retaliated by fighting violence with violence.
16.
What was the Supreme Court decision in the 1856 case, Scott v. Sandford?
all of the above
17.
What was the result of John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry?
Federal troops captured him and his men.
18.
Which of the following statements is true of President Abraham Lincoln?
all of the above
19.
After seceding from the Union in around 1860, these Southern states formed the
Confederate States of America.
20.
What marks the start of the Civil War, in 1861?
the Southerners' attack on Fort Sumter
Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel about the brutality of slavery is titled
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Chapter 10
1.
At the beginning of the Civil War, what was one advantage that the North had over the South?
The North had more railroad lines to move people and goods around the country.
2.
Why did General Sherman adopt the policy of total war in his infamous March to the Sea?
He wanted to make war so terrible that Southerners would be reluctant to go to war ever again.
3.
What did the Emancipation Proclamation actually achieve when it was issued on January 1, 1863?
The Union gained a great moral purpose, to win the war in order to end slavery.
4.
Why was the Battle of Antietam a significant turning point in the war?
all of the above
5.
What challenge did Southern leaders face?
all of the above
6.
What did Congress do to make sure the army had enough soldiers to fight?
It enacted a military draft to compel men to serve in the army.
7.
Why did President Lincoln suspend the constitutional right of habeas corpus early in the war?
He believed it was necessary to keep Maryland and Delaware from seceding.
8.
Why did the Southern cotton embargo fail?
Great Britain already had a surplus of cotton and was developing new supply sources.
9.
What was the result of the mismatch of new weapons with old military tactics?
extremely bloody battles
10.
When not marching or drilling, soldiers spent most of their time
engaged in various pastimes.
11.
Why was medical care so appalling during the Civil War?
Doctors did not understand the causes of infection or the need for sanitary procedures in surgery.
12.
Why were Civil War battles more deadly than battles in previous wars?
New weapons such as rifled muskets were more accurate.
13.
Which of the following statements is true?
Freed slaves served in combat positions in the Confederate Army.
14.
How did some African American soldiers react to the unequal pay they received?
Some refused to fight until their pay was made equal to that of white soldiers.
15.
What risks did African American soldiers face if they were captured in the South?
They could be forced into slavery.
16.
How did African Americans in the North view the Emancipation Proclamation?
Many saw it as the first step toward gaining equal rights for African Americans.
17.
Who was “the angel of the battlefield”?
Clara Barton
18.
How were some women able to serve in combat?
They had to disguise themselves as men.
19.
Why did some people believe women should not be involved in the medical care of soldiers?
all of the above
20.
Why did women have new opportunities in the workforce?
Women took over the jobs done by men, who were fighting in the war.
Chapter 11
1.
What was the major civil rights effect of the Thirteenth Amendment?
abolishing slavery in the United States
2.
Which of the following was denied to African Americans under slavery?
basic civil rights
3.
What was created by the Union government to help former slaves and poor whites?
Freedman's Bureau
4.
What were the black codes enacted by Southern state legislatures?
laws intended to limit the opportunities of African Americans
5.
Why did Southern state legislatures create black codes after the Civil War?
They desired to maintain the pre-war social and economic order.
6.
What political stance did Andrew Johnson take after readmission of the Southern states?
He believed that the Reconstruction was complete.
7.
What political stance was supported by Radical Republicans in Congress?
promoting racial equality in the United States
8.
The Fourteenth Amendment reversed what discriminatory Supreme Court decision?
Dred Scott v. Sandford
9.
What major political shift occurred in the election of 1866?
Republicans took control of Congress.
10.
The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 denied which group the right to vote?
Confederacy supporters
11.
How did House Republicans react to Johnson's firing of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton?
They voted to impeach President Johnson.
12.
Which of the following was the largest group of voters in the South during Reconstruction?
freedmen
13.
What became a widespread agricultural practice in the Reconstruction?
tenant farming
14.
What was a result of the practice of sharecropping for many poor farmers?
debt peonage
15.
Which of the following became the most infamous terror group resisting the Reconstruction?
Ku Klux Klan
16.
Why did political support for Reconstruction diminish significantly over time?
Northern voters no longer cared about Reconstruction.
17.
What was the primary political goal of Southern Redeemers?
returning the south to white man's rule
18.
What allowed white voters to get around literacy tests and poll taxes?
grandfather clause
19.
What were Jim Crow laws intended to establish?
segregation in public places
20.
The Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court ruling promoted what racial doctrine?
separate but equal
Northerners who settled in the South following the Civil War were often known as
carpetbaggers
Chapter 12
1.
What happened in California in 1848 that resulted in a population boom for the territory?
discovery of gold in rivers
2.
What served as a valuable resource for Great Plains ranchers?
grass
3.
The "Big Four" sought government support to construct a
transcontinental railroad.
4.
Those who persuade legislators to pass laws favorable to the groups they represent are called
lobbyists.
5.
Which of the following was a difficulty faced in building a transcontinental railroad?
all of the above. Workers worked on the continental railroad for very long hours and got very little money. They also didn’t eat much, they only ate one time during their work hours, like the Asians. They were willing to work hard and get less money, very hardworking.
6.
What group made up the majority of the Central Pacific's workforce?
Chinese immigrants
7.
Why did many consumers ask for government control over railroads companies?
Railroads charged excessive rates to those reliant on them for supplies.
8.
What were Native Americans' beliefs in terms of land rights?
They believed that land could not be bought, owned or sold.
9.
What did the federal government do hoping to end conflict between Indians and settlers?
It confined most western tribes to reservations.
10.
How did many tribes react to being placed on reservations?
They fought the expansion of settlements.
11.
What event led to the hunting down of Sioux Warriors by federal troops?
Battle of the Little Bighorn
12.
What legislation by Congress accelerated the process of Native American assimilation?
Dawes Act
13.
What did the Homestead Act offer American settlers in the west?
land to work and live on
14.
Former slaves migrating to the Great Plains were known as
exodusters
15.
What political ideology arose from discontented western farmers?
Populism
16.
Which of the following was an example of a "Granger law"?
Interstate Commerce Act
17.
Government control of the supply and value of a country's currency is called
monetary policy
18.
What was the traditional monetary policy maligned by populist politicians?
gold standard
19.
Those who advocated inflationary monetary policy became known as
silverites.
20.
Which presidential candidate declared, "You shall not crucify mankind on a cross of gold"?
William Jennings Bryan
During the 1860s, many western Indian tribes were forced off their lands and onto
reservations
Chapter 14
1.
What event in 1911 brought more public attention to the plight of workers?
fatal fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
2.
Which of the following was a health threat faced by industrial workers?
all of the above
3.
Small factories with poor working conditions are often referred to as
sweatshops.
4.
Why were many children forced to work throughout the 1800s?
Their families needed supplemental income.
5.
Crowded, run-down apartment buildings in low-income areas are called
tenements.
6.
What was the workers' main strategy for improving their working conditions?
forming labor unions
7.
What is the primary source of a labor union's negotiating power?
threatening to strike
8.
Which of the following best describes a yellow-dog contract?
written pledge not to join a union
9.
What allowed business owners to make employees sign yellow-dog contracts?
High unemployment made people desperate for work.
10.
What was the largest national labor organization of the late-1800s?
American Federation of Labor
11.
Which of the following best describes "bread and butter" unionism?
improving wages and working conditions for labor
12.
Which national labor organization sought to overthrow capitalism?
Industrial Workers of the World
13.
The Industrial Workers of the World advocated what economic philosophy?
socialism
14.
Socialists followed the economic theories of what famous political philosopher?
Karl Marx
15.
Which of the following best describes collective bargaining?
negotiations between employers and employee representatives
16.
What industry experienced a major strike that boosted national union membership?
railroad industry
17.
People who reject all forms of government are called
anarchists.
18.
What was a result of violence at the Haymarket Affair?
Union leaders feared that radicals would hurt the movement.
19.
What happened in both the Homestead and Pullman Strikes?
Government troops broke up strikes.
20.
Between 1890 and 1915, Union workers experienced a _____ in weekly earnings and a _____ in hours worked.
increase; decrease
To improve their working conditions and wages, workers formed
labor unions