STAAR Questions: Sectionalism and The Civil War.

How did the loss of its control of the Mississippi River contribute to the defeat of the Confederacy?

• The river had provided direct access to the Union’s base of military operations.  
• Losing control of the river removed the physical barrier between slave and free states.  
• The river had provided the Confederacy with a power source for factories and mills.  
• Losing control of the river divided the Confederacy in two and cut off its supplies.  

One advantage the Confederacy had over the Union during the Civil War was that Confederate forces had?

• numerous factories for producing weapons and ammunition.
• a larger number of military troops in reserve.
• an extensive railroad system for moving troops and supplies.
• knowledge of the terrain where most battles were fought.

Which region’s primary economic activity in 1861 was the cultivation of cotton?

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4

Which economy and contributing factor best complete this table below?

• 1) Large farms; 2) Slaves used for labor.
• 1) Cottage industry; 2) Mild weather that attracted immigrants.
• 1) Mining; 2) Metal ores and minerals.
• 1) Ranching; 2) Railroads to transport cattle to market.

Why did the economies of western territories develop so differently from the economies of the Northeast and South?

• Western territories had limited land and a large immigrant population.
• Western territories had natural harbors and many navigable rivers.
• Western territories had rocky soil and a large supply of slave labor
• Western territories had inexpensive land and abundant natural resources.

What was a major result of the Missouri Compromise?  

• It increased the number of immigrants settling in northern states.  
• It provided financing for canal construction.  
• It rapidly expanded railroad construction in southern states.  
• It temporarily relieved sectional tensions.  

Who made this statement below?

• Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton
• Harriet Tubman
• Phillis Wheatley

Many historians argue that the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln changed the course of Reconstruction. Which of the following is usually cited as an aspect of that change?

• Radical Republicans took control of Congress.  
• Congress imposed taxes on cotton imports to pay war debts.  
• The Thirteenth Amendment was approved by Congress.
• Congress repealed legislation regulating railroad construction.  

Which of these correctly describes an effect of the Compromise of 1850 on escaped slaves and freedmen?

• Members of both groups were captured under the Fugitive Slave Law.
• Unlike freedmen, escaped slaves were welcome in the gold mines of California.
• Members of both groups could be sold in Washington, D.C., slave markets.
• Unlike escaped slaves, freedmen could vote in the territories of the Mexican Cession.

Which statement best explains the changes shown in this table below?

• Slaves from the Upper South were moved to the Lower South to work on cotton plantations.
• The Upper South experienced an agricultural labor shortage in the antebellum period.
• Slaves were transferred from the Lower South to the Upper South to work in newly built factories.
• The Lower South lost population as settlers migrated west to establish new plantations.