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WorksheetsThe South
Total questions: 30
Worksheet time: 22mins
Name
Class
Date
1.
Why did the value of slaves drop in the South following the American Revolution?
a)
Crop prices fell and the demand for slaves decreased.
b)
Slaves launched rebellions throughout the South.
c)
Slaves began to escape to the North.
d)
The practice of slavery became unpopular in the South.
2.
How did Eli Whitney's original cotton gin work?
a)
Horses drew the machine through green-seed cotton fields to harvest seedless fibers.
b)
Cotton was put into the machine, which seeded, baled, and tied the fibers with hemp.
c)
A worker cranked the machine and "teeth" separated green seeds from cotton fibers.
d)
A steam engine powered the machine, which removed seeds from long-staple cotton.
3.
What was the "cotton belt?"
a)
An area stretching from South Carolina to Texas that grew most of the country's cotton crop.
b)
The southern region east of the Mississippi that produced 2/3 of the cotton grown in the United States.
c)
Fields in Mexico where agricultural scientists worked to crossbreed short-staple cotton with Mexican cotton.
d)
A long stretch of land in the South where short-staple crops were wiped out by disease in the 1830s.
4.
What was responsible for increasing the domestic slave trade in the early 1800s?
a)
Strong types of cotton began to emerge as a result of crossbreeding.
b)
An act of Congress banned the importation of slaves into the country.
c)
Some leaders wanted the South to grow a greater variety of cash crops.
d)
Farmers eager for profits headed west in search of land to grow cotton.
5.
What does "crop rotation" involve?
a)
Crossbreeding short staple cotton with other varieties to maximize quality.
b)
Raking fertilizer into the ground around the roots of young plants to mix air and nutrients into the soil.
c)
Changing the type of plant grown on a give plot each year in order to protect the land from mineral loss.
d)
Turning the soil over after a harvest to prevent insects from spending the winter underground and infesting the next season's plants.
6.
Tredegar Iron Works was a:
a)
northern company that specialized in turning iron into steel by heating it.
b)
northern mine that provided coal to manufacturers of iron products.
c)
southern factory that turned iron into useful products for industry and the military.
d)
southern manufacturing plant that produced locomotives for the government.
7.
Why did industry remain a minor part of the southern economy after the 1840s?
a)
Planters received tax cuts to cultivate crops.
b)
Planters preferred to perform manual labor.
c)
Both England and the North could produce goods more cheaply.
d)
the South did not have the resources to set up factories.
8.
What was the main problem with the production of tobacco before the 1840s?
a)
Tobacco took a long time to grow.
b)
Tobacco was illegal in many states.
c)
Tobacco could be grown only in the North.
d)
Tobacco needed to be dried before shipping.
9.
Many of the first factories in the South were built for the
a)
cutting, sorting, and cleaning of lumber.
b)
processing of crops such as sugarcane.
c)
bundling of cotton bales.
d)
construction of iron materials.
10.
In the first half of the 1800s, what portion of white southern families had slaves?
a)
1/3
b)
1/2
c)
2/3
d)
3/4
11.
A "yeoman" was a/an
a)
white owner of a small farm.
b)
established plantation owner.
c)
freed southern slave.
d)
northern slave sold to a Southerner.
12.
Most of the south's big cities had started as
a)
shipping centers.
b)
industrial villages.
c)
cotton plantations.
d)
antislavery communities.
13.
What was one duty of a planter's wife?
a)
sowing and raising crops
b)
organizing the slaves on the plantations
c)
teaching slaves how to read
d)
supervising slaves within the household
14.
Why did many southern cities and states pass laws to limit the rights of freed slaves?
a)
State governments wanted to teach the lesson that freedom brings responsibility.
b)
Southern citizens feared freed slaves would try to encourage slave rebellions.
c)
White churches were losing members to the independent church movement.
d)
Lawmakers felt freed slaves had not earned the benefits of citizenship.
15.
How was life in southern cities similar to plantation life in the 1800s?
a)
Public education was widely available.
b)
Local governments funded water systems.
c)
Slaves did most of the work.
d)
Business owners maintained streets.
16.
Free African Americans in the 1860s could
a)
travel nationwide without restriction.
b)
vote in presidential elections.
c)
hold any job they desired.
d)
engage in business transactions.
17.
Unlike slaves on the plantations, slaves working in the planters' houses
a)
receive payment
b)
had better food, clothing, and shelter
c)
worked shorter hours
d)
did not work when they were sick
18.
Many planters used the gang-labor system, in which all field hands
a)
were trained to do different tasks.
b)
focused on the same task at the same time.
c)
worked in shifts throughout the day.
d)
decided how to organize the day's work.
19.
What advantage did skilled slaves have over unskilled slaves?
a)
working shorter hours
b)
moving from plantation to plantation
c)
living in their owner' house
d)
earning money to buy their freedom
20.
How did most planters encourage slave obedience?
a)
by offering rewards of better food, clothing, and shelter
b)
through physical punishments
c)
by withholding payment for work completed
d)
through incentives such as education
21.
Why were slaves uneducated?
a)
Slaves had no time to study.
b)
Teaching slaves did not pay well.
c)
Slaves wanted to keep an oral tradition.
d)
Teaching slaves was prohibited in most states.
22.
What were slave codes?
a)
strict state laws that controlled the actions of slaves.
b)
a secret language slaves used to communicate.
c)
a set of rules for slave behavior set by a council of planters.
d)
the policy of slaves to always help one another.
23.
What would a slave have worried about most when coming up for auction?
a)
the size of the new master's plantation
b)
the type of work required by the new master
c)
the fate of parents, brothers, sisters, and children
d)
the religious life of the new community
24.
What have some historians called "the invisible institution?"
a)
slave rebellion
b)
the practice of slavery
c)
slave religion
d)
the punishment of slaves
25.
What were spirituals?
a)
rebellions led by slaves
b)
stories with lessons about slavery
c)
places where slaves went to worship
d)
emotional Christian songs sung by slaves
26.
How did enslaved parents pass their culture down to their children?
a)
They told the children biblical tales of the exodus from slavery.
b)
They told folktales with traditional characters and morals.
c)
They taught children Christian songs about freedom.
d)
They showed their children how to outsmart slaveholders.
27.
Slaves most often ran away from slaveholders in order to do what?
a)
attend church
b)
get medical attention
c)
visit relatives
d)
study in secret
28.
In what way did slaves rebel against long working hours?
a)
They slowed down their work in the fields.
b)
They hid their masters' whips and chains.
c)
They prayed to God to teach masters the virtue of equal treatment.
d)
They stole books from their masters and taught themselves to read.
29.
What was the effect of Nat Turner's rebellion of 1831?
a)
Slave codes were toughened.
b)
Slaves lost the right to a fair trial.
c)
Terrified slaveholders freed their slaves.
d)
Slaves obtained better working conditions.
30.
Prior to his trial, how did Nat Turner feel about the revolt he led?
a)
He was ashamed of his actions.
b)
He felt it was worth suffering for.
c)
He was afraid of being punished.
d)
He felt his followers had abandoned him.
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