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Worksheets

Civil War and Reconstruction

Total questions: 50

Worksheet time: 27mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

The major cause of the Civil War in America was --

a)

States' Rights

b)

Slavery

c)

Prohibition

d)

Suffrage

2.

The Confederate States of America is another name for the --

a)

Southern states that seceded from the Union

b)

Northern states that remained in the Union

c)

Western states opposed to Indian removal

d)

The United States prior to the passage of the Constitution

3.

The Union is another name for the --

a)

Southern states that seceded from the United States

b)

Northern states that remained in the United States

c)

Western states that resisted Indian removal

d)

The United States prior to the ratification of the Constitution

4.

The President of the Confederacy was --

a)

Abraham Lincoln

b)

Thomas Jefferson

c)

Jefferson Davis

d)

Robert E. Lee

5.

The President of the United States at the time of the Civil War was --

a)

Jefferson Davis

b)

Abraham Lincoln

c)

Ulysses S. Grant

d)

Robert E. Lee

6.

Why was the Confederate attack on the Union controlled Fort Sumter important?

a)

The attack on Fort Sumter started the Civil War

b)

The attack on Fort Sumter ended the Civil War

c)

The attack on Fort Sumter was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War

d)

The attack on Fort Sumter was the turning point of the Civil War

7.

In what year did the attack on Fort Sumter occur?

a)

1860

b)

1861

c)

1862

d)

1863

8.

During what years did the Civil War occur?

a)

1845-1848

b)

1861-1865

c)

1775-1783

d)

1812-1814

9.

Which of the following was a Confederate advantage at the start of the Civil War?

a)

More railroad lines

b)

More trained military officers

c)

More banks and economic opportunities

d)

More people per square mile

10.

Which of the following was a Union advantage at the start of the Civil War?

a)

Better trained military officers

b)

Greater economic resources

c)

Fighting on their own land

d)

Access to military draft

11.

What was the first major battle of the Civil War?

a)

Battle of Bull Run

b)

Battle of Antietam

c)

Battle of Gettysburg

d)

Battle of Vicksburg

12.

What Confederate general earned a nickname at the Battle of Bull Run?

a)

Robert E. Lee

b)

Thomas Jackson

c)

Ulysses S. Grant

d)

George McClellan

13.

Which side won the Battle of Bull Run?

a)

The Union

b)

The Confederacy

14.

What was the purpose of the Emancipation Proclamation?

a)

It freed all slaves in North America

b)

It freed all slaves in the border states

c)

It freed all slaves in the Confederacy

d)

It freed all slaves in South America

15.

Why did the Emancipation Proclamation not free the slaves in the border states?

a)

Lincoln wanted to keep the border states from seceding

b)

There were no slaves in the border states

c)

Lincoln did not have the power to free slaves in the border states

d)

The border states had already freed their slaves

16.

Who signed the Emancipation Proclamation?

a)

Robert E. Lee

b)

Abraham Lincoln

c)

William Seward

d)

Ulysses S. Grant

17.

Why did Lincoln believe it was necessary to pass the Emancipation Proclamation?

a)

It was a military necessity to free the slaves

b)

It was a goal of abolitionists

c)

It was a morally right to free the slaves

d)

It was a goal of Democrats

18.

Why was the Battle of Antietam important?

a)

The Union victory allowed Lincoln to pass the Emancipation Proclamation

b)

The Union victory was a major turning point in the Civil War

c)

The Confederate victory convinced Lincoln to pass the Emancipation Proclamation

d)

The Confederate victory was a major turning point in the Civil War

19.
Which of the following were lessons learned after the Battle of Bull Run? 
a)
The Civil War would cost a lot of American lives
b)
The War would end quickly and be easy
c)
The Union would definitely win the Civil War
d)
President Lincoln called for a national army
20.
Which number on the map labels the state that first seceded from the Union?
a)
1
b)
2
c)
3
d)
4
21.

Why is William Carney an important figure?

a)

He was the first black man awarded the medal of honor

b)

He was the first black man elected to Congress

c)

He wrote a narrative of his life as a slave

d)

He wrote the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin

22.

Why was the Battle of Gettysburg considered a turning point of the Civil War?

a)

The Union victory pushed back the Confederate invasion of the North

b)

The Union victory allowed Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation

c)

The Union victory cut the Confederacy in half and captured the Mississippi River

d)

The Union victory led to the capture of Robert E. Lee

23.

Which event in Douglass' life most likely contributed to his support of the Union?

a)

He had spent several years in England and Ireland

b)

He had been enslaved during his youth in Maryland

c)

He had married and settled with his wife in Massachusetts

d)

He had been the only African American to attend the Seneca Falls Convention

24.

Which city was strategic for the Union to control in an effort to cut off supplies to the Confederacy?

a)

Atlanta

b)

New Orleans

c)

Richmond

d)

Shiloh

25.

Why was the Siege of Vicksburg considered a turning point of the Civil War?

a)

The Union victory allowed Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation

b)

The Union victory pushed back the Confederate invasion of the North

c)

The Union victory cut the Confederacy in half and captured the Mississippi River

d)

The Union victory led to the Capture of Robert E. Lee

26.

How did the assassination of Lincoln change the course of Reconstruction?

a)

Radical Republicans took control of Congress

b)

Congress imposed taxes on cotton imports to pay war debts

c)

The Thirteenth Amendment was approved by Congress

d)

Congress repealed legislation regulating railroad construction

27.

After General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House, the main priority of the United States was to --

a)

elect a new president and vice president

b)

complete construction of the capitol

c)

establish union forts in the former Confederate states

d)

implement a plan to bring Confederate states back into the Union

28.

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

a)

The river had provided direct access to the Union's base of military operations

b)

Losing control of the river removed the physical barrier between slave and free states

c)

The river had provided the Confederacy with a power source for factories and mills

d)

Losing control of the river divided the Confederacy in two and cut off its supplies

29.

Which of the following had the greatest impact on the outcome of the Civil War?

a)

Economic differences between the Union and the Confederacy

b)

The amount of military training given to Union forces and Confederacy forces

c)

Religious differences between the Union and the Confederacy

d)

The alignment of foreign allies with the Union or with the Confederacy

30.

Which of the following reversed the Supreme Court ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford?

a)

The Dawes Act

b)

The Fourteenth Amendment

c)

The Compromise of 1877

d)

The Kansas-Nebraska Act

31.

What is one political impact of Reconstruction?

a)

Three new amendments to the Constitution were approved

b)

Senators could be directly elected to the national legislature

c)

Southern states rejoined the Union under their pre-war state constitutions

d)

Western territories rushed to achieve statehood after slavery was outlawed

32.

What was the purpose of the Freedmen's Bureau?

a)

Raising income levels of newly-freed enslaved people

b)

Expanding education opportunities for newly-freed enslaved people

c)

Redistributing plantation lands to newly-freed enslaved people

d)

Forcing southern state governments to recognize the votes of newly enslaved people

33.

When did the Reconstruction Era occur?

a)

1860-1870

b)

1861-1865

c)

1865-1880

d)

1865-1877

34.

This political cartoon comments on events that occurred during the -

a)

Reconstruction Era

b)

Age of Jackson

c)

Second Great Awakening

d)

Civil War

35.

The election of Hiram Rhodes Revels in 1870 was significant because he was the first African American to -

a)

win an election as a member of the Democratic Party

b)

win a majority of the popular vote in Mississippi

c)

serve as a member of the U.S. Senate

d)

run for public office in the South

36.

What was the main cause of the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson in 1868?

a)

He opposed the Thirteenth Amendment

b)

He refused to report criminal activity by the Union Army

c)

He opposed Radical Reconstruction policies for former Confederate States

d)

He refused to use the Homestead Act to redistribute land to former slaves

37.

After the Civil War, southern states adopted Black Codes to -

a)

punish plantation owners for the use of slavery

b)

support Radical Reconstruction objectives in the South

c)

promote the activities of the Freedmen's Bureau

d)

limit the impact of the Thirteenth Amendment

38.

What was the purpose of the Thirteenth Amendment?

a)

It freed all slaves in America

b)

It gave all former slaves citizenship rights

c)

It gave all former slaves the right to vote

39.

What was the purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment?

a)

It ended slavery in America

b)

It gave all former slaves citizenship rights

c)

It gave all former slaves the right to vote

40.

What was the purpose of the Fifteenth Amendment?

a)

It ended slavery in America

b)

It gave all former slaves citizenship rights

c)

It gave all former slaves the right to vote

41.

What was one long-term consequence of the sharecropping system?

a)

Agricultural workers organized labor unions

b)

Many former slaves became trapped in a cycle of debt

c)

Many agricultural workers moved to cities to start small businesses

d)

Landowners sold property to pay wages to former slaves

42.

One effect of the Dawes Act was that it -

a)

caused many American Indian tribes to create written constitutions

b)

provided education to American Indians through locally run schools

c)

limited the voting rights of American Indians

d)

harmed the communal structure of American Indian society

43.

How did many southern states respond to the efforts of Reconstruction to recognize new freedoms for African Americans?

a)

Several state governments re-introduced the international slave trade

b)

Several state governments passed laws to limit the opportunities of African Americans

c)

Several state governments recalled national legislators and again proposed secession

d)

Several state governments introduced constitutional amendments to expand citizenship and voting rights to African Americans

44.

What group limited new opportunities for freedom for blacks using terrorism and murder?

a)

Red Shirts

b)

Ku Klux Klan

c)

White League

d)

Aryan Nations

45.

What was one result of the Morrill Act?

a)

Many states built their first public colleges

b)

American Indians could attend public colleges for free

c)

American Indians could attend public colleges for free

d)

American Indians could attend public colleges for free

46.

Which agreement resulted from the informal Compromise of 1877 between southern Democrats and northern Republicans?

a)

Southern states accepted federal tariffs in exchange for new railroad construction and investments in southern industries.

b)

Southern plantation owners would receive compensation for freed enslaved people in exchange for agreeing to loyalty oaths swearing allegiance to the Union.

c)

Northern Republicans would end Reconstruction and the occupation of southern cities in exchange for the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment by southern states.

d)

Due to a contested election, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes would be chosen president by Congress in exchange for federal troops being removed from southern states to end Reconstruction.

47.

According to the Reconstruction Act, what was required of former Confederate states for readmission to the Union?

a)

State constitutions had to include a bill of rights.

b)

State legislatures had to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.

c)

State lawmakers had to live within the state for one year.

d)

State voters had to choose a new president for the United States

48.
What was Reconstruction?
a)
equal treatment for all people
b)
the forced separation of races
c)
a farmer shares part of his crop to pay for land
d)
the period of time after the Civil War
49.
The US government created what organization to help former slaves and poor whites?
a)
Bureau of Parks and Recreation
b)
Free Food Bureau
c)
Jobs and Education Bureau
d)
Freedman's Bureau
50.
Northerners who migrated to the mostly destroyed post-war south to make large profits and/or help freedmen were known as
a)
Scalawags
b)
Ku Klux Klan
c)
Carpetbaggers
d)
Sharecroppers