wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

NEW

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

Histsory Semester Exam

Total questions: 76

Worksheet time: 38mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Multiple Choice: Place the letter of the best choice in the blank provided. The Southern advantages in the Civil War included all of the following except _____.

a)

Location of the battles

b)

Military leadership

c)

Naval power

d)

Fighting a defensive war

2.

Multiple Choice: Place the letter of the best choice in the blank provided. During the war, the North’s industrial and agricultural production _______.

a)

suffered because Great Britain allied with the South and blockaded Northern ports

b)

suffered because the South controlled most of the railroads and destroyed railroads that the North did control

c)

grew because enslaved peoples escaped to the North and worked in factories or replaced farmers who fought in the war

d)

grew because of manufacturing of war materials and mechanization in agriculture

3.

Multiple Choice: Place the letter of the best choice in the blank provided. Why was Winfield Scott’s war strategy criticized?

a)

It left the South in control of the Mississippi River.

b)

It eliminated the South too quickly.

c)

It did not affect Southern trade.

d)

It did not attack the South aggressively.

4.

Multiple Choice: Place the letter of the best choice in the blank provided. What was “cotton diplomacy”?

a)

General Sherman’s threat to burn cotton fields throughout the South.

b)

General Sherman’s compromise to leave cotton fields intact while destroying other Southern crops.

c)

The South’s offer to send cotton to Northern textile mills to ensure ongoing trade

d)

The South’s withholding of cotton from English textile mills to gain recognition of the Confederacy.

5.

The Battles of Bull Run were part of a Union strategy to capture _____

a)

the Southern ports

b)

the Shenandoah Valley

c)

the Mississippi River

d)

the Confederate capital of Richmond

6.

What was the significant result of the First Battle of Bull Run?

a)

The North realized that Britain was a formidable ally of the South.

b)

The South realized that Northern forces could quickly overpower them

c)

Both sides realized that fighting should mainly be done at sea.

d)

Both sides realized that the war would not be over quickly.

7.

What was significant about the Second Battle of Bull Run?

a)

Lee had cleared nearly all Union forces from Virginia.

b)

Lincoln replaced George McClellan with Irvin McDowell after the battle.

c)

Stonewall Jackson was killed in the fighting.

d)

The Northern army was victorious after its defeat in the First Battle of Bull Run.

8.

Why did the Union claim the Battle of Antietam as a victory?

a)

Stonewall Jackson was killed in the fighting.

b)

Lee’s withdrawal and failure to win kept Britain and France from recognizing the Confederacy.

c)

McClellan’s forces went on to capture Richmond.

d)

Britain and France declared war against the Confederacy.

9.

Why was the Battle of Gettysburg a turning point in the war?

a)

The Peace Democrats gained enough seats in Congress to reconcile with the South and limit the costs of war after the battle.

b)

The South would be on the defensive for the remainder of the war without British recognition of the Confederacy.

c)

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address encouraged many black men to enlist for the first time in the Union army.

d)

The North gained control of the Confederate capital.

10.

Which of the following is true of the Battle of Shiloh?

a)

The battle was a draw, but the Union claimed victory.

b)

General Grant won a costly victory.

c)

General Lee won a costly victory.

d)

The battle was a draw, but the Confederacy claimed victory.

11.

Which of the following was a Confederate victory in the war in the West?

a)

Chattanooga

b)

Chickamauga

c)

Shiloh

d)

Vicksburg

12.

Who was first commander of the Vicksburg campaign, then commander of the forces in the West, and finally commander of all Union forces?

a)

George McClellan

b)

Irvin McDowell

c)

William T. Sherman

d)

Ulysses S. Grant

13.

Atlanta was a key city for the Union to capture because it was _________.

a)

the "breadbasket of the South"

b)

the final fortress on the Mississippi River

c)

a second capital of the Confederacy

d)

an important railroad and manufacturing center

14.

Which battle helped convince Republicans to support Lincoln in the election of 1864?

a)

Atlanta

b)

Chickamauga

c)

Fredericksburg

d)

Shiloh

15.

Why was Grant able to force Lee to surrender?

a)

Britain finally entered the war on the Union side.

b)

Lee could not receive reinforcements and supplies like Grant could.

c)

Grant won all of the final battles in the Wilderness Campaign with minimal losses.

d)

Jefferson Davis betrayed the Confederacy and joined the Union.

16.

________ became president after Lincoln’s assassination.

a)

Ulysses S. Grant

b)

Andrew Johnson

c)

Rutherford B. Hayes

d)

William T. Sherman

17.

When it reconvened in December 1865 after states had been readmitted under Johnson’s plan, Congress ________.

a)

impeached Johnson for allowing black codes to be passed

b)

voted to readmit all the seceded states according to the terms of Johnson’s plan

c)

went from being majority Republican to majority Democratic

d)

refused to allow the newly elected Southern congressmen to take their seats

18.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 _________.

a)

granted citizenship to black Americans and gave them full and equal protection of all laws

b)

specifically granted black Americans the right to vote

c)

authorized the president to use force against the Ku Klux Klan

d)

enlarged the powers of the Freedmen’s Bureau

19.

The ______ divided the South into five military districts and required the states to submit their constitution to Congress and ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.

a)

Wade-Davis Bill

b)

Ten Percent Plan

c)

Civil Rights Act of 1866

d)

Reconstruction Act of 1867

20.

Carpetbaggers were _______.

a)

Blacks who were elected to Congress during Reconstruction

b)

White Southerners who supported the new Reconstruction governments

c)

Northerners who came to the South during Reconstruction

d)

Republicans who voted for Johnson’s impeachment

21.

President Johnson was impeached for violating the _______.

a)

Fourteenth Amendment

b)

Civil Rights Act of 1866

c)

Reconstruction Act of 1867

d)

Tenure of Office Act

22.

The outcome of Johnson’s impeachment trial was that ______.

a)

he was found guilty and removed from office

b)

Congress withdrew the charges when Johnson accepted their Reconstruction plan

c)

the vote fell one short of the number needed to find him guilty

d)

Johnson resigned from office before the trial was completed

23.

After Johnson’s impeachment, the Republicans nominated ______ for president in 1868.

a)

Ulysses S. Grant

b)

Rutherford B. Hayes

c)

Samuel Tilden

d)

William T. Sherman

24.

Credit Mobilier and the Whiskey Ring were both _____.

a)

organizations run by the Tammany Hall political machine

b)

famous political cartoons by Thomas Nast

c)

scandals involving government officials during the Grant administration

d)

businesses that failed during the Panic of 1873

25.

The corrupt leader of the Tammany Hall political machine in New York City was _____.

a)

William Belknap

b)

William “Boss” Tweed

c)

Schuyler Colfax

d)

Thomas Nast

26.

The political cartoonist who used his cartoons to promote Republican policies and attack the Tammany Hall political machine _____.

a)

William Belknap

b)

William “Boss” Tweed

c)

Schuyler Colfax

d)

Thomas Nast

27.

The federal government’s response to the activity of the Ku Klux Klan was _____.

a)

to ignore the violence and focus on economic matters

b)

to leave it to state and local authorities to enforce the law and protect the rights of black Americans

c)

to pardon the leaders of the KKK

d)

that Congress passed the Enforcement Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act to address the violence and crack down on the KKK

28.

In the Compromise of 1877, ________.

a)

Republicans agreed not to prosecute KKK members, and Democrats agreed to crack down on future KKK activity

b)

Republicans and Democrats agreed to limit immigration

c)

the Democrats agreed to accept Hayes as president in return for a Republican promise to remove all remaining federal troops from the South

d)

the Democrats won the presidency in return for a promise to guarantee the rights of black Americans

29.

Reconstruction effectively ended when ____________.

a)

the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified

b)

black codes were repealed

c)

the last federal troops were removed from the South in 1877

d)

all freed slaves were given land by the Freedmen’s Bureau

30.

The result of the removal of federal troops from the South was that ________.

a)

black Americans were now free to live and work where and how they wanted

b)

the South became federally industrialized

c)

Republicans maintained political control in the South

d)

there was no more federal enforcement of laws protecting black civil or voting rights

31.

Some Southern leaders began to promote a “New South” in which ______.

a)

the economy would be based on manufacturing and industry, not just agriculture

b)

black and white Americans lived in an integrated society

c)

slavery and the plantation system were restored

d)

the Republican Party controlled all Southern states

32.

True or False: Both sides used conscription to raise forces for the war.

a)

True

b)

False

33.

True or False: Many slaves fought alongside their masters in the Confederate Army.

a)

True

b)

False

34.

True or False: At the beginning of the war, free blacks could serve only in the Union Navy, but later they could enlist in the Union Army.

a)

True

b)

False

35.

True or False: Both sides were able to produce sufficient food throughout the war for soldiers, citizens, and export.

a)

True

b)

False

36.

True or False: The South used blockade runners to continue trade despite the Northern blockade of Southern ports.

a)

True

b)

False

37.

True or False: One reason for the high casualty counts in the war was the use of new, improved, or more lethal weapons.

a)

True

b)

False

38.

True or False: Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation after the Union victory at Antietam.

a)

True

b)

False

39.

True or False: Lincoln’s choice of general led the Union to victory in the Battle of Fredericksburg.

a)

True

b)

False

40.

True or False: Although the Confederate army won the Battle of Chancellorsville, Stonewall Jackson died in the battle.

a)

True

b)

False

41.

True or False: The Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to Confederate areas under Union control, but enslaved people there were declared free by the Confiscation Act.

a)

True

b)

False

42.

By the election of 1864, both Peace Democrats and War Democrats believed that many of Lincoln’s actions were unconstitutional.

a)

True

b)

False

43.

John Wilkes Booth was an actor and Confederate sympathizer who shot Lincoln during a play at Ford’s Theater.

a)

True

b)

False

44.

The economy of the North suffered greatly as a result of the Civil War.

a)

True

b)

False

45.

One major question of Reconstruction was whether Congress or the president was responsible for controlling the process.

a)

True

b)

False

46.

Andrew Johnson’s primary goal in his Reconstruction plan was to secure equality for the freedmen.

a)

True

b)

False

47.

Under Johnson’s plan for Reconstruction, Southern states were electing former Confederate congressmen, generals, and even the vice president to the US Congress.

a)

True

b)

False

48.

Republicans in Congress felt the Fourteenth Amendment was necessary because of fear that the Supreme Court could rule the Civil Rights Act of 1866 unconstitutional.

a)

True

b)

False

49.

Industry replaced agriculture as the primary economic activity in the South by the end of Reconstruction.

a)

True

b)

False

50.

Who worked as a volunteer nurse for the North, often visiting the battlefield?

a)

Clara Barton

b)

Dorothea Dix

c)

Mary Edwards Walker

d)

Harriet Tubman

51.

What was the Northern war strategy called?

a)

Anaconda Plan

b)

Total War

c)

Southern Blockade

d)

Compromise of 1850

52.

What strategy seeks to wear down an opponent, exhausting the opponent’s resources, and limit offensive fighting?

a)

War of attrition

b)

Blitzkrieg

c)

Guerrilla warfare

d)

Scorched-earth policy

53.

What was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history?

a)

Antietam

b)

Shiloh

c)

Chancellorsville

d)

Fredericksburg

54.

What group wanted to preserve the Union by negotiating with the Confederacy?

a)

Peace Democrats

b)

War Democrats

c)

Radical Republicans

d)

Union League

55.

In what battle maneuver were about seven thousand Confederate troops either killed, wounded, or captured during the Battle of Gettysburg?

a)

Pickett’s Charge

b)

Sherman’s March

c)

Stonewall’s Flank Attack

d)

Burnside’s Assault

56.

What three-day battle was the deadliest in the war?

a)

Gettysburg

b)

Antietam

c)

Chickamauga

d)

Spotsylvania

57.

What was the final city to fall before the Union could claim control of all of the Mississippi River?

a)

Vicksburg

b)

New Orleans

c)

Memphis

d)

Baton Rouge

58.

Which general reinforced the Union in the Battle of Chattanooga and went on to capture Atlanta?

a)

Ulysses S. Grant

b)

William Tecumseh Sherman

c)

George H. Thomas

d)

Philip Sheridan

59.

Which battle is associated with “Grant’s Slaughter Pen”?

a)

Cold Harbor

b)

The Wilderness

c)

Spotsylvania Court House

d)

Petersburg

60.

Where did Grant and Lee meet to discuss terms of surrender?

a)

Appomattox Court House

b)

Richmond

c)

Ford’s Theater

d)

Antietam

61.

The period from the end of the Civil War to 1877 is known as what?

a)

Reconstruction

b)

Gilded Age

c)

Progressive Era

d)

Antebellum

62.

Blacks who had been liberated from slavery were called what?

a)

Freedmen

b)

Carpetbaggers

c)

Sharecroppers

d)

Scalawags

63.

Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction was also called the ______ Plan because of its requirement for the number of people who would have taken an oath of allegiance to the Union.

a)

Ten Percent

b)

Wade-Davis

c)

Compromise of 1850

d)

Anaconda

64.

Lincoln’s opponents in Congress who thought his plan did not do enough to transform the South were called what?

a)

Radical Republicans

b)

Copperheads

c)

Redeemers

d)

Southern Unionists

65.

The Radical Republicans proposed the ______ Bill to counter Lincoln’s Reconstruction plan.

a)

Wade-Davis

b)

Ten Percent

c)

Kansas-Nebraska

d)

Homestead

66.

The ______ Amendment abolished slavery.

a)

Thirteenth

b)

Fourteenth

c)

Fifteenth

d)

Tenth

67.

Laws that severely limited the rights of black Americans were called what?

a)

Black Codes

b)

Jim Crow Amendments

c)

Alien and Sedition Acts

d)

Navigation Acts

68.

The ______ was established by the federal government as an agency to assist former slaves.

a)

Freedmen’s Bureau

b)

Civil Service Commission

c)

Interstate Commerce Commission

d)

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

69.

The ______ Amendment gave black Americans citizenship and equal protection of the law.

a)

Fourteenth

b)

Thirteenth

c)

Fifteenth

d)

Twelfth

70.

White Southerners who supported the Reconstruction governments were called what?

a)

Scalawags

b)

Carpetbaggers

c)

Redeemers

d)

Copperheads

71.

The ______ Act made it illegal for the president to remove an official who had been confirmed by the Senate without Senate approval.

a)

Tenure of Office

b)

Civil Rights

c)

Enforcement

d)

Pendleton

72.

The ______ Amendment said the right to vote cannot be denied on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

a)

Fifteenth

b)

Fourteenth

c)

Thirteenth

d)

Nineteenth

73.

A financial collapse called the ______ of ’73 began a six-year economic depression in the United States.

a)

Panic

b)

Crash

c)

Bubble

d)

Bank Run

74.

White Southern Democrats who wanted to “save” their state governments from Reconstruction and Republican rule were called what?

a)

Redeemers

b)

Carpetbaggers

c)

Scalawags

d)

Neutralists

75.

The ______ was a secret society that used violence to keep black people firmly under white control.

a)

Ku Klux Klan

b)

Knights of Labor

c)

Grange

d)

Know-Nothing Party

76.

In the __________ system, poor laborers framed small plots owned by planters and paid rent with a portion of the crop they grew.

a)

sharecropping system

b)

tenant leasing system

c)

wage-labor plantation system

d)

indenture system