Midterm Exam I Study Guide

Mr. Walsh
Survey of African American History
Mid-Term Exam I Study Guide
Spring 10

Structure of the Exam:
40 Multiple Choice & True/False (1 point each) 40 points
(Bring a Scantron sheet and pencil for this section)
15 Fill-in-the-blank (2 points each) 30 points
(Bring a pen for this section)
1 Essay Question (30 points) +30 points
(You will NOT need a Blue Book for this section) 100 points total

Sections Covered: (Chapters one thru eleven in From Slavery to Freedom)
African Origins
The Middle Passage and Caribbean Slave Society
Colonial Slavery
American Revolution
The Federal Period and the Growth of the Cotton Kingdom
Expansion & Slavery
Slave Society and Slave Resistance
Sectionalism and the Coming Conflict
Civil War


Fill-in-the-Blank Word Bank: This word bank will NOT appear on the exam itself. Instead, it will appear in your memory after careful study, preparation, organization, and time management. (2 pts each)
Nat Turner Bleeding Kansas Sojourner Truth Touissaint-L’Oeverture
Frederick Douglass John Brown 1619 in Jamestown Eli Whitney
“Maroon” communities U.B. Philips Middle Passage Society of Friends
Harriet Tubman Crispus Attucks 3/5 Compromise Lord Dunmore (& his Proclamation)
Indentured Servitude Stono Rebellion Richard Allen & the AME Long & Short Staple Cotton
Timbuktu Confiscation Act of 1861 Columbian Exchange Everyday Forms of Resistance
Fugitive Slave Law 54th Massachusetts & Glory Battle of New Orleans Internal Slave Trade
William Lloyd Garrison John Fairfield & the Underground Railroad


Essay Questions: I will select ONE question from the two below for your particular version of the exam; you will answer ONE. To ensure success, you will need to prepare answers for both. You will not need a Blue Book. (30 pts)

1.)Compare, contrast and describe the various “styles” of slavery that developed in the Deep South (SC, GA, AL, MS), the Upper South (MD, VA, NC) the Mid-Atlantic states (PA, NJ, NY), and finally New England (MA, CN, NH) from the establishment of the various colonies until the outbreak of the Civil War. What was daily life like for slaves in each area. Contrast “household” to “field” slavery, where was each prevalent? What other forms of labor did slaves provide? Did slaves ever “earn” a “wage”? Where and how? Where and how did blacks (slave and free) come into contact with Christianity? Which denominations? Why?

2.)What were the large and complex dynamics that drove the country to war in 1861? Arguably, when did these “sectional” differences begin? What role did the expansion of the “cotton kingdom” play? How central was the role slavery played in the conflict? What contributions did slaves themselves make to the issue of the war? In what ways did African Americans participate in the war effort—on both sides? How did slavery (and democracy), war (and sacrifice) change Abraham Lincoln’s view of the war? How was this change reflected in Lincoln’s rhetoric during the war itself?