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Quiz for Reading the American Past, Chapter 13

Quiz for Reading the American Past, Chapter 13

Document Links

Document 13-1: Madison Hemings Recalls Life as Thomas Jefferson's Enslaved Son

Document 13-2: Plantation Rules

Document 13-3: Fanny Kemble Learns about Abuses of Slave Women

Document 13-4: Nat Turner Explains Why He Became an Insurrectionist

Document 13-5: The Proslavery Argument

Question

1. How did Madison Hemings acquire his freedom? (See Document 13-1: Madison Hemings Recalls Life as Thomas Jefferson's Enslaved Son)

He ran away from Monticello.

Jefferson freed Hemings on Madison's 21st birthday.

Jefferson freed Madison Hemings in his will.

Hemings only gained freedom during the Civil War.

Correct.

Incorrect. The answer is The answer is c. Thomas Jefferson had decided in his will that his black children were going to be freed at twenty-one years of age, or upon his deathówhichever came last.

Question

2. Why did the plantation rules of Bennet Barrow prohibit slaves from marrying slaves from other plantations? (See Document 13-2: Plantation Rules)

Barrow did not want the burden of having to host the wedding.

Barrow feared that custody battles would cause conflict among slaves.

Barrow feared that with a spouse off the plantation that slaves would feel the constant urge to leave.

Barrow wanted to deny black slaves what he considered the privilege of white Christians.

Correct.

Incorrect. The answer is The answer is c. Barrow prohibited slaves from marrying slaves from other plantations because he feared that, with a spouse off the plantation, slaves would feel the constant urge to leave.

Question

3. What did Fanny Kemble think the ratio of slave miscarriages to live children revealed? (See Document 13-3: Fanny Kemble Learns about Abuses of Slave Women)

Slave women were irresponsible as mothers.

Slave women enjoyed surprisingly good health.

Living conditions on the plantation were horrific and produced ill effects on the health of slave mothers and their children.

Her husband turned out to be a poor doctor.

Correct.

Incorrect. The answer is The answer is c. Fanny Kemble thought that the high proportion of miscarriages to healthy children indicated that the working and living conditions on the plantation were horrific for and had ill effects on slave mothers and their children.

Question

4. Why did Nat Turner think that he was destined for greatness? (See Document 13-4: Nat Turner Explains Why He Became an Insurrectionist)

As a slave he had mastered several trades and proved very skilled.

He had a talent for rhetoric and revolutionary oratory.

His connections with white abolitionists made him an ideal revolutionary.

His parents and he himself thought him a prophet since his childhood.

Correct.

Incorrect. The answer is The answer is d. His parents and Nat Turner himself believed since his childhood that he had been chosen by God for a special purpose.

Question

5. Which of the following claims did James Henry Hammond make in his letter to an English abolitionist? (See Document 13-5: The Proslavery Argument)

Slave masters could ill afford to heed Christian dogma and liberate their slaves.

Free labor available to northern businesses was much more expensive than slave labor.

Thomas Jefferson had been right in his advocacy for slave owners in the Declaration of Independence.

It was the fault of abolitionists that slavery had gotten more severe in recent years.

Correct.

Incorrect. The answer is The answer is d. James Henry Hammond wrote in his letter that abolitionist agitation had provoked ever stricter regimes on plantations.

Question

6. Fanny Kemble and James Henry Hammond did not share the same opinion about which of the following aspects of Southern plantation life? (See Document 13-3: Fanny Kemble Learns about Abuses of Slave Women and Document 13-5: The Proslavery Argument)

The life of slaves was ruled by work.

Masters believed they were good Christians.

Slaves were well taken care of and provided for.

Slave owners resented abolitionists.

Correct.

Incorrect. The answer is The answer is c. Fanny Kemble did not share the view of James Henry Hammond that southern slaves were well provided for.

Question

7. Which of the following did Nat Turner and Madison Hemings have in common? (See Document 13-4: Nat Turner Explains Why He Became an Insurrectionist and Document 13-1: Madison Hemings Recalls Life as Thomas Jefferson's Enslaved Son)

They were both born slaves in Virginia.

They had both attempted to lead an insurrection.

They both were the sons of famous founding fathers.

They were both eventually freed and able to live peaceful lives.

Correct.

Incorrect. The answer is The answer is a. Both Nat Turner and Madison Hemings were born slaves in Virginia.