AAMS EXAM 2 COMPREHENSIVE FINAL EXAMINATION
CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION HISTORY QUESTIONS
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
Question 1
F.E. Dumas, P.B.S. Pinchback, and Martin R. Delany were notable examples of:
A) White officers who led Black regiments into battle
B) Congressmen who compelled Lincoln to change his stance on Black enlistment
C) Black soldiers who held commissions in the Union Army
D) Escaped slaves who guided Union forces across southern terrain
Correct Answer: C
Explanation: These men were among the small number of African Americans who
held commissioned officer ranks in the Union Army during the Civil War.
Question 2
What did the men of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment do to protest
racial discrimination?
A) They held the first sit-in at the White House and were arrested for treason
B) They refused to accept pay unless it was equal to the wages of their white
counterparts
C) They went on a hunger strike to protest unequal treatment
D) They marched on Washington, D.C., shouting "Black Lives Matter!"
Correct Answer: B
,Explanation: The 54th Massachusetts Regiment refused to accept unequal pay for
over a year until Congress finally equalized pay for Black soldiers in 1864.
Question 3
What was the relationship between Black women and Union military during the
Civil War?
A) Black women helped the Union as slaves, but not as free women
B) Black women served as cooks and nurses but did nothing behind enemy lines
C) Black women served as spies, liberators, and guides for the Union and other
Black people
D) The Union ignored entirely the interest of Black women in contributing to the
war effort
Correct Answer: C
Explanation: Black women like Harriet Tubman (spy and scout), Susie King Taylor
(nurse and teacher), and Mary Bowser (spy in Confederate White House) made
vital contributions.
Question 4
During the war, Peter Herbert and Mary S. Peake were prominent examples of
southern Blacks who:
A) Assisted Union forces as guides and spies
B) Provided educational opportunities to Black people fleeing slavery behind
Union Army lines
C) Engaged in sabotage to undermine the Confederate war effort
D) Administered to sick and wounded Union soldiers
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: Both Herbert and Peake established schools for freedpeople in
Union-occupied areas, providing education to those who had escaped slavery.
,Question 5
What were the terms of Special Field Order No. 15?
A) The order forced Black people to work in repairing wartime damages to
southern cities
B) It set aside lands along the coast from Charleston, South Carolina, to
Jacksonville, Florida, for Black folks
C) It was issued by General William T. Sherman and allowed some Blacks to use
Army mules
D) It set aside land between Baltimore, Maryland, and Virginia Beach, Virginia, for
Black use
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: Special Field Order No. 15 (January 1865) reserved coastal land for
freedpeople, granting each family up to 40 acres. This was the origin of "40 acres
and a mule."
Question 6
How is the end of enslavement related to the condition of southern Black families
in 1865?
A) Blacks were indifferent about freedom, and many moved to Mexico
B) Blacks were overjoyed about freedom and many began to search for lost family
members
C) Blacks were disappointed in losing their white masters, leading to a
disintegration of Black families
D) Blacks were delighted that slavery was over, thus enabling families to move
back to Africa
Correct Answer: B
, Explanation: After emancipation, formerly enslaved people placed newspaper ads,
traveled, and used Freedmen's Bureau resources to reunite with family members
sold away.
Question 7
What was the first concern of many Africans and African Americans once they
achieved freedom?
A) Reuniting with lost family members
B) Moving to northern cities
C) Forming churches
D) Retaliating against former masters
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: While forming churches and seeking economic opportunity were
important, the immediate priority for most was finding and reuniting with family
members.
Question 8
Which of the following statements is true about the importance of education to
Black people both during and after Reconstruction?
A) They saw education and freedom as closely linked and often went to great
lengths to form schools and attend them
B) Blacks already had access to education in the U.S., and school attendance did
not change after Reconstruction
C) They did not really consider it very important because many realized they
would get work only as field hands
D) They thought it was important but felt they had to accomplish other things
before whites would allow education
Correct Answer: A
CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION HISTORY QUESTIONS
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
Question 1
F.E. Dumas, P.B.S. Pinchback, and Martin R. Delany were notable examples of:
A) White officers who led Black regiments into battle
B) Congressmen who compelled Lincoln to change his stance on Black enlistment
C) Black soldiers who held commissions in the Union Army
D) Escaped slaves who guided Union forces across southern terrain
Correct Answer: C
Explanation: These men were among the small number of African Americans who
held commissioned officer ranks in the Union Army during the Civil War.
Question 2
What did the men of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment do to protest
racial discrimination?
A) They held the first sit-in at the White House and were arrested for treason
B) They refused to accept pay unless it was equal to the wages of their white
counterparts
C) They went on a hunger strike to protest unequal treatment
D) They marched on Washington, D.C., shouting "Black Lives Matter!"
Correct Answer: B
,Explanation: The 54th Massachusetts Regiment refused to accept unequal pay for
over a year until Congress finally equalized pay for Black soldiers in 1864.
Question 3
What was the relationship between Black women and Union military during the
Civil War?
A) Black women helped the Union as slaves, but not as free women
B) Black women served as cooks and nurses but did nothing behind enemy lines
C) Black women served as spies, liberators, and guides for the Union and other
Black people
D) The Union ignored entirely the interest of Black women in contributing to the
war effort
Correct Answer: C
Explanation: Black women like Harriet Tubman (spy and scout), Susie King Taylor
(nurse and teacher), and Mary Bowser (spy in Confederate White House) made
vital contributions.
Question 4
During the war, Peter Herbert and Mary S. Peake were prominent examples of
southern Blacks who:
A) Assisted Union forces as guides and spies
B) Provided educational opportunities to Black people fleeing slavery behind
Union Army lines
C) Engaged in sabotage to undermine the Confederate war effort
D) Administered to sick and wounded Union soldiers
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: Both Herbert and Peake established schools for freedpeople in
Union-occupied areas, providing education to those who had escaped slavery.
,Question 5
What were the terms of Special Field Order No. 15?
A) The order forced Black people to work in repairing wartime damages to
southern cities
B) It set aside lands along the coast from Charleston, South Carolina, to
Jacksonville, Florida, for Black folks
C) It was issued by General William T. Sherman and allowed some Blacks to use
Army mules
D) It set aside land between Baltimore, Maryland, and Virginia Beach, Virginia, for
Black use
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: Special Field Order No. 15 (January 1865) reserved coastal land for
freedpeople, granting each family up to 40 acres. This was the origin of "40 acres
and a mule."
Question 6
How is the end of enslavement related to the condition of southern Black families
in 1865?
A) Blacks were indifferent about freedom, and many moved to Mexico
B) Blacks were overjoyed about freedom and many began to search for lost family
members
C) Blacks were disappointed in losing their white masters, leading to a
disintegration of Black families
D) Blacks were delighted that slavery was over, thus enabling families to move
back to Africa
Correct Answer: B
, Explanation: After emancipation, formerly enslaved people placed newspaper ads,
traveled, and used Freedmen's Bureau resources to reunite with family members
sold away.
Question 7
What was the first concern of many Africans and African Americans once they
achieved freedom?
A) Reuniting with lost family members
B) Moving to northern cities
C) Forming churches
D) Retaliating against former masters
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: While forming churches and seeking economic opportunity were
important, the immediate priority for most was finding and reuniting with family
members.
Question 8
Which of the following statements is true about the importance of education to
Black people both during and after Reconstruction?
A) They saw education and freedom as closely linked and often went to great
lengths to form schools and attend them
B) Blacks already had access to education in the U.S., and school attendance did
not change after Reconstruction
C) They did not really consider it very important because many realized they
would get work only as field hands
D) They thought it was important but felt they had to accomplish other things
before whites would allow education
Correct Answer: A
