Short Answer History Questions (L. 5 - 8)

If you are using Volume II - The Civil War to the 21st Century, ALL AMERICAN HISTORY - Uniting America's Story, Piece by Piece by Celeste W. Rakes from Bright Idea Press for your middle schooler's history curriculum; below please feel free to use some of these short answer questions for an assignment or test on Lessons 5 through 8 during the Civil War and Reconstruction Periods.


1)  What was the principal weapon of all Civil War infantryment?


2)  How did the Union and Confederate armies attain more weapons in the beginning of the war when weapons were scarce to aid the growing armies?


3)  After this battle, Union Armies would be able to move into Georgia and Alabama and split the Eastern Confederacy in half.  Union Armies under Major General William Rosecrans wanted to control this city to put the whole state of Tennessee in Union hands.  After Union troops advanced upon this city, they forced the Confederates to evacuate and withdraw to Georgia.  Capturing this city meant cutting the Eastern Confederacy rail links with the West and opening the way for the Union to advance into the heart of the Confederacy by way of Georgia.  (This information was taken from Christ and the America's by Anne Carroll).


 4)  This was the Confederates greatest victory in the western theater during the war.  Confederate General Braxton Bragg chose not to follow up with an attack on the retreating Union troops and permitted the Union Army under Union Major General William Rosecrans to regroup.


5)  Confederate General Robert E. Lee decided to invade the North for once (instead of staying in the South) to engage Union forces outside of Virginia to give this war-ravaged state a rest and capture some badly needed provisions for the Confederate Army.  President Lincoln gave a famous speech after this battle.  Name this battle and Lincoln's speech.


6)  This battle took place in a key city guarding the Mississippi River between Memphis, TN and New Orleans, LA.  Union gun boats and supply ships slipped past Confederate batteries in the night and established a base on the Mississippi River below this city.  Union Major General Grant planned a non-stop bombardment of this city to besiege it, starving it into submission.  The Confederates held out for six weeks but surrendered the day after the Battle of Gettysburg was over.  (This information was taken from Christ and the America's by Anne Carroll).


7)  Confederate General Robert E. Lee's devastating defeat of a much larger Union Army paved the way for another Confederate invasion of the North.  Also, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson was hit by friendly fire and died on May 10th in this battle.


8)  Confederate General Robert E. Lee had demonstrated superb defensive skills in these three battles in the state of Virginia because his Army was half the size of Union General Ulysses S. Grant's Army.  One was the first direct confrontation between Grant and Lee.  Another stimulated newspaper articles in the North to start calling Grant a butcher because he refused to give up on defeating the Confederacy - whatever the cost.  The third battle was a direct frontal assault by Union General Grant to push his way toward the Confederate capital of Richmond.  It was the only attack Grant wished he had never orderd because 7000 Union soldiers were cut down.


9)  Union forces constructed a 2,170 foot pontoon bridge to cross the James River and move into this city, successfully concealing their movements from Confederate General Lee.  On April 2, 1865 the Confederates source of supplies were exhausted and they were forced to abandone their defense of this city.


10)  This was an unaposed burning and plundering of Confederate houses, livestock, crops, cotton gins, factories, and railroads.  During this time, Lincoln won re-election.


11)  Richmond was finally captured by the Union.  This was the last battle of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.  On Apirl 3rd, Union troops entered Richmond and raised the U.S. flag.  Lincoln toured the city and visited the Confederate White House and sat for a few moments at Jefferson Davis' desk.  (It is also your teacher's birthday - ha ha).


12)  This is the place where Lee finally surrendered to Grant.  It wasn't until 1975, after his death, that Lee was officially pardoned for his role in the Civil War.


13)  How many Americans died in the Civil War?


14)  This was the name given to the period during which the U.S. government reintegrated the former Confederate states into the Union.  The complex and controversial era lasted from 1863 to 1877.


15)  Fill in the blanks:  Both ________________ and __________________ (two president's) favored a plan that was lenient toward the ex-Confederate states.  The _________________ _____________________ in Congress wanted to punish the former Confederate states for starting the war and keep them under military occupation for a period of time.


16)  These two men were the leaders of the Radical Republicans in Congress.


17)  Congress passed this Act which set forth a stricter congressional plan for Reconstruction than Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan.  Lincoln responded to this legislation with a pocket veto.


18)  Who was Lincoln's assassin?


19)  Who succeeded Lincoln when he was assassinated?  His plan for Reconstruction was a modified version of Lincoln's plan.


20)  These two Amendments were the first two Reconstruction Amendments.  One abolished slavery and the other granted U.S. citizenship to freed slaves and offered protection of their civil liberties.


21)  What was the new agricultural system that replaced the plantation economy of the South after the Civil War?  Under this system, white land owners supplied land, seed, and tools to former slaves and poor whites who owned no land of their own.  In return, they were required to give the landowner a share (one third to one half) of what they had grown of their crops.


22)  After the war, a number of people from the North migrated to the South.  Some of them came to look for money and power.  Most white southerners resented their prescence.  What were they called?  And what were the white southerners called who cooperated with these northerners?  Give two names.


23)  In March of 1867, the Radical Republicans moved to put into place their own plan for Reconstruction.  This Act passed over Johnson's veto and placed ten Confederate states (except Tennessee) under military occupation and provided detailed requirements for those states to be readmitted to the Union.  What is the name of this Act?


24)  How did Johnson's term in office end?


25)  Who succeeded Johnson as president in 1869 and served two terms in office.  His administration was plagued with scandals.


26)  The last of the Reconstruction Amendments was passed in 1869 and ratified by three fourths of the states in 1870.  It was designed to prohibit discrimination against voters on the basis of color or previous condition of servitude.