American History Questions Based on: "What Your 4th Grader Needs to Know" by E.D. Hirsch These questions are copyright 1997 Karen Crowther and are not endorsed nor sponsored by the Core Curriculum Foundation nor E.D. Hirsch. They are brought to you as a public service by Redwood Games (http://www.maui.net/~redwood/hs.html) You may use them for personal use provided you do not remove this notice and provided you do not distribute them. We welcome linking to our site. AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #1 ============================== ____Read p 163-166 Describe the U.S. economy in the north in the mid-1800's: __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Describe the U.S. economy in the south in the mid-1800's" __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Did some southern whites disagree with slavery? ________________________ Did that stop them from owning slaves? ____________________ What was the Missouri COmpromise? ______________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ What was the Mason-Dixon line? ___________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ What were the reformers against slavery called? _________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #2 ============================== ____Read p 166-168 What was an extremely persuasive anti-slavery book called and who wrote it? __________________________________________________________________________ Summarize the plot of this book mentioning the main characters. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ What was the Underground Railroad? _______________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ What different reactions did slaves have to slavery? 1.__________________________________________________________________________ 2.__________________________________________________________________________ 3.__________________________________________________________________________ 4.__________________________________________________________________________ 5.__________________________________________________________________________ 6.__________________________________________________________________________ What type of music is unique to the American slaves? _______________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #3 ============================== ____Read p 168-170 (all) When was the Dred Scott Decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court? ________ What was it? ____________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ What Biblical passage did Abraham Lincoln quote? ________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ What did he mean? ________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ What was Lincoln's position on slavery when he was running for the Senate? __________________________________________________________________________ What were the Lincoln-Douglas Debates? ___________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Who won the Senatorial election? _________________________ What happened at Harpers Ferry in 1860? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ What happened to John Brown? _____________________________________________ What did the Southern states want to do? ______________________ What part of the constitution was used to protect the slavery in the Southern states? (Quote it) __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #4 ============================== ____Read p 171-174 What platform did Lincoln run on for the 1860 Presidency? __________________________________________________________________________ What did Southerners mean when they called Lincoln a "friend of John Brown"? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ What does it mean to secede from the Union? ______________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ What states seceded from the Union after Lincoln's election? 1.______________________ 2._____________________ 3.____________________ 4._______________________ 5._____________________ 6._____________________ 7.____________________ What began at Fort Sumter? ________________________________ What happened at Fort Sumter? ____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ On what date did the Civil War begin? _________________________ After the firing on Fort Sumter what states also seceded? 1._____________________ 2.____________________ 3.____________________ 4._______________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #5 ============================== ____Read p 174-177 What were the Southern States called _________________________________ What was one reason everyone was so anxious to go to war (besides their beliefs.)? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ How did "Stonewall" Jackson earn his name? ______________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Who won the first battles of the Civil War? ______________________ Name the 11 states that formed the Confederate States of America 1._____________________ 6._____________________ 2,_____________________ 7._____________________ 3._____________________ 8.____________________ 4.____________________ 9.____________________ 5.____________________ 10.____________________ 11.____________________ Where was the capital of the Confederacy? _________________, _______________ Who was the president of the Confederacy? _______________________________ Most soldiers were _______________________ ranging in age from ______ to _____. What purpose did bugles and drums serve in the army? ______________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Who was the commander of the Confederate Army? ___________________ What nickname did the Southerners call the Northerners? ______________ What nickname did the Northerners call the Southerners? _________________ Who took over the Union army? ________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #6 ============================== ____Read p 178-180 At the beginning of the Civil War, what did Lincoln say they were fighting over? ________________________________________________________________________ Which were the "border states" and why did they delay the North's abolition of slavery? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What was the Emancipation Proclamation? ________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Which was the first Union Army regiment to made up entirely of African-American troops? ________________________________________________________________________ Name two ways that black soldiers were discriminated against once they were able to join the Union army? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #7 ============================== ____Read p 180-182 Describe the problems with soldiers's food: ___________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Why did disease spread so easily? ______________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What was the number one cause of death during the war? _________________ Even though the [Confederates,Union] was winning the war up until 1863, most of the war was fought on [southern, northern] soil. Why did General Lee take his troops to Gettysburg? _____________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Name the reasons that the Union won at Gettysburg: _____________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ How many men were killed at Gettysburg (total)? ___________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #8 ============================== ____Read p 182 (top) ____Read p 46-47 What was the Gettysburg Address? _____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #9 ============================== ____Read p 182-186 Who was General Sherman and what did he do? ___________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What famous words did Sherman say? _____________________________________ What was the capital of the Confederacy called and what happened to it in April of 1865? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What happened at Appomattox Court House? ________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What were the terms of Lee's surrender? _______________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #10 ============================== ____Read p 186-189 What happened on April 14, 1865? ________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Who took over the Presidency? ______________________________ What was the stated purpose of Reconstruction? _________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What did the Radical Republicans want to do and why?___________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Did President Andrew Johnson agree with the Radical Republicans? Why or why not? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What were the Black Codes? _____________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What did Congress do in response to the Black Codes? ____________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #11 ============================== ____Read p 189-190 What was a scalawag? ___________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What was a carpetbagger? _______________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What was the Freedmen's Bureau? _______________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Why did the rumor that the Government was going to give every ex-slave "40 acres and a mule" get started (2 reasons) ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #12 ============================== ____Read p 190-192 (middle) What does "to impeach a president" mean? _______________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Was Johnson removed from office? ______ What does the Thirteenth Amendment do? _________________________________ What does the Fourteenth Amendment do? __________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What does the Fifteenth Amendment do? __________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ How long did Reconstruction last? ________ from ________ to ____________. What was the Ku Klux Klan?______________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ How did a poll tax prevent blacks from voting? _________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Did Reconstruction and the 13-15th Amendments accomplish their purpose of giving the former slaves equal rights? ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #13 ============================== ___Read p192-194 What was the "manifest destiny" of the United States in 1830? ___________ ________________________________________________________________________ How and when was the land comprising Washington, Oregon and Idaho added to the US? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ How and when was the land comprising California, Nevada, Utah and parts of Arizona added to the US? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ How and when was the land comprising Southern Arizona and New Mexico added to the US? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What happened to the Indians as the white settlers moved west? ________ ________________________________________________________________________ How many languages were spoken by different American tribes before the coming of the Europeans? ______________________ Name some major tribes that lived east of the Mississippi River: 1._________________________ 2._________________________ 3._________________________ 4._________________________ 5._________________________ 6._________________________ 7._________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #14 ============================== ___Read p194-196 What did the settlers call the Southwest tribes who lived in adobe towns? ________________________________________________________________________ What were the southwest tribe like?_____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What does the phrase, Apaches de Nabahu, mean and what two tribes did it end up naming? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Describe the Apaches: __________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What is another name for the Navajo? _________________ What type of structure did the Navajos live in? ________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Name a Northwest tribe and tell how the Northwest tribes lived: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #15 ============================== ___Read p196-198 (middle) Where is the Great Basin? ____________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What were 2 major Great Basin tribes and how did they live? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Name a tribe that lived on the Great Basin and tell how they lived. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Name 10 Plains tribes and tell how they lived: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What did the Sioux call themselves? ____________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #16 ============================== ___Read p198-200 What happened in 1948? _________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What were the people who rushed to California to mine gold called? ________________________________________________________________________ How long did it take to get from Missouri to California by stagecoach? ________________________________________________________________________ What was the Pony Express and how long did it take the mail to get from Missouri to California then? ________________________________________________________________________ What put the Pony Express out of business? _____________________________ What two companies built the Transcontinental Railroad? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What did the government give these two companies? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Who started the phrase "Go West, young man" and where was it published? ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #17 ============================== ___Read p201-202 (middle) How far did the Texas cattle have to walk to get to the nearest grain depot and what was this called? ________________________________________________________________________ Why were there so many tall tales about the Wild West? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ How did Jesse James and his brother, Frank, learn to kill and steal? ________________________________________________________________________ What did Billy the Kid's hometown newspaper say about him? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Tell about Wild Bill Hickok: ___________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #18 =============================== ____Read 202-204 What did the U.S. Government promise the American Indians in 1840? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Why did the government break its promise? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What did the government then promise the Indians to get them to move off the lands it wanted? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What were the disadvantages of living on a reservation: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What were two problems with the Bureau of Indian Affairs? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Tell what happened in 1859 to the Cheyenne and Arapaho: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Tell what happened to the Sioux: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #19 =============================== ____Read 204-205 Who wiped out the buffalo and how? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What happened when gold was discovered in the Black Hills? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What is the Battle of Little Big Horn also called? _____________________ ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #20 =============================== ____Read 206-207 What did the Paiute Indian, Wovoka start and what was its purpose? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What tribe did Sitting Bull belong to and what happened to him? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What happened at Wounded Knee? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Your book talks about the Carlisle school for young Indians. What they didn't tell you is that children were often forcibly taken away from their parents and placed in these schools. What did schools like the Carlisle School do to the children? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What was the school's motto? _____________________________________________ What did Senator Dawes claim about the Indians' tradition where they live on the land by do not own it? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What was the Dawes Severalty Act? _____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What was the result of the Act? _________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #21 =============================== ____Read 207-210 What is a patent? ______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Tell about Thomas Edison: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What year was the telephone invented and who invented it? ________________________________________________________________________ After the Civil War what happened to the occupation of farming? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What is capital? _______________________________________ What is a capitalist? __________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Why were corporations formed? ___________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Who was Andrew Carnegie and what did he own? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What is a monopoly? ___________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Who owned most of the oil industry and what was his company called? ________________________________________________________________________ What is a philanthropist? ____________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #22 =============================== ____Read 210-212 What kind of pay, hours and conditions did the factory workers have? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What is a labor union?_________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ How could a union apply pressure own a factory owner? __________________ What happened when workers at one of Carnegie's steel mills struck in 1892? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Why was the US called "the land of opportunity"? _______________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Between 1850 and 1930 how many immigrants came to the US?________________ Before the Civil War most immigrants were from: 1.____________________ 2.___________________ 3.____________________ After the Civil War immigrants came from: 1.____________________ 2.___________________ 3.____________________ 4.____________________ 5.___________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #23 =============================== ____Read 212-214 Who were 2 reformers who worked before the Civil War? 1.__________________________ 2.__________________________ What made farming less attractive? ______________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Who were the Populists? _______________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Who ran in the 1896 presidential election and who was supporting each? 1._____________________ supported by _________________________________ 2._____________________ supported by _________________________________ Put a star by the winner. Who was Jane Addams and what did she do? _______________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What two ideas did Jane Addams disagree with? 1.______________________________________________________________________ 2.________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #24 =============================== ____Read 214-216 Who were the muckrakers and what did they do?____________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Who was Booker T. Washington and what did he believe and do? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Why did W.E. B. Du Bois disagree with Booker T. Washington? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What organization did Du Bois' combine with? ___________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What is the purpose of the NAACP? _____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #25 ============================= ____Read 216-218 Tell about Ida B. Wells: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What were the limits on women's rights in the 1800's ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Who met at Seneca Falls, New York to demand equality for women? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Who founded the National Woman Suffrage Association? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What does Suffrage mean? ______________________________________________ When did women get the vote and which Amendment gave it to them? ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #26 ============================= ____Read 218-219 Who was the president who wanted to reform monopolies? ________________________________________________________________________ What were two things that monopolies (trusts) could do that worked against the welfare of the citizens? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ When was the first safe food act passed and what was it? ________________________________________________________________________ What else besides trust-busting is Teddy Roosevelt known for? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #27 ============================= ____Read 219-221 What three colonies of Spain did the US want in 1898? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What is the significance of "Grito de Yara" ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What happened after 10 years of fighting the Cuban revolution against Spain? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Who was Jose Marti and what did he do? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What is Yellow Journalism? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ How did yellow journalism get the US into the Cuban revolutionary war? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #28 ============================= ____Read 221-222 What happened in 1898 to make the US government change its support from Spain to the Cuban revolutionaries? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What advantage did the US have over Spain? ________________________________________________________________________ What did Commodore George Dewey do? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Who were the Rough Riders and what did they do? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ AMERICAN HISTORY ASSIGNMENT #29 ============================= ____Read 222-223 What did the US call its colonies? _______________________ What lands did the US get from the Spanish-American War? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Why did the peace treaty with Spain pass with only one vote? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Was Cuba free after the war? Why or why not? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ What clause in the Cuban constitution allowed the US to intervene in Cuba's affairs? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Why were the Filipinos upset? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________