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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When a sergeant in the 8th Georgia wrote to his family in 1863 that he would willingly sacrifice his life upon the altar of his country, readers learn that he did so in which battle?
(a) Gettysburg.
(b) Shiloh.
(c) Second Manassas.
(d) Bull Run.

2. As "Chapter 12: The Same Holy Cause" opens, McPherson says that Civil War soldiers never heard of all BUT WHICH of the following terms?
(a) Courage.
(b) Shell shock.
(c) Psychiatric casualties.
(d) Battle fatigue.

3. In the discussion of the Emancipation Proclamation, McPherson says that in his sample of Union soldiers, what percentage favored emancipation through the spring of 1863?
(a) 36%.
(b) 16%.
(c) 84%.
(d) 72%.

4. When McPherson says that Confederates sought to preserve their honor by killing black soldiers who tried to surrender, which place is NOT a documented occurrence of massacres?
(a) Plymouth.
(b) Poison Springs.
(c) Port Royal.
(d) Fort Pillow.

5. In the discussion of the Confederate ideal of white supremacy and the right to slavery, from which state was the soldier who wrote he was "fighting for our liberty against tyrants of the North...who are determined to destroy slavery"?
(a) Kentucky.
(b) Georgia.
(c) South Carolina.
(d) Virginia.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Chapter 8: The Cause of Liberty," which immigrant group drew the clearest parallels between the fight for the Union and the fight for liberty in their home country?

2. From which state was the major whose letter home during the summer of 1862 contained the line "slavery must be cleaned out," from which the title of the chapter was inspired?

3. During the discussion of what sustained soldiers during the Civil War, what does McPherson say was a dominant theme in the letters home?

4. As "Chapter 9: Slavery Must be Cleaned Out" opens, McPherson says a Texas private predicted Confederate victory how long before General Lee surrendered at Appomattox?

5. As "Chapter 11: Vengeance Will be Our Motto" ends, McPherson says that no army broke until the Army of Tennessee after which of the following battles in 1864?

Short Essay Questions

1. After discussing how the conflict between love of family and love of country was a major concern for many Confederate soldiers, how does McPherson say the men resolved this dichotomy?

2. In Lincoln's discussions of democracy, what fear did he express if the South should be allowed to secede?

3. In "Chapter 9: Slavery Must be Cleaned Out," what convinced non-abolitionist Union soldiers that slavery was an evil that must be stopped?

4. In the discussion of vengeance, what disturbing instructions did some soldiers send in letters home to their wives?

5. What types of letters did Confederate soldiers begin sending home toward the end of "Chapter 11: Vengeance Will be Our Motto"?

6. In what way did the Confederate soldiers identify with the Founding Fathers in the discussion of the concept of liberty?

7. In "Chapter 10: We Know That We are Supported at Home," why did some officers worry that married men made bad soldiers?

8. What was meant when some soldiers wrote home about being stuck in a "rich man's war," toward the end of "Chapter 7: On the Altar of My Country"?

9. When McPherson discusses the extra incentive Confederate soldiers had to keep fighting, what does he say about the Northern opinion of Southern soldiers?

10. How did Northern soldiers initially respond when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation?

(see the answer keys)

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