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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was Franklin and Armfield?

2. Slaves knew they were enslaved because of what two reasons?

3. What was the area on the slave trading boat called where the Africans were held and chained together?

4. Who describes being thrown in a buck and whipped?

5. The slave trading was much like today's ____________________.

Short Essay Questions

1. In the Epilogue, what are Thomas Hall's views about the whites towards blacks?

2. Why did the colonists turn to blacks as a means of manual labor?

3. In Chapter 5, what does the story of Paul symbolize?

4. In Chapter 2, Abraham Lincoln's election to presidency is mentioned. What was a result on the slave trading market?

5. According to the author in Chapter 1, how were slaves typically depicted? Was this the reality? If not, what was?

6. What were three ways that the Prologue mentions in which slave trading was carried out?

7. What was the story of Powhatan Mitchell and what did it signify?

8. What was the reason that the Federal Writer's Project interviewed so many blacks?

9. What was the KKK and what did they do?

10. Briefly discuss the treatment of Ben Simpson mother by their master in Chapter 2.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There is no doubt that even today, people tend to flock towards others who are similar to themselves. Oftentimes, we find companionship and a sense of camaraderie amongst people who share the same background and ethnicity as ourselves. When Africans were brought to America to be slaves, the blacks supported one another and tried to help one another if they could. They understood and sympathized with the other blacks. Having said this, there were still those blacks who were considered traitors to their own kind. What were some of the betrayals that Julius Lester discusses in his novel? Discuss these stories. Why drove these slaves to side with the whites when the blacks were clearly being wronged? Be sure to include the story of Lev Cheney and discuss house-servants. What was the purpose of house-servants and how does it tie-in with this discussion?

Essay Topic 2

The concept of family is something that is very important to most people. How did family play a role in the lives of slaves? Were they allowed to have one? Oftentimes slave owners separated families by selling them. Discuss the emotions felt by the slaves during these moments and how the slave owners and traders treated the slaves when separating them from their family members. How would the slave traders and owners feel if it were their children that were the ones being sold away? Many times the slave owners fathered children by their slave women. How did they treat their half-black children? Did they treat them as their son or daughter or as a slave? How did this treatment affect the children? Discuss the story of Powhatan Mitchell and what it signifies. How was Mitchell unique?

Essay Topic 3

For most slaves, the plantation was the only thing that they knew. Describe what a typical plantation looked like and who lived on it. What were the duties of a slave living on a plantation? What were the living conditions and daily lifestyle? Discuss in detail whether such a lifestyle was just and what part of human nature drove slave owners to treat their slaves in such manners. Why did the slaves continue to work as they did?

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