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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 another cause of death of the Africans aboard the slave ship?

2. How was slavery in the United States different than slavery in other countries?

3. Which person fits the author's description of the type of slave that was "so enslaved that once slavery had ended, they were sorry"?

4. Which of the following is NOT a reason a slave owner might sell a slave?

5. What did the slaves call the slave owner's house?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why were many of the former slaves that the Federal Writer's Project interviewed bitter?

2. What did Ol' Gabe used to do?

3. According to the Prologue, how was slavery in the United States different than slavery in other countries?

4. After emancipation, what did many of the ex-slaves to do attempt to survive? Did this work?

5. What was it that kept many slaves from killing their masters? Who is an example of one such slave who demonstrated this?

6. Was the government to blame for the confusion of the freed slaves? Why or why not?

7. Describe a typical day for a slave working on a plantation.

8. Describe what it means to be thrown "in a buck."

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many years after the Civil War had ended and slaves had been free, the Federal Writer's Project began to interview former slaves and record their experiences and stories. Why did they do this? What was the overall reaction from the black community on this project? Julius Lester, the author of "To Be a Slave" was also a man who did research and compiled several slave accounts. What was his purpose for doing this and did he achieve it? Does reading a true slave narrative change your perception of slavery from before you read it? If so, how? What does reading a true slave narrative accomplish?

Essay Topic 2

The very last line in the novel is "...the white folks have been and are now and always will be against the Negro." Discuss what Thomas Hall means when he says this. Has this statement proven to be true throughout the novel? What is the KKK and what was their purpose? How does it relate to Hall's statement? Include any example that you can to support this statement using stories from the novel. How did the treatment of blacks from years ago affect the status of blacks in society today? Does the statement still hold true today? If so, give an example. If not, up until when did it hold true?

Essay Topic 3

Slavery was not always present in the United States nor were the blacks the first slaves. Why did slavery begin and how did colonists eventually move to using blacks as slaves? How were the slaves captured and how did the slave trading begin?

(see the answer keys)

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