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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. How did Burch react when Solomon first met him and told him that he was feeling sick?
(a) He was sympathetic and offered Solomon his help.
(b) He sent for a doctor immediately.
(c) He did not react. He continued to go about his business.
(d) He suggested that Solomon stay in bed until he felt better.

2. What circumstances allowed Solomon Northrup to be born a free man?
(a) Solomon's father was a free man.
(b) Solomon's mother was a free woman.
(c) Solomon had been born in Canada, and his family had migrated to the United States.
(d) Solomon was born after the United States Civil War.

3. Which of the entertainment-type acts that Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton specialized in could account for their ability to persuade Solomon to travel with them based on a promise of high wages that unexpectedly took a turn and thrust him into the clutches of slavery instead?
(a) Ventriloquism.
(b) Frying pancakes in a hat.
(c) Causing invisible pigs to squeal.
(d) Legerdemain.

4. Why did Solomon trust Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton when he first met them?
(a) They recognized his violin-playing potential.
(b) They offered him an opportunity to earn high wages.
(c) They gave him the impression that they had his best interest in mind.
(d) They were violin music composers.

5. How did Freeman's customers view the idea of buying slaves from the same family?
(a) They did not like the idea at all.
(b) They do not view the idea at all--they were simply there to make a slave purchase.
(c) They tried to make slave family-type purchases, because they could get two slaves for the price of one.
(d) They viewed it as a great idea that could keep a slave family together.

Short Answer Questions

1. If Solomon should have been paying attention to anything that was happening while he traveled with Brown and Hamilton that may have been a clear indicator that things may not really be the way that they appeared to be, what should it have been?

2. How did Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton treat Solomon while traveling to New York?

3. Why was it important to Chapin to keep a dog on the property of the great house where he and Solomon stayed?

4. Why did Author Solomon Northrup write Twelve Years a Slave?

5. What did the fact that William Ford's slave, Walton had worked for Ford all of his life and spoke well about him say about Ford?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Solomon prove to be a resourceful type of person for his master, William Ford in Chapter 7 of the book?

2. How did Solomon feel that the exterior of Williams' Slave Pen in Washington could be viewed in Chapter 3 of the book?

3. How did Solomon improve his life in Chapter 1 of the book?

4. In Chapter 2 of the book, how did Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton persuade Solomon to travel to New York with them?

5. In Chapter 5 of the story, how could Englishman John Manning be described in relation to Solomon?

6. In Chapter 7 of the book, how could Solomon's new master, William Ford be characterized?

7. In Chapter 2 of the book, why did Solomon decide to leave Saratoga Springs and head for New York?

8. In Chapter 10 of the story, why did Solomon fear for his life during his trek through the Great Pacoudrie Swamp?

9. In Chapter 6 of the book, how did slave dealer Theoplilus Freeman treat the slaves whom he owned?

10. In Chapter 6 of the book, what did Freeman's customers do to examine his merchandise before making a purchase?

(see the answer keys)

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