Civil War Assessment

Multiple Choice - choose the best answer for each question (3pts)

1. ______ What was the South’s most profitable export leading into the Civil War?
a. Corn
b. Gun powder
c. Slaves
d. Cotton
2. ______ Leading into the Civil War, the Northern economy was based mainly on
what?
e. Industry
f. Agriculture
g. Fishing
h. Trapping

3. ______ At the start of the Civil War, the South had an advantage over the North in
terms of____.
i. Political leadership
j. Landscape
k. Fighting an offensive war
l. Manufacturing

4. ______ Which of the following is one of the key themes in Lincoln’s Gettysburg
address?
m. Honoring the soldiers who died at Gettysburg.
n. Using the battle to blame the war on the South.
o. Improving medicine to avoid such mass casualties.
p. Proving himself as a leader.

5. ______ What did Lincoln use in his speech to emphasize important points?
q. Alliteration
r. Rhyme
s. Repetition
t. Emphatic hand gestures

6. ______ In the Gettysburg Address, what did Lincoln mean by “unfinished work?”
u. Vengeance for fallen Union soldiers.
v. Penance for slavery.
w. His reelection.
x. Reuniting the Union.

7. ______ Robert E. Lee left the Union to command Confederate troops when___.
y. He was asked to end the rebellion at Fort Sumter.
z. Lincoln was elected president.
 aa. His slaves were taken from him.
bb. Someone else was chosen to command the Union army.
8. ______ Stonewall Jackson earned his nickname for his bravery at which battle?
cc. Gettysburg
dd. Shiloh
ee. First Battle of Bull Run
ff. Vicksburg

9. ______ Who was the Confederate president?

gg. Nathan Bedford Forrest
hh. Joseph E. Johnston
ii. P.G. T. Beauregard
jj. Jefferson Davis

10. _____ This Union General defeated General Lee in the Civil War and would become
president of the Union.
kk. William T. Sherman
ll. Ulysses S. Grant
mm. George Mcclellan
nn. Nathanial Banks

Matching Questions (3pt)

Match each candidate with their appropriate description by writing the letter in the
blank.

11. ______ was the Republican candidate

a. John C. Breckinridge
in the 1860 presidential election.
12. ______ was the Democratic candidate
b. John Bell
in the 1860 presidential election.
13. ______ was the Constitutional Union
Candidate in the 1860 presidential c. Abraham Lincoln
election.
14. ______ was the Southern Democratic
candidate in the 1860 presidential d. Jefferson Davis
election.
e. Stephen A. Douglas

True or False Questions (3)

If the statement is true circle “T” and mark the “F” if the statement is false.
 15. T or F The leading cause of death to soldiers in the Civil War was musket
ball wounds.

16. T or F The average age of enlisted soldiers during the Civil War was 25.

17. T or F The Civil War was the second worst US war in terms of lives lost.

18. T or F The Battle of Shiloh was the bloodiest day in the Civil War.

19. T or F Gettysburg saw more casualties than any other battle during the Civil
War.

20. T or F General Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Court

House.

Short Answer
Answer each of the following in complete sentences (5pt)

21. Between the North and South, which side had an advantage in terms of
geography at the beginning of the war? Did this change? Explain.

22. Who had the advantage in terms of military leadership between the North and
South? Explain your answer.

23. Which side had a technological advantage in the Civil War?

24. Which economic structure was more suited for the Civil War between the
North and South? Explain.
Essay
Answer the following question in a well thought out essay. When appropriate be sure
and use specific examples and events to defend your position. (20pt)

25. General William Sherman’s “March to the Sea” is widely regarded as one of
the most efficient and effective marches in US military history. However, to
the civilian eye it is also seen as the tragic scorching and pillaging of Georgia.
So which is it? Heroic or tragic? Defend your answer by citing events that
followed the march.