AMH 2020 MIDTERM - MDC. PT. 1 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH
RATIONALES 100% COMPLETE/GRADE A+ ASSURED
Question 1
What was the primary impact of the Black Codes, enacted by southern governments
immediately after the Civil War?
A) They established the South's first state-supported public schools.
B) They guaranteed land ownership for formerly enslaved people.
C) They violated the free labor principles celebrated by the North by severely restricting the
freedom of African Americans.
D) They successfully integrated the southern economy with the North.
E) They were designed to stop the activities of the Ku Klux Klan.
Correct Answer: C) They violated the free labor principles celebrated by the North by severely
restricting the freedom of African Americans.
Rationale: The Black Codes were a series of restrictive laws designed to control the labor and
behavior of newly freed African Americans. They criminalized unemployment and limited
their economic options, which directly contradicted the North's ideal of a free labor market
where individuals could choose their own employment.
Question 2
What was a major achievement of Southern Republican governments during the Reconstruction
era?
A) They successfully redistributed land from wealthy planters to freedmen.
B) They established the South's first state-supported public school systems.
C) They lowered taxes on all property owners to stimulate the economy.
D) They were able to completely eradicate the Ku Klux Klan.
E) They paid off all of the South's pre-war debt.
Correct Answer: B) They established the South's first state-supported public school systems.
Rationale: One of the most significant and lasting accomplishments of the biracial Republican
governments during Reconstruction was the creation of the first publicly funded school
systems in the South, benefiting both Black and white children.
,Question 3
What was the economic condition of southern cities during the Reconstruction period?
A) They experienced a severe decline as trade with the North ceased.
B) They enjoyed newfound prosperity as merchants and financiers increased trade with the
North.
C) They remained stagnant, with no significant economic changes from the pre-war era.
D) Their economies were entirely dependent on agriculture, with no urban growth.
E) They were rebuilt and funded exclusively by the federal government.
Correct Answer: B) They enjoyed newfound prosperity as merchants and financiers increased
trade with the North.
Rationale: The rebuilding of the South, particularly the expansion of railroads, connected
southern cities to national markets. This led to a period of urban growth and increased
prosperity for merchants, bankers, and railroad promoters who engaged in trade with the
North.
Question 4
The Enforcement Acts, passed by Congress in 1870 and 1871, were primarily designed to:
A) Enforce the collection of federal taxes in the South.
B) Stop the activities of terrorist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.
C) Prevent southern states from seceding from the Union again.
D) Force southern landowners to sell their land to the federal government.
E) Ensure that all southern children attended public schools.
Correct Answer: B) Stop the activities of terrorist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.
Rationale: These acts were a direct federal response to the widespread violence and
intimidation perpetrated by the KKK and other white supremacist groups. They made it a
federal crime to interfere with a citizen's right to vote and gave the president the power to
use federal troops to suppress these organizations.
Question 5
For most formerly enslaved people, what did freedom first and foremost mean?
A) The right to vote.
,B) Access to an equal education.
C) The ability to move to the North.
D) Landownership.
E) The right to serve on a jury.
Correct Answer: D) Landownership.
Rationale: To formerly enslaved people, owning their own land was the foundation of true
freedom. It represented economic independence, control over their own labor, and the ability
to build and support their families without being dependent on their former masters.
Question 6
What was the primary goal of the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?
A) To abolish slavery.
B) To grant citizenship to all persons born in the United States.
C) To guarantee equal protection of the laws to all citizens.
D) To ban governments from denying any citizen the right to vote on the basis of race.
E) To grant women the right to vote.
Correct Answer: D) To ban governments from denying any citizen the right to vote on the
basis of race.
Rationale: Ratified in 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment specifically prohibits the federal and
state governments from denying a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, color, or
previous condition of servitude."
Question 7
How did the Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Cruikshank (1876) impact
Reconstruction?
A) It affirmed the federal government's power to prosecute individuals for violating the civil
rights of others.
B) It overturned the Black Codes as unconstitutional.
C) It gutted the Enforcement Acts by ruling that the federal government could not punish
private individuals for acts of violence.
D) It declared that the Ku Klux Klan was a legal political organization.
, E) It mandated the desegregation of all public schools in the South.
Correct Answer: C) It gutted the Enforcement Acts by ruling that the federal government could
not punish private individuals for acts of violence.
Rationale: The Cruikshank decision severely weakened the federal government's ability to
protect African Americans. The Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment only protected
citizens from the actions of state governments, not from the actions of other private
individuals, effectively nullifying the key provisions of the Enforcement Acts.
Question 8
If a man from Maine, a northern state, came to live in the South during Reconstruction to work
as a teacher, what derogatory label would he most likely be given by resentful white
southerners?
A) Scalawag
B) Redeemer
C) Carpetbagger
D) Copperhead
E) Freedmen's Bureau agent
Correct Answer: C) Carpetbagger
Rationale: "Carpetbagger" was a derogatory term used by white southerners to describe
northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War. They were seen as opportunists
trying to profit from the South's misfortune, even though many, like teachers and
missionaries, came with reformist intentions.
Question 9
Why is the Fourteenth Amendment considered the most important change to the U.S.
Constitution since the Bill of Rights?
A) It abolished slavery throughout the United States.
B) It granted women the right to vote.
C) It established the principle of birthright citizenship and guaranteed equal protection of the
laws for all citizens.
D) It prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages.
RATIONALES 100% COMPLETE/GRADE A+ ASSURED
Question 1
What was the primary impact of the Black Codes, enacted by southern governments
immediately after the Civil War?
A) They established the South's first state-supported public schools.
B) They guaranteed land ownership for formerly enslaved people.
C) They violated the free labor principles celebrated by the North by severely restricting the
freedom of African Americans.
D) They successfully integrated the southern economy with the North.
E) They were designed to stop the activities of the Ku Klux Klan.
Correct Answer: C) They violated the free labor principles celebrated by the North by severely
restricting the freedom of African Americans.
Rationale: The Black Codes were a series of restrictive laws designed to control the labor and
behavior of newly freed African Americans. They criminalized unemployment and limited
their economic options, which directly contradicted the North's ideal of a free labor market
where individuals could choose their own employment.
Question 2
What was a major achievement of Southern Republican governments during the Reconstruction
era?
A) They successfully redistributed land from wealthy planters to freedmen.
B) They established the South's first state-supported public school systems.
C) They lowered taxes on all property owners to stimulate the economy.
D) They were able to completely eradicate the Ku Klux Klan.
E) They paid off all of the South's pre-war debt.
Correct Answer: B) They established the South's first state-supported public school systems.
Rationale: One of the most significant and lasting accomplishments of the biracial Republican
governments during Reconstruction was the creation of the first publicly funded school
systems in the South, benefiting both Black and white children.
,Question 3
What was the economic condition of southern cities during the Reconstruction period?
A) They experienced a severe decline as trade with the North ceased.
B) They enjoyed newfound prosperity as merchants and financiers increased trade with the
North.
C) They remained stagnant, with no significant economic changes from the pre-war era.
D) Their economies were entirely dependent on agriculture, with no urban growth.
E) They were rebuilt and funded exclusively by the federal government.
Correct Answer: B) They enjoyed newfound prosperity as merchants and financiers increased
trade with the North.
Rationale: The rebuilding of the South, particularly the expansion of railroads, connected
southern cities to national markets. This led to a period of urban growth and increased
prosperity for merchants, bankers, and railroad promoters who engaged in trade with the
North.
Question 4
The Enforcement Acts, passed by Congress in 1870 and 1871, were primarily designed to:
A) Enforce the collection of federal taxes in the South.
B) Stop the activities of terrorist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.
C) Prevent southern states from seceding from the Union again.
D) Force southern landowners to sell their land to the federal government.
E) Ensure that all southern children attended public schools.
Correct Answer: B) Stop the activities of terrorist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.
Rationale: These acts were a direct federal response to the widespread violence and
intimidation perpetrated by the KKK and other white supremacist groups. They made it a
federal crime to interfere with a citizen's right to vote and gave the president the power to
use federal troops to suppress these organizations.
Question 5
For most formerly enslaved people, what did freedom first and foremost mean?
A) The right to vote.
,B) Access to an equal education.
C) The ability to move to the North.
D) Landownership.
E) The right to serve on a jury.
Correct Answer: D) Landownership.
Rationale: To formerly enslaved people, owning their own land was the foundation of true
freedom. It represented economic independence, control over their own labor, and the ability
to build and support their families without being dependent on their former masters.
Question 6
What was the primary goal of the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?
A) To abolish slavery.
B) To grant citizenship to all persons born in the United States.
C) To guarantee equal protection of the laws to all citizens.
D) To ban governments from denying any citizen the right to vote on the basis of race.
E) To grant women the right to vote.
Correct Answer: D) To ban governments from denying any citizen the right to vote on the
basis of race.
Rationale: Ratified in 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment specifically prohibits the federal and
state governments from denying a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, color, or
previous condition of servitude."
Question 7
How did the Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Cruikshank (1876) impact
Reconstruction?
A) It affirmed the federal government's power to prosecute individuals for violating the civil
rights of others.
B) It overturned the Black Codes as unconstitutional.
C) It gutted the Enforcement Acts by ruling that the federal government could not punish
private individuals for acts of violence.
D) It declared that the Ku Klux Klan was a legal political organization.
, E) It mandated the desegregation of all public schools in the South.
Correct Answer: C) It gutted the Enforcement Acts by ruling that the federal government could
not punish private individuals for acts of violence.
Rationale: The Cruikshank decision severely weakened the federal government's ability to
protect African Americans. The Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment only protected
citizens from the actions of state governments, not from the actions of other private
individuals, effectively nullifying the key provisions of the Enforcement Acts.
Question 8
If a man from Maine, a northern state, came to live in the South during Reconstruction to work
as a teacher, what derogatory label would he most likely be given by resentful white
southerners?
A) Scalawag
B) Redeemer
C) Carpetbagger
D) Copperhead
E) Freedmen's Bureau agent
Correct Answer: C) Carpetbagger
Rationale: "Carpetbagger" was a derogatory term used by white southerners to describe
northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War. They were seen as opportunists
trying to profit from the South's misfortune, even though many, like teachers and
missionaries, came with reformist intentions.
Question 9
Why is the Fourteenth Amendment considered the most important change to the U.S.
Constitution since the Bill of Rights?
A) It abolished slavery throughout the United States.
B) It granted women the right to vote.
C) It established the principle of birthright citizenship and guaranteed equal protection of the
laws for all citizens.
D) It prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages.
