View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. According to a letter Custer wrote to his sister, what percentage of students at West Point failed?

2. What was the last major tribe pushed onto the Plains by military defeats with other tribes?

3. What color were Custer's eyes?

4. About how much did Crazy Horse weigh at the age of 24?

5. What fellow West Point friend did Custer congratulate on his successes in the Confederate artillery?

Short Essay Questions

1. What differences did General McClellan have against the Lincoln administration?

2. According to the author, what led Curly to seek a vision in Chapter 4?

3. What is a kola and who was the kola of Curly?

4. In Chapter 12, both men are described as finding the "rush of hot, fresh blood exciting." In what ways is this demonstrated?

5. In what ways did Custer and Crazy Horse stand out in a crowd?

6. How are Crazy Horse and Custer viewed during their late teens?

7. How did Colonel Chivington set up the events of the Sand Creek Massacre?

8. In Chapter 11, why does the author describe Custer as a romantic?

9. What was the demerit policy of West Point when Custer attended? How many demerits did he regularly receive?

10. Describe the plunder that George Bent reports he sees in an Indian camp as the Sioux and Cheyenne attack settlements along the Platte River.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ambrose writes that both Crazy Horse and Custer "lived in a society that exalted individualism..." Describe how both Native American and white societies praised individualism.

Essay Topic 2

Based on Part I only, compare and contrast Crazy Horse and Custer. In your opinion, does the author have enough similarities between these two men for any interesting analysis of their lives?

Essay Topic 3

After arriving in Kansas, Custer seems almost desperate to have Libbie with him, regardless of the danger from Indians. His anxiety is described as "nearly too much for him to bear." Once she arrives, "Custer's spirits began to revive." Analyze Custer's actions. Why does he act with such desperation.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 705 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample