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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. According to "Chapter 9: Slavery Must be Cleaned Out," what fraction of Union soldiers came from Democratic backgrounds?

2. While attempting to define the "glorious institutions" that kept men fighting during the Civil War, a soldier from which state defined it as "the guaranty of the rights of property, liberty of action, freedom of thought, religion...that kind of government that shall assure life liberty & the pursuit of happiness"?

3. After the battle of Antietam a soldier in the 21st Mississippi wrote his parents that he wanted to collect what Yankee body part for his sister, Anna?

4. In the discussion of the psychological and physiological issues soldiers faced in 1864, a private in the 100th Pennsylvania wrote that he slept one night out of how many?

5. When discussing the assertions of patriotism as a motivation for fighting, what percentage of the 429 Confederate letters and diaries used as sources affirmed this motivation?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the phenomenon of "dry rot," as discussed in "Chapter 10: We Know That We Are Supported at Home."

2. What types of letters did Confederate soldiers begin sending home toward the end of "Chapter 11: Vengeance Will be Our Motto"?

3. After discussing how the conflict between love of family and love of country was a major concern for many Confederate soldiers, how does McPherson say the men resolved this dichotomy?

4. When McPherson discusses the extra incentive Confederate soldiers had to keep fighting, what does he say about the Northern opinion of Southern soldiers?

5. What difference did class and education make in terms of support when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation?

6. In the discussion of revenge, why does McPherson say that the Confederate army was more motivated by hatred and revenge than the Union?

7. What was meant when some soldiers wrote home about being stuck in a "rich man's war," toward the end of "Chapter 7: On the Altar of My Country"?

8. How did Northern soldiers initially respond when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation?

9. Explain the massacres of black soldiers, as discussed in "Chapter 11: Vengeance Will be Our Motto."

10. Under what conditions were black soldiers allowed to join the Confederate army during the final year of the Civil War?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and discuss the effect religion had on both Union and Confederate soldiers and how their faith influenced their decisions in war. Be sure to include quotes and supporting information from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze and discuss three ways in which religious belief convinced the South that God was on their side. Be sure to include quotes, supporting information from the text, and outside research as necessary.

Essay Topic 3

In a well-developed essay, explain and discuss two examples--one Union, one Confederate--of how the phenomenon of primary group cohesion kept soldiers fighting during the Civil War. Include supporting information from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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