History 1301
Dr. Botson
Review Sheet for Book Exam
Defending Slavery: Proslavery Thought in the Old South. A Brief History with
Documents by Paul Finkelman
You will not read the entire book. These pages are the required reading for Defending
Slavery: The Preface, vii-ix, pp.1-40, pp. 54-60, pp. 80 – 88, pp. 89-95 and pp. 157-173.
You will be required to identify 10 of the following terms on the exam. The format will
be fill in the blank and there will not be a word bank. Each correctly identified term is
worth two points.
1. Lords of the Loom
2. Drapetomania
3. Dysaethesia Aethiopis
4. Antebellum South
5. Thomas Jefferson
6. Edmund Ruffin
7. James Henry Hammond
8. Alexander Stephens
9. Samuel A. Cartwright
10. The Great Awakening
11. John Wesley
12. Quakers
13. Notes on the State of Virginia
14. Charles Pinckney
15. Samuel G. Morton
16. Thomas R.R. Cobb
2
17. “mud sill”
18. Lord Chief Justice Mansfield
19. Roger Taney
20. Paul Finkelman
Essay Questions: You will be required to answer two of the following essay questions.
Make sure you prepare for all of them because I will pick which two you will answer on
exam day. Each answer is worth 40 points and must be 300-325 words.
Note: The essays on the book exam must be answered in paragraphs or they will
receive a failing grade. If an essay is not in proper paragraphs half of the possible
total points of 40 will be deducted from the essay’s score
1. Why does John C. Calhoun argue that slavery is a “positive good”? Whom does he
claim benefits from slavery?
2. James Henry Hammond argues that blacks and slaves from a natural “mudsill” for his
society. Does every society need a mudsill? Must there always be a social class on the
bottom? If so, then is Hammond correct in implying that the lowest class in society must
be suppressed?
3. Alexander Stephens declares that slavery is the “cornerstone” of the Confederacy. Do
you think this statement undermines the credibility of the Confederacy or makes it
stronger?
4. Samuel A. Cartwright comes to us as a scientist, observing and reporting on what he
has seen. How do you respond to his arguments? Apply what you know of modern
scientific reasoning to his observations.