Download The American Civil War Passage Questions

TheAmericanCivilWar The American Civil War
By ReadWorks
Source: United States Marines
The American Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865. It was the result of a period of
many tense years between the Northern states and the Southern states. The major
issue between the North and the South was slavery. Starting in the 1850s, Northerners
became more and more hostile to the idea of slavery on moral grounds, while slavery
continued to be an accepted fact of life in the South.
In the early- to mid-1800s, large farms called plantations were the backbone of
the Southern economy. Cotton, a cheap material used often in everyday life all over the
world, was one of the most important crops grown on the plantations. As a result, cotton
plantations multiplied throughout the region. Soon the South had become the main
grower and exporter of cotton for Europe and a powerful economic force. Many people
were required to work on plantations.
Southern plantation owners relied on slaves as the cheapest form of labor to work
the fields. Slaves who worked in the fields typically lived in shacks in the slave quarters
at a distance from the main house where the owners’ families lived. They were given
very little free time and were required to be answerable to the plantation owner. Some
slaves even worked inside the homes of plantation owners, cleaning the house or taking
care of the children.
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TheAmericanCivilWar Slaves were considered property. They worked on plantations, in shops, in towns
and cities, and in the construction of railroads. In the South, slaves were just another
part of the landscape.
A different understanding of slavery, however, was beginning to take shape in the
North. Taking the most progressive stand of the day, the Vermont Constitution of 1777
insisted that “all men are born equally free and independent.” It added a clause prohibiting
slavery based on this belief. The Declaration of Independence, in stating that all men are
created equal, inspired Vermont to prohibit slavery in its constitution in 1777. By 1804, all
states north of Maryland had voted to abolish slavery, many through a process of gradual
emancipation, which set deadlines by which a slave must be freed, depending on the work
done or the age reached. Also, during the antebellum period (1815 – 1860), the North
began a process of modernization and industrialization. Industrial advances allowed for the
development and expansion of new industries, like transportation (roads, canals, and
railroads), communications (magazines and newspapers), and finance (banking and
insurance). These industries fueled a demand for wage labor, which was partially met by
the influx of immigrants from Europe. Refugees from European political and economic
conditions sought the freedoms of American life, and many settled in the northern states.
By the 1850s, the majority of people in the North were opposed to the expansion of
slavery. They were also against allowing new states to join the United States as slave
states. Some people were opposed to slavery for moral reasons, and they formed a
movement in the North called abolitionism. The movement called for the legal end to
slavery in all of the United States. The wealthy Southern states saw abolitionism as a threat
to their way of life and fought against the Northern states politically whenever there was a
chance. Abraham Lincoln was a Republican from Illinois who believed firmly in the Union, as
opposed to states’ rights to choose their own practices (regarding slavery, taxes, and other
issues). He was elected president in 1860, which was just too much for the Southern
states. And so, soon after Lincoln took office, seven Southern states seceded from the
United States of America and formed the Confederate States of America so that they could
rule themselves as they saw fit. These states were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida,
Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.
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TheAmericanCivilWar President Lincoln knew that the Confederacy was a rebellion that would have to be
brought back into the federal government. But the Confederate states would not come
back without a fight. On April 12, 1861, the first shots of the American Civil War were
fired upon Union (Northern) soldiers at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The
Northern troops were defeated quickly, and they retreated. Soon afterward, four more
states—Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina—joined the Confederacy and
entered the fight.
The American Civil War lasted four years and claimed the lives of approximately
620,000 soldiers. Fierce battles were fought throughout the country, and many lost their
lives due to the wounds suffered and diseases spread from poor sanitary conditions. The
war was bitter, with most young men leaving home to join the fight, sometimes clashing
with family members from the other side on the battlefields. The North was at an
advantage. With access to more soldiers, as well as factories that could quickly churn
out wartime materials, it was often able to fight harder and longer.
Some of the most famous battles of the Civil War took place in Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania; Bull Run, Virginia; and Antietam, Maryland. Although one side or the
other was technically victorious after these battles, each battle (and the war in general)
could be considered a pyrrhic victory: there were such devastating costs on both sides of
the war that the victory felt like a defeat.
After many long years and battles, the Confederates surrendered. On April 9, 1865,
General Robert E. Lee of the Confederacy surrendered to General (and future president)
Ulysses S. Grant of the Union at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia.
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abolish a · bol · ish
Advanced Definition
transitive verb
1. to do away with; put a stop to; end.
Compulsory military service has been abolished.
Should the death penalty be abolished?
2. to take out of existence.
Some wish to abolish the former leader's name from the history books.
Spanish cognate
abolir: The Spanish word abolir means abolish.
These are some examples of how the word or forms of the word are used:
1. The monarchy of Brazil was abolished in 1891. Brazil’s government is now made up of a president, a legislature, and a judicial
branch. A constitution protects the rights of the people against unfair rule.
2. Some slaves in the North were offered freedom to fight for the British during the Revolutionary War (1775–1783). However,
slavery wasn’t abolished in the United States until the end of the Civil War (1861– 1865). New Jersey, for example, reported 18
slaves in 1860.
emancipation e · man · ci · pa · tion
Advanced Definition
noun
1. the act of freeing from some constraint or confinement.
2. the state or fact of being so freed.
Spanish cognate
emancipación: The Spanish word emancipación means emancipation.
These are some examples of how the word or forms of the word are used:
1. The Emancipation Proclamation declared slaves free, but it only applied to the three million slaves who lived in the so-called
Confederacy.
2. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” In 1963, almost 200 years after those
words were set to paper, a full century after a great war was fought and emancipation proclaimed, that promise -- those truths -remained unmet.
Lincoln and the 13th Amendment to End Slavery
Lincoln and the 13th Amendment to End Slavery
By ReadWorks
Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the United States. Today, Lincoln is
widely regarded as one of the greatest presidents in the nation’s history, in part because he
helped to permanently end slavery in America. He did this by pushing Congress to pass the 13th
Amendment before the end of the Civil War.
An “amendment” is a change. The 13th Amendment was the 13th change to the United
States Constitution. The United States Constitution is the fundamental law of the nation. The
people who wrote the Constitution in 1787 wanted to make it possible but difficult to change
the Constitution. In order to add a Constitutional Amendment, two-thirds of the members of
both the Senate and the House of Representatives must vote for it. Then three-quarters of the
states must approve, or “ratify,” it.
In 1864, President Lincoln pressed to achieve the difficult task of getting the 13th
Amendment passed, two years after he had signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The
Emancipation Proclamation declared slaves free, but it only applied to the three million slaves
who lived in the so-called Confederacy. The Confederacy was made up of the 11 states that
were rebelling against the Union. There were more than 700,000 other slaves who lived in
areas that were not rebelling, and they were not legally free. Lincoln believed he had the legal
right, given to the president by the Constitution in times of war, to take action necessary to
defeat the rebels. He thus thought he could legally free the slaves in those regions of the
country that were rebelling. This helped the war effort in a practical way, since the Proclamation
also directed the United States Army to allow African American men to enlist. By the end of the
Civil War, almost 200,000 African Americans had served in the Union Army.
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Lincoln and the 13th Amendment to End Slavery
But Lincoln did not believe he had the legal right to free the slaves in the “border
states,” which included Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri. These states had
remained loyal to the Union. All four states permitted slavery.
Lincoln also feared that once the war was over, leaders of the nation would reverse the
Emancipation Proclamation. He feared they might consider the Emancipation Proclamation
only a wartime measure.
That is why Lincoln wanted a ban on slavery written right into the Constitution.
In 1864 the Senate passed the amendment with the necessary two-thirds majority. But
the House of Representatives failed to pass the amendment.
Before the House voted on the amendment for the second time, Lincoln invited
individual congressmen to the White House. Lincoln acted friendly and polite, using arguments
he thought would convince each congressman. He told Congressman James Rollins from the
border state of Missouri that a vote for the amendment would send a signal to the South from
the border states, including Missouri. Lincoln argued this would quickly end what had been a
long and bloody war.
He didn’t just try to reason with the congressmen opposed to the amendment. He asked
his allies in the House to double their efforts to convince their colleagues. When they asked
how they could convince two more congressmen, Lincoln said, “I am President of the United
States, clothed with great power. The abolition of slavery by constitutional provision settles
the fate, for all coming time, not only of the millions now in bondage, but of unborn millions to
come—a measure of such importance that these two votes must be procured. I leave to you to
determine how it shall be done…”
To change their votes to support the amendment, some congressmen were offered
high-paying government jobs once they left the House, or jobs for their friends or relatives.
The effort paid off. The House reversed its previous vote, gaining a two-thirds majority.
The amendment was ratified by rapidly reaching the required number of states.
By the end of 1865, the Constitution had a new amendment, which reads:
“Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or
any place subject to their jurisdiction.
“Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”
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Questions: Lincoln and the 13th Amendment to End Slavery
Name:
Date:
1. Lincoln helped to permanently end slavery in America by pushing Congress to pass
which Amendment?
A
B
C
D
the
the
the
the
10th
12th
13th
14th
Amendment
Amendment
Amendment
Amendment
2. The problem that Lincoln saw with the Emancipation Proclamation was that it could
potentially be reversed after the end of the Civil War, if leaders viewed it as only a
wartime measure. How did Lincoln attempt to solve this problem?
A
B
C
D
Lincoln
Lincoln
Lincoln
Lincoln
declared all slaves in the border states free.
tried to acquire more legal rights as president.
invited Congressmen to the White House.
pressed to pass the 13th Amendment.
3. It is difficult to change the Constitution of the United States. What evidence from the
passage supports this conclusion?
A Two thirds of both the Senate and the House must vote for the change, then
three quarters of the states must approve it.
B The 13th Amendment to the Constitution states that, “Congress shall have
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”
C A change to the United States Constitution is called a Constitutional Amendment.
The 13th Amendment was the 13th change made to the Constitution.
D Lincoln believed he had the legal right, given to the president by the
Constitution in times of war, to take action necessary to defeat the rebels.
4. Read the following sentences: “To change their votes to support the amendment,
some congressmen were offered high-paying government jobs once they left the House,
or jobs for their friends or relatives. The effort paid off. The House reversed its previous
vote, gaining a two-thirds majority.” Based on this information, what can you conclude?
A The congressmen could not be persuaded to change their votes on the
Amendment.
B The congressmen could be persuaded to change their votes with offers that
personally benefited them.
C Lincoln got in trouble for bribing congressman to vote for the Amendment.
D The congressmen were less concerned with personal gain than they were with
the impact of slavery on the nation.
1
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Questions: Lincoln and the 13th Amendment to End Slavery
5. What is this passage mostly about?
A
B
C
D
President Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation
how the 13th Amendment helped to end the Civil War
the African Americans who served in the Union army
how and why Lincoln pressed to pass the 13th Amendment
6. Read the following sentence: “The abolition of slavery by constitutional provision settles
the fate, for all coming time, not only of the millions now in bondage, but of unborn
millions to come—a measure of such importance that these two votes must be procured.”
As used in this sentence, what does the word “bondage” refer to?
A
B
C
D
slavery
the South
the North
freedom
7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.
Lincoln was afraid that slavery would be reestablished after the Civil War, ____ he
pressed to have a ban on slavery written into the Constitution.
A
B
C
D
yet
namely
so
for example
8. What did the Emancipation Proclamation declare?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
2
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Questions: Lincoln and the 13th Amendment to End Slavery
9. Lincoln believed that he could legally free slaves in the rebel states. But he also
believed that he should not free slaves in states loyal to the Union. Why did Lincoln
believe these two things?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
10. Explain the role that the Civil War played in the passage of the 13th Amendment.
Support your answer using information from the passage.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
3
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amendment a · mend · ment
Definition
noun
1. an official change made to a bill, law, or other document.
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution are called The Bill of Rights.
Advanced Definition
noun
1. an addition to, change to, or deletion from a document such as a legislative bill or contract.
It required an amendment to the Constitution to bring women the vote.
2. the act or state of changing or being changed.
After the amendment of the contract, both sides agreed to sign.
3. improvement.
He sought the amendment of his character through acts of self-discipline.
Spanish cognate
enmienda: The Spanish word enmienda means amendment.
These are some examples of how the word or forms of the word are used:
1. India and her classmates conducted surveys to find out how much students at their school knew about the amendments. The
results were discouraging.
2. The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Does displaying the Ten
Commandments in a publicly funded school promote a religion?
3. On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that segregation in public schools was
a violation of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizens "equal protection" under the law.
4. If you don’t like something the government is doing, you can say so without getting in trouble. That’s exactly what the nation’s
founders hoped to achieve when they ratified, or approved, the Bill of Rights in 1791. The Bill of Rights is the first 10
amendments to the Constitution.
5. Biochar has been in use for centuries. Pre-Columbian Amazonians used it as a means to revive nutrient-depleted soil. They
burned agricultural waste under a cover of soil in order to create a layer of biochar in the ground. The resulting product is called
“terra preta”, or dark earth. Applying terra preta to this soil increased the agricultural yield of the land and enriched previously
poor tribes and communities. These Native Americans had discovered the benefits of using biochar as a soil amendment.
ban
Advanced Definition
transitive verb
1. to forbid, usually officially; prohibit.
That country has strict laws that ban pornography.
The sale of alcohol was banned for several years.
noun
1. a law or rule that prohibits.
A ban was imposed on smoking in public places.
2. an unofficial prohibition or condemnation, as by public opinion.
These are some examples of how the word or forms of the word are used:
1. Pet owners may not realize it, but wild pets are often illegal. About two dozen states ban some kinds of foreign pets.
2. Some people think that the ban on contact sports goes too far. "It’s taking away children’s rights to choose their own activities,"
Rhonda Clements, a physical education professor at Manhattanville College, told WR News.
3. New Jersey is set to have the strictest school nutrition laws in the country. The state passed a bill in January [2007] to ban the
sale of junk foods in elementary and middle schools.
4. "I don’t see a reason to ban cell phones," Leland Dishman, a school official from Boaz, Alabama, told WR News. "Our kids are
very responsible, and I do not expect much of a problem."
5. Schools should ban students from carrying cell phones during classes. Cell phones can be a major distraction and impair
student learning.
emancipation e · man · ci · pa · tion
Advanced Definition
noun
1. the act of freeing from some constraint or confinement.
2. the state or fact of being so freed.
Spanish cognate
emancipación: The Spanish word emancipación means emancipation.
These are some examples of how the word or forms of the word are used:
1. On September 22, 1862, President Lincoln declared that all slaves in the southern states were free. His announcement was called the Emancipation Proclamation.
2. Lincoln's leadership held the country together during the Civil War between the states in the North and the South (1861—1865). During the war, he freed all U.S. slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation
of 1863.
3. His most famous piece of writing is the Emancipation Proclamation. It declared that the slaves in the southern states rebelling during the Civil War were free. The proclamation paved the way for the
Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which ended slavery in the U.S.
4. The Declaration of Independence, in stating that all men are created equal, inspired Vermont to prohibit slavery in its constitution in 1777. By 1804, all states north of Maryland had voted to abolish slavery,
many through a process of gradual emancipation, which set deadlines by which a slave must be freed, depending on the work done or the age reached.
5. Five decades ago today, Americans came to this honored place to lay claim to a promise made at our founding: “We hold these truths to be self
evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” In 1963, almost 200 years after those word
Texts: “The American Civil War”
“Lincoln and the 13th Amendment to End Slavery”
Paired Text Questions
Part 1: Use the article “The American Civil War” to answer the following questions:
1. Who became more and more hostile to the idea of slavery on moral grounds?
2. What does it mean to be opposed to slavery on moral grounds? Support your answer with evidence from the article.
Part 2: Use the article “Lincoln and the 13th Amendment to End Slavery” to answer the following questions:
3. A) Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Whom did the Proclamation declare free?
B) How did the Emancipation Proclamation help “the war effort in a practical way”?
4. Read the pargraph from the article that begins "He didn't just try to reason..."
Based on this paragraph, was Lincoln opposed to slavery on moral grounds? Support your answer with evidence from
the text.
Part 3: Use the articles “The American Civil War” & “Lincoln and the 13th Amendment to End Slavery” to answer the
following questions:
5. Did Abraham Lincoln oppose slavery for the same reasons that other Northerners did? Support your answer with
evidence from both texts.
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