The Northern Economy

The Civil War affected the Northern economy in different ways than it did in the South. In

some ways, the North was better off during the war. There were more factories and more miles

of railroad in the North.

Like the South, the North struggled to raise money. The war was the most expensive that the

country had fought at that time. The government was forced to think of new ways to raise

money.

One way the government did this was to sell bonds. When a person bought a bond, he was

lending money to the government. In this case, the money was used to fight the Civil War. The

bond was guaranteed to earn a certain amount of interest during the life of the bond. When the

bond matured, the buyer would get the face value of it. A bond can mature at different times.

Some mature in months; others take years.

The government in the North started a national bank to sell the bonds. The people in the

North had money saved in banks. This saved money was used to buy bonds. Still, the people in

the North could not buy enough bonds to pay for the war.

Another way they tried to pay for it was to start an income tax. This tax was hated during the

Civil War, and it is still disliked today. Congress started the tax in 1861. Then it taxed three

percent of what people made. By 1862, the war was costing over two million dollars a day.

Taxes helped pay for some of this, but taxes couldn't raise enough money, either.

In order to get some of the money that it needed, the North began to print more paper money.

This led to inflation. Inflation is when prices go up and money is worth less. Inflation wasn't as

bad in the North as it was in the South. In the South, inflation was nine thousand percent.

Something that cost one dollar at the beginning of the war cost about ninety dollars at the end of

it. In the North, inflation doubled the price of goods.

The North had more factories than the South. Almost ninety percent of manufactured goods

were made in the North. Many farmers went off to fight. More machines were then needed on

farms to plant or harvest crops.

As the war went on, soldiers needed clothes, shoes, and guns. Factories in the North worked

hard to make these items. Some owners made a lot of money through something called

profiteering. This is when someone charges a lot of money for an item that someone needs. The

government needed clothes and shoes for the soldiers. It was sometimes forced to pay these

higher prices to get what it needed.

The Union had more railroads than the South. There were about twenty thousand miles of

railroad in the North. The South only had about nine thousand. The Union also had ninety-six

percent of the railroad equipment. This allowed it to quickly move goods and soldiers around the

northern part of the country. But it was the South, who for the first time during a war, moved

troops to a battle using a railroad.

Much of the war was fought on Southern soil. Because of this, many of their farms and crops

were destroyed. The North did not have this problem. When the war was over, men could go

back to farms that had been well taken care of. People in the North did not have to worry about

rebuilding that part of the country. This helped the North recover quickly from the Civil War.

The Northern Economy

1. Where was inflation worse?

West

South

North

2. When was an income tax started?

1861

1863

1862

3. Who first used the railroad to move troops

to a battle?

North

West

South

4. How much did the war cost by 1862?

5. What is profiteering?

6. Where was much of the war fought?

On Southern soil

On Northern soil

On the Atlantic Ocean

The Southern Economy By Cathy Pearl

1 The Civil War cost more than any other war the country had fought before it. Because of this,

the North and the South had to find ways to raise money. The economy in each part of the

country was affected in different ways. The South had a harder time than the North.

2 There weren't a lot of factories in the South. The people in the South were using cotton to get

what they needed. The South would sell cotton to other parts of the country. It would then buy

what it needed.

3 The South's economy was built on the labor of slaves. African Americans were forced to

work the farms and plantations where cotton was grown. Without their hard work, much of the

cotton would be left to rot in the fields. There wouldn't be enough people to harvest it.

4 The war hurt the cotton trade. The North set up a blockade in the waters off the coast of

Southern ports. This blockade was able to keep many ships from leaving. The South had a hard

time getting their cotton to other countries to sell.

5 To try to get help to break the blockade, the South began to refuse to sell cotton to Great

Britain. The South hoped that Great Britain would then help break the blockade so it could get

more cotton.

6 The South's plan didn't work quite the way it had hoped. At the time, there was extra cotton

in Great Britain, so they weren't worried about getting more of it. Britain was able to buy cotton

from other countries. Britain was also against slavery. The country wasn't sure it wanted to

support the South because the South wanted to keep slavery in place.

7 In order to raise money to fight the war, the Confederate government tried to tax people. But

people in the South believed in states' rights. They wouldn't pay money to the government. Other

taxes asked for crops instead of money. The government knew that many people in the South did

not have enough money to pay taxes.

8 The Confederate government also printed extra paper money to pay the costs of the war. This

led to inflation. Inflation is when prices rise and money isn't worth as much. At one point, sixty

to seventy dollars in paper money equaled one dollar in gold.

9 As inflation got worse, the prices kept going up. More of the paper money was needed to buy

what people needed. During the war, a barrel of flour could sell as high as 275 dollars. A pound

of butter cost fifteen dollars.

10 This was if you could find what you were looking for. The blockade made a lot of food and

other items hard to find. The Confederate army sometimes had to wait months for more clothes

or weapons.

11 Many of the weapons came from Europe. The blockade kept them from getting through. To

get things like guns, the Southern government tried to start their own factories. Manufacturers

were told their workers would not have to serve in the army if the factory started to make goods

for the war.

12 The economy in the South would take a long time to recover after the Civil War. It would be

destroyed even more when a general from the North, William Sherman, would make his March

to the Sea. During this march, he would destroy much of what was in his path. The South would

struggle for many years to rebuild just some of what they had before the war.

The Southern Economy

1. What kept most ships from leaving the

South during the war?

A blockade

The North destroyed all the ships.

Bad weather

2. Why wouldn't people in the South pay a

tax?

3. Printing extra money to pay for the war led

to what?

Less taxes

Inflation

People getting rich

4. What did the South do to try to break the

blockade?

Attack the blockade

Build faster ships

Refuse to sell cotton to Britain

5. What is inflation?

6. How much did a pound of butter cost

during the Civil War?

The Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865 and led to over 618,000 casualties. Its causes can be

traced back to tensions that formed early in the nation's history. Following are the top five causes

that led to the "War Between the States."

1. Economic and social differences between the North and the South.

With Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin in 1793, cotton became very profitable. This

machine was able to reduce the time it took to separate seeds from the cotton. However, at the

same time the increase in the number of plantations willing to move from other crops to cotton

meant the greater need for a large amount of cheap labor, i.e. slaves. Thus, the southern economy

became a one crop economy, depending on cotton and therefore on slavery. On the other hand,

the northern economy was based more on industry than agriculture. In fact, the northern

industries were purchasing the raw cotton and turning it into finished goods. This disparity

between the two set up a major difference in economic attitudes. The South was based on the

plantation system while the North was focused on city life. This change in the North meant that

society evolved as people of different cultures and classes had to work together. On the other

hand, the South continued to hold onto an antiquated social order.

2. States versus federal rights.

Since the time of the Revolution, two camps emerged: those arguing for greater states rights and

those arguing that the federal government needed to have more control. The first organized

government in the US after the American Revolution was under the Articles of Confederation.

The thirteen states formed a loose confederation with a very weak federal government. However,

when problems arose, the weakness of this form of government caused the leaders of the time to

come together at the Constitutional Convention and create, in secret, the US Constitution. Strong

proponents of states rights like Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry were not present at this

meeting. Many felt that the new constitution ignored the rights of states to continue to act

independently. They felt that the states should still have the right to decide if they were willing to

accept certain federal acts. This resulted in the idea of nullification, whereby the states would

have the right to rule federal acts unconstitutional. The federal government denied states this

right. However, proponents such as John C. Calhoun fought vehemently for nullification. When

nullification would not work and states felt that they were no longer respected, they moved

towards secession.

3. The fight between Slave and Non-Slave State Proponents.

As America began to expand, first with the lands gained from the Louisiana Purchase and later

with the Mexican War, the question of whether new states admitted to the union would be slave

or free. The Missouri Compromise passed in 1820 made a rule that prohibited slavery in states

from the former Louisiana Purchase the latitude 36 degrees 30 minutes north except in Missouri.

During the Mexican War, conflict started about what would happen with the new territories that

the US expected to gain upon victory. David Wilmot proposed the Wilmot Proviso in 1846

which would ban slavery in the new lands. However, this was shot down to much debate. The

Compromise of 1850 was created by Henry Clay and others to deal with the balance between

slave and free states, northern and southern interests. One of the provisions was the fugitive slave

act that was discussed in number one above. Another issue that further increased tensions was

the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. It created two new territories that would allow the states to

use popular sovereignty to determine whether they would be free or slave. The real issue

occurred in Kansas where proslavery Missourians began to pour into the state to help force it to

be slave. They were called “Border Ruffians.” Problems came to a head in violence at Lawrence

Kansas. The fighting that occurred caused it to be called “Bleeding Kansas.” The fight even

erupted on the floor of the senate when antislavery proponent Charles Sumner was beat over the

head by South Carolina’s Senator Preston Brooks.

4. Growth of the Abolition Movement.

Increasingly, the northerners became more polarized against slavery. Sympathies began to grow

for abolitionists and against slavery and slaveholders. This occurred especially after some major

events including: the publishing of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the Dred Scott

Case, John Brown’s Raid, and the passage of the fugitive slave act that held individuals

responsible for harboring fugitive slaves even if they were located in non-slave states.

5. The election of Abraham Lincoln.

Even though things were already coming to a head, when Lincoln was elected in 1860, South

Carolina issued its “Declaration of the Causes of Secession.” They believed that Lincoln was

anti-slavery and in favor of Northern interests. Before Lincoln was even president, seven states

had seceded from the Union: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana,

and Texas.

First Battle of Bull Run By Cathy Pearl

1 When the Civil War first started, both sides thought that it would end quickly. The first major

battle took place at Bull Run in Virginia. This battle showed both sides that the war would be

long and bloody.

2 In 1861, the Confederate capital was in Richmond, Virginia. It was only about one hundred

miles away from Washington, D.C. Newspapers in the North called for the army to attack the

Southern capital.

3 The Union general, Irvin McDowell, did not agree. He did not feel that his army was ready

for any major battles. Lincoln did not listen to his general. He ordered the army to march for

Manassas. This town had a railroad that was important to the North.

4 The leader of the Southern army was P.G.T. Beauregard. He was the officer who had

captured Fort Sumter. The battle at Fort Sumter had started the Civil War. Beauregard's army

was camping near a stream named Bull Run. The stream was about four miles north of

Manassas.

5 The march south took the Northern soldiers almost four days. Manassas was only about

twenty-five miles away. The slow pace showed how badly prepared the army was. Soldiers were

said to have stopped to pick blackberries instead of marching.

6 The march south was treated like a party. The Union army was sure that it would win any

battle. People rode in on buggies or on horses to watch the battle. It was July 21, 1861.

7 The slow pace of the Union army gave Beauregard plenty of time to get ready. More soldiers

came in to strengthen the army. Trains brought many of them in. It marked the first time that

soldiers were moved by train. When McDowell finally attacked, both armies were about the

same size.

8 Hours after the battle started, the people who had come to watch the battle were running back

to Washington as fast as they could. The battle was much different from what anybody had

thought it would be. It was loud and bloody.

9 At first, it seemed like the Union army was winning. Slowly the army was pushing the

Southern army back. If the Union won, the road to Richmond would be open.

10 The Confederates were ready to break when some men rallied behind General Thomas J.

Jackson. He was fighting to protect a piece of land that was important in the battle. Jackson

earned his nickname of "Stonewall" here because he stood as strong as a stone wall.

11 More Confederate troops started to come from the South. The Union army was becoming

tired and discouraged. They had been fighting all day and had not been able to win the battle.

Union officers were losing control of their men. Some soldiers simply stopped fighting and

started walking back toward Washington. Others ran north as the Southern army pushed the

attack toward them.

12 The road to the North was choked with people. Soldiers were trying to make their way north.

Also on the road were the people who had come to watch the battle. They all now ran north.

Most of them had never seen a war. They were now terrified by what the country faced.

13 The Confederates had a great opportunity. The road to Washington was open. They could

have gone north and had a chance to attack the Union capital. But the men in the Southern army

were tired and did not have the energy to chase the Union army. The war may have ended very

differently if they had.

14 Compared to what was coming, the number of killed and wounded was not large. The Union

army had about 2900 casualties. A casualty is a man who was killed, injured, captured, or

missing in action. The Confederate casualties were less than two thousand.

15 This sounds like a lot of people. But these numbers would prove to be small as the war

continued. This early battle showed both sides that the war would not be easy to win. Both sides

began to prepare much larger armies for the battles ahead.

First Battle of Bull Run

1. Which side won the Battle of Bull Run? 2. Who was the leader of the Southern army?

The South

The North

Abraham Lincoln

P.G.T. Beauregard

Irvin McDowell

3. Where was the capital of the Confederates?

Richmond, Virginia

Manassas, Virginia

Washington, D.C.

4. This battle marked the first time soldiers

were transported by:

Plane

Train

Car

5. What is a casualty?

6. How did people treat the battle at first?

Gettysburg Address By Cathy Pearl

1 It was November 19, 1863. President Abraham Lincoln stood in

Gettysburg. It was about four months after the North had won a battle

there. He was there to dedicate a new cemetery. He only spoke for two

minutes. His speech is still famous today.

2 The battle left many people dead. There were more than seven

thousand bodies on the battlefield. The town wanted to bury these dead

quickly and honorably. Pennsylvania bought land near where the battle

was. This land would be a cemetery.

3 The main speaker that day was Edward Everett. At the time, he was

considered to be one of the best public speakers in the country. Almost

as an afterthought, Lincoln was also invited to speak that day. He would not be the main speaker.

4 About fifteen thousand people are thought to have come that day. There were also governors

from six different states. The cemetery was not ready yet. The town was still working to rebury

men from the battle into it.

5 Everett spoke for over two hours that day. Lincoln sat and waited patiently for his turn. After

Everett was finally done speaking, Lincoln stood to give his speech.

6 After a two hour speech, the crowd was probably expecting Lincoln's speech to be long, too.

It wasn't. In his Kentucky accent, Lincoln would give what today is known as the Gettysburg

Address. It would last just over two minutes.

7 Lincoln's speech was ten sentences long. In it, he rededicated the nation to the war effort. He

also spoke of a government that was for the people. He honored the sacrifice of those who had

died.

8 Some people believe Lincoln did not take a lot of time to write this speech. They think he

wrote it on the train as he was traveling to Gettysburg. This isn't true. Lincoln thought carefully

about anything that he said in public. The invitation came late, but he had plenty of time to write

a well-thought-out speech.

9 Lincoln put finishing touches on his speech that morning. No one is sure just what Lincoln

said that day. There are many copies of the speech that are different. Even newspaper reporters

wrote the wording down differently. There is no recording of this speech. The argument may

never end.

10 Public reaction that day was different for everyone. Much of it depended on political parties.

Those that liked Lincoln praised the speech. Those that didn't like him said the speech was

embarrassing.

11 Even people's memories of that day differed. Some people who were there that day said the

audience didn't make a sound after Lincoln finished speaking. Others said that a couple of people

clapped. Even photographers were shocked at how short the speech was. Most were not ready to

take Lincoln's picture before he was done talking.

12 Lincoln himself wrote at least five different copies of the speech. The fifth draft is the only

one with his signature. This is probably the last copy he wrote. This copy is considered the

accepted version. It is called the Bliss copy. It was owned by the family of Alexander Bliss.

13 The Library of Congress has original copies of the speech. Any copies they have are kept in

specially protected cases. This keeps the paper the speech is written on from becoming weak and

falling apart.

14 Lincoln thought the speech was a failure. Everett was impressed. Lincoln had said in two

minutes what had taken Everett two hours to say.

15 Today that two minute speech is probably Lincoln's most famous. It will continue to be an

important part of Civil War and American history.

Gettysburg Address

1. Who was the main speaker that day? 2. How long was Lincoln's speech?

Edward Everett

Abraham Lincoln

Two hours

Two minutes

Twenty minutes

3. Lincoln wrote the speech the day of the

dedication.

False

True

4. Which copy of the speech did Lincoln

sign?

5. Why is one copy called the Bliss copy?

6. How much earlier had the Battle of

Gettysburg been fought?

Four weeks

Four months

Four years

A Letter Home By Mary L. Bushong

1 Note: This story is fictional, but loosely based on a true account.

2 Constance pressed close behind her mother as the two walked onto the hospital grounds. Mrs.

Barrows led the way to the surgeon's tent. It was little more than a field hospital, and the

surgeon's operating table was still in place. The doctor's blood soaked apron had not yet been

washed. Constance felt light-headed. Had it been a mistake for her to come?

3 "Good day to you, Mrs. Barrows," said the young surgeon with a tired voice. "I see you

brought reinforcements in your efforts to help our brave boys. Is it wise to bring such a young

lady to a place like this?"

4 Mrs. Barrows nodded. "I hear that Northern ladies visit their boys. Is it right for our own

boys to lay suffering and dying away from the loving arms of their own families? It is right for

her to be here. Perhaps we may both offer some small amount of comfort."

5 The surgeon nodded and waved to a broad-shouldered attendant.

6 "Private, take these two ladies to visit the boys in your care."

7 The private led Mrs. Barrows and Constance to the large, open-sided tent. He bowed to the

two ladies and went back to work. Some of the men were awake. Their eyes followed the two

women as they went from bed to bed. Their mouths were clamped shut against the pain as a

further testimony of their courage.

8 Constance was nervous. She had never before been in a hospital tent. The smells and sights

in the tent were almost enough to make her run out. She knew that if she did, she would never be

allowed to come again.

9 One young man seemed paler than the others around him. Any tan in his skin had been

washed away with suffering.

10 "What is your name, son?" asked Mrs. Barrows softly as she took his hand.

11 "Private George Youngblood," he answered.

12 "Is there anything we can do for you today?" asked Mrs. Barrows with the innate gentleness

of a sorrowing mother.

13 "Yes, Ma'am, if you don't mind," he began. "I'm not long for this world. Could you write a

letter for me to my Momma?"

14 Something in the young man's tone reminded Constance of her brother, and she touched her

mother's arm.

15 "Please let me do it, Momma," she said. "I would like to write the letter for Private

Youngblood."

16 Mrs. Barrows looked at her daughter for a long moment before nodding her head. She

watched Constance as she readied the paper and pen, balancing the small ink pot on the side of

the cot. Then she continued her visits.

17 Later, on the way home, Mrs. Barrows told Constance that she was pleased with her

daughter's efforts. Constance smiled, but tears pricked in the corners of her eyes.

18 "Thank you, Momma, but I just couldn't say no. When I saw Private Youngblood, he

reminded me so much of James. No one was there to write a last message from him to us. I

wanted to do that for George's family."

1. The sight of blood left Constance feeling:

Light-headed

Nervous

Angry

Queasy

2. Why did Mrs. Barrows think it was wrong

for Southern ladies not to visit wounded

soldiers?

The soldiers were lonely.

They were not helping those who

were dying for their cause.

They were too proud to come.

They should comfort the sick and

injured.

3. Why would the soldiers not want the ladies

to see their pain?

They thought it would disgust the

women.

They were afraid the ladies would be

afraid.

They didn't want to offend them.

They were too proud to admit they

were hurting.

4. The hospital tent would not be very clean.

What sights and smells might the two

women encounter as they visited the

injured soldiers?

5. Why did Constance want to help Private

Youngblood?

She had no real reason.

She wanted his family to have a last

letter.

He reminded her of her sweetheart.

He reminded her of her brother.

6. Why would a last letter from a dying

soldier be so important for the man's

family?

7. Mrs. Barrows was proud of her daughter

for wanting to help the soldier. If she had

not cared about the soldiers, how might her

reaction have been different?

8. The Barrows family never received a last

letter from James.

False

True

Women in the Civil War By Cathy Pearl

1 Men weren't the only people to play a large role in the Civil War. Women also did a lot to

help. Some became nurses and helped those who were fighting. Others dressed as men and did

some of the fighting themselves.

2 Both the Northern and the Southern armies did not allow women to enlist. Any woman who

wanted to fight had to dress as a man. The women would also change their names. Because of

this, it is hard to say exactly how many women joined an army and fought in the Civil War.

3 When anyone, man or woman, enlisted in the army, he or she had a very simple medical

exam. Also, proof of who they claimed to be was not asked for. Most women were not

discovered until they were injured or killed.

4 After the battle of Gettysburg, one woman was found dead on the field. It was July 17, 1863.

Based on where her body was found, she probably took part in Pickett's Charge. In 1934, a grave

was found outside Shiloh National Military Park. There were nine skeletons in the grave, and

one of them was female. The identities of these two women will probably never be known.

5 Florena Budwin was a woman who disguised herself as a man. She wanted to go to war with

her husband. They were both captured and sent to Andersonville Prison. He was either killed or

died there. She was sent to the Florence Stockade. While there, a doctor discovered she was

actually a woman. She was removed from the Stockade but died from pneumonia. She was only

twenty. She is known as the first woman buried in a national cemetery.

6 Women did not only fight. They helped after the fighting was over. At first, men did not want

the women to be nurses. The men felt that the horrors of war would be too much for them to

stand. Of course, the women proved them wrong.

7 When more and more wounded men began to arrive at hospitals, it was easier to find more

nurses than doctors. Doctors were overwhelmed with the number of injured. The women nurses

did many of the jobs that doctors did not have time to do.

8 The women saw all of the horrors of war. Every day they faced disease, amputations, and

dying soldiers. They worked harder than they had ever worked in their lives, and most of them

would not have given up the job for anything.

9 Nurses helped the doctors with surgeries and with amputations. They would feed soldiers

who couldn't feed themselves and help them write letters to their families. They often talked to

soldiers who were dying and pushed many of them not to give up fighting.

10 Women also fought to keep their hospitals clean. Their hard work and willingness to fight

for the injured men probably saved many lives.

11 Louisa May Alcott is best known as the author of Little Women. During the Civil War, she

was also a nurse in a hospital in Washington, D.C. She worked there until 1863 when she caught

typhoid from one of the patients. While recovering, she wrote a book about what she had seen

and done during her time in the hospital.

12 Another famous nurse was Mary Ann Bickerdyke. She became known as Mother

Bickerdyke. During her time nursing in the Civil War, she did everything she could to take care

of "her boys." Thirty years after her service in the war, she was awarded a pension for the rest of

her life.

13 Women may not have changed the war. They didn't win battles. What they did do is show

that women could fight next to men. They also showed that women could be nurses. The women

nurses did so well that nursing became an accepted job for women after the Civil War.

1. Women were allowed to enlist in the army

during the Civil War.

False

True

2. Why did Louisa May Alcott quit being a

nurse?

She caught typhoid from a patient.

She was tired of it.

She couldn't handle the blood.

3. Who was the first woman buried in a

national cemetery?

4. What job became more accepted for

women after the Civil War?

Florence Stockade

Mary Ann Bickerdyke

Florena Budwin

Doctor

Teacher

Nurse

5. Name two jobs women would do as nurses.

6. When were most women soldiers

discovered?

Fort Sumter By Cathy Pearl

1 Caption: The Confederate attack on Fort Sumter

2 Abraham Lincoln won the election in 1860. He would be the country's next president. At this

point, it was clear that the country could not avoid a war. Within weeks of the election, Southern

states started to secede from the Union.

3 Fort Sumter was a fort in South Carolina. It sat near the water's edge and protected

Charleston Harbor. After South Carolina left the Union, they demanded that the fort surrender.

At the time, Lincoln and the Union government controlled the fort.

4 Lincoln did not want to give the fort up. He had been told that there weren't enough supplies

in the fort to defend it. Lincoln came up with a plan. He would send a supply ship to the fort and

tell the South Carolina governor it was coming. If the ship got through, the fort would have

enough supplies to fight if needed, or the South would shoot at the ship. This would force them

to fire the first shot and start a war.

5 The Confederate Commander in Charleston was General Beauregard. On April 11, 1861, he

went to the fort. The man in charge at Fort Sumter was Major Robert Anderson. Beauregard said

that the fort must be evacuated. If it wasn't, the Confederate Army would force everyone to

leave.

6 Anderson told the man that the fort was almost out of food. If the army waited long enough,

everyone would have to leave anyway. Anderson offered to leave by April 15 unless more

supplies were delivered. At the time, more supplies were on the way from Lincoln.

7 The answer was not acceptable. Anderson was given an hour to leave or the fort would be

attacked. On April 12, 1861, at 4:30 in the morning, the attack began at Fort Sumter. The Civil

War had begun.

8 The fort wasn't only running out of food. They also didn't have a lot of ammunition. They

waited almost two hours before returning fire. After the first shots, they fired very slowly in

order to save their ammunition.

9 The men in the fort had been there for three months. They were tired and hungry from the

lack of food. Yet they fought as hard as they could to protect the fort. Many times, cannonballs

would land in wooden buildings and start fires. Each time the soldiers, with a little help from the

rain that was falling, would put the fire out.

10 The first night, the men got very little sleep. They watched the boats that were in the harbor.

They made sure that no one came toward the fort.

11 After a small breakfast the next morning, the men in the fort kept firing back. They still

continued to fire slowly. They limited themselves to only one shot every ten minutes. Early in

the morning, another wooden building caught fire. This time, the men could not put the fire out.

Soon, most buildings were on fire. One building full of gunpowder was in danger of exploding.

12 The attack went on for about thirty-three hours. On April 14, 1861, Anderson was forced to

surrender. He was running out of supplies. The supply ship had not made it to the fort. He knew

that he had no choice.

13 No one was seriously hurt or killed on either side during the battle. Both sides met to discuss

the terms of the surrender. Anderson was allowed to put up his flag for a one-hundred-gun salute.

This was cut short when a cannon did not fire correctly. The accident killed two men.

14 The men left the fort. As they made their way north, they were greeted like heroes. When in

New York, all the men were presented with medals for their bravery.

15 The country quickly realized there would be no turning back from war. Lincoln began to call

for men to serve in the Union Army. Men in the South volunteered to fight for the Confederates.

People on both sides were sure that the war would be over in months. It would go on for four

long years.

1. Who was in charge at Fort Sumter?

General Beauregard

2. What was the fort running out of?

Space

Abraham Lincoln

Major Robert Anderson

Food

Men

3. Who fired the first shot?

The North

The South

4. How many men were killed during the

battle?

Ten

Zero

Five

5. Why did the men in the fort shoot back

very slowly?

6. How long did the attack go on?

Emancipation Proclamation By Cathy Pearl

1 From the very beginning of the war, President Abraham Lincoln was pushed to free the

slaves. At first, he refused. He did not want to anger people in Border States and push those

states into seceding. He also insisted that the war was being fought to save the Union, not to free

the slaves.

2 Lincoln started to talk about the proclamation with his Cabinet early in the war. It was July of

1862. All of them had different thoughts about it. Some wanted Lincoln to issue it right away.

Others worried that Lincoln would lose the next election because of it.

3 Freeing the slaves could help the North. Many blacks wanted to fight in the army. By freeing

the slaves, they could then enlist. This would give the North more men to fight in the war.

4 Lincoln felt that the North needed to win a large victory before he freed the slaves. This

victory came at the Battle of Antietam. On September 22, 1862, Lincoln issued the proclamation.

It was five days after the battle. Lincoln gave a deadline to the Southern states. If a state rejoined

the Union by January 1, the state could keep slavery in place temporarily. If the state refused, all

slaves would be freed.

5 The order could not take effect until the Union soldiers took control of Southern states. Still,

slaves had been used to help the war effort in the South. They heard about their freedom by word

of mouth. Many slaves began to run away which caused more confusion in the South.

6 The proclamation was not as great as it seemed at the surface. Only slaves in Confederate

states were freed. It said nothing about slaves in Border and Union states. The slaves there would

be freed in separate state actions.

7 The impact was immediate. In the North, the reasons for fighting the war had now changed.

The army still fought to save the Union. They also fought to end slavery.

8 In the military, reactions were very different. Some men deserted and refused to fight

anymore. Other units started to fight harder. They believed in the cause they were now fighting

for.

9 The South was hurt by the proclamation. Many foreign countries had been thinking about

supporting the South. The proclamation helped bring more support for the Union. If a country

supported the South, it would seem like it was supporting slavery. This wouldn't work for

countries like England and France who had already banned slavery in their countries.

10 Still, the order did not end everyone's fears. Many were worried that freeing the slaves

would be seen as a wartime act. They wondered what would happen when the war was over.

People began to push to make sure that all slaves were freed, not just those in Confederate states.

11 When Lincoln ran for president in 1864, he made it a campaign issue. Lincoln pushed for an

amendment to the Constitution that would ban slavery in the country.

12 When Lincoln won reelection, he immediately pushed Congress to pass the amendment. In

January of 1865, the amendment was sent to the states to be ratified. It was ratified by enough

states in December of 1865. It became the thirteenth amendment.

13 Freedom was not everything that most slaves had dreamed of. They still fought for equal

rights in the country. Many moved, as the places they used to live were no longer safe. They had

trouble finding places to live and finding jobs. Their fight for equality had just started.

1. The Emancipation Proclamation only freed

slaves in which states?

Northern states

Border states

Confederate states

2. Before issuing the proclamation, Lincoln

wanted to wait for what?

A victory for the North

The new year

Winter

3. The Emancipation Proclamation helped the

South.

False

True

4. What amendment banned slavery in the

United States?

Thirteenth

Twelfth

Eleventh

5. How did men in the military feel about the

proclamation?

6. Why didn't foreign countries like France or

Britain support the South?

Lincoln's Assassination By Cathy Pearl

1 General Lee had surrendered to General Grant. As the weeks passed, the Southern army

would continue to surrender. Lincoln had helped to lead the North to a victory in the war.

Unfortunately, he would not get to see the official end of the war. Five days after Lee's surrender,

he would be assassinated.

2 During the winter before the end of the war, a group of men met. John Wilkes Booth led

these men. He was an actor at the time. Booth and the group planned to kidnap Lincoln. They

wanted to exchange him for Southern prisoners. Booth tried to kidnap Lincoln several times but

wasn't able to do it.

3 Booth then changed his plan. He decided to kill the president. He also planned for other

members of his group to attack the vice president, the secretary of state, and General Grant.

4 On April 14, 1865, the president and his wife were going to Ford's Theater. They got there

about 8:30 in the evening. At about 10:15, Booth entered the box where Lincoln and his wife sat.

Booth shot Lincoln in the back of the head close to point blank range.

5 Booth then jumped from the balcony. He broke his leg but managed to limp away. He was

able to escape from the theater on a horse that was waiting outside.

6 Lincoln was carried to Peterson's Boarding House. It was across the street from the theatre.

His family and friends waited during the long night. Lincoln never woke up. He died the

morning after he was shot.

7 Within days, the war department issued wanted posters. Soldiers quickly began searching for

Booth and the rest of the men that planned the attacks with him. Lincoln was the only member

that the group went after that was killed.

8 Booth would be tracked to a barn in Virginia. He refused to surrender and the barn was lit on

fire. A soldier would shoot Booth in the neck. He would later die from the injuries.

9 President Lincoln lay in state at both the White House and the Capitol building. His body

would then be carried to the train station. A nine-car funeral train waited to take his body for

burial. It was a seventeen hundred mile journey back to his hometown of Springfield, Illinois.

10 The North mourned the man who had led them through the war. The train took fourteen days

to make it back to Illinois. Along the way, people lined the tracks to watch the train pass.

11 The train would stop at different cities along the way. People would take the time to mourn

the president before the train moved on. Some of the cities the train stopped at were Philadelphia,

Buffalo, Cleveland, and Chicago. He was laid to rest on May 4.

12 President Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated. Booth was sure that killing

Lincoln would help the South. It wouldn't. A nation that was celebrating the end of the war was

now mourning their president.

13 Vice President Andrew Johnson became president when Lincoln died. He would be forced to

lead the nation into becoming one country again. Lincoln would never get to see the survival of

the Union he had fought very hard to bring back together.

1. How long after Lee surrendered was

Lincoln assassinated?

Five days

Five months

Five weeks

2. Lincoln was the first president to be:

Assassinated

Killed in a battle

Impeached

3. Who assassinated President Lincoln?

4. What did Booth do for a living before he

shot the president?

He was a blacksmith.

He was a soldier.

He was an actor.

5. How long did it take the funeral train to get

to Illinois?

6. How did Booth die?

A soldier shot him.

He was hanged.

He was killed when he jumped to the

stage.

African Americans in the Civil War By Cathy Pearl

1 When the war started, there were many free blacks in the North. These men volunteered to

fight for the Union army. At first, President Abraham Lincoln did not want to recruit black

soldiers. He did not want to upset people in the Border States between the South and the North.

He also did not want to anger people in the North who did not want to fight a war over slavery.

He insisted the North was fighting the war to save the Union.

2 Blacks were disappointed, but they didn't stop trying. Through 1861 and most of 1862, they

pushed to be allowed in the army. Even if Lincoln did not want to say it, most blacks knew this

was a war against slavery.

3 It was harder to decide what to do with escaped slaves. As the Union army would go near a

plantation, many slaves would escape and cross over to the Union side. Some thought the slaves

should be sent back. Others put them to work helping the Union army.

4 Finally, escaped slaves were declared "contraband of war." A slave could earn this title if he

had been forced to help the Confederates in any way. If a slave was found to be contraband, he

was declared to be free.

5 The North continued to not allow black soldiers to fight with the army. But in the South,

slaves were being forced to help in many different ways. They had to build forts and work as

nurses. By 1862, Lincoln was starting to think about freeing the slaves. The war would then not

just be fought to preserve the Union; it would be fought to end slavery.

6 Lincoln waited until the North had won a major victory to issue the Emancipation

Proclamation. In September of 1862, the Union won at Antietam. On September 22, Lincoln read

his speech. If Confederate states had not given up by January 1, 1863, their slaves would be

freed.

7 Many people feared Lincoln would go back on his promise. He did not. All slaves in

Confederate states were declared free on that date. Black men in the North rushed to enlist. This

time they were not turned away.

8 All-black units were started. These units usually had white men in charge of them. The first

was the 54th Massachusetts Regiment. Robert Gould Shaw commanded it. Frederick Douglass

had two sons who served in it.

9 This group of men proved to the country that black men could fight as well as white men. In

July of 1863, the regiment attacked a fort in South Carolina. Under heavy fire, they made it to

the fort before they were forced to retreat. Almost half of the regiment died, including their

commander. Their courage helped to win respect for black soldiers.

10 In the South, many slaves did not hear about the Emancipation Proclamation right away.

They kept running away as the Union army came close. Many Southern planters did not think

that their slaves would run away. They were wrong. Thousands were running away every week.

11 Fighting in the army was not easy for blacks. They were often treated unfairly. They were

also paid less than white soldiers. Many people in government thought the black soldiers would

not actually be fighting, so they weren't paid as much money. In 1864, the War Department said

that all soldiers would be paid the same.

12 It was very hard for a black soldier to become an officer. Only about one hundred men were

made officers during the war. White soldiers led most black regiments.

13 African American soldiers did prove themselves during the war. Sixteen of them were

awarded the Medal of Honor. The first African American to win the honor was Sergeant William

Carney.

14 African Americans proved themselves during the war. They fought bravely to end slavery

for themselves and their families. After the war, many of them would go back south to try to find

the families they had been separated from.

1. Who led the 54th Massachusetts Regiment?

Robert Shaw

William Carney

Frederick Douglass

2. After what battle did Lincoln issue the

Emancipation Proclamation?

3. As the Union army came close to

plantations, what did many slaves do?

Run toward the army and escape

Hide

Fight against them

4. How many African Americans were

awarded the Medal of Honor?

Sixteen

Ninety

Sixty

5. What was the first black regiment?

6. Who was the first African American to win

the Medal of Honor?

Robert Shaw

William Carney

Abraham Lincoln

Surrender

1 By 1865, it was clear that the North was going to win the Civil War. It was only a matter of

time before the South was forced to give up fighting.

2 In February of 1865, General William Sherman's troops left Georgia. They were heading for

South Carolina. This state was the first state to secede. Many soldiers and civilians in the North

saw this state as the place where the rebellion had started.

3 Sherman had destroyed much of what he came across as he marched through the South. Until

this time, there hadn't been a lot of fighting in South Carolina. The state had little damage from

fighting. That would soon change.

4 The Southern army did what it could to slow Sherman down. But the Southern army was

growing weak. More and more men were deserting every day. There was little it could do. The

Southern army kept retreating.

5 Sherman kept moving toward General Grant, the commander of the Union army. While he

did, he continued to burn everything in his path. This included houses, farms, and bridges.

Nothing was left standing after Sherman left a town.

6 Sherman finally arrived at Columbia. He entered the state capital. The South fought very

little to keep him out. The night he entered the city, a fire started. Half of the city burned to the

ground. People in the South blamed Sherman for starting it.

7 While Sherman was in Columbia, the Southern army, led by General Lee, was trying to

protect Richmond, Virginia. Men kept leaving and those who stayed were starving. Realizing he

could not save the city, Lee tried to sneak past Grant's army.

8 Lee hoped to meet up with the army that was retreating from Sherman's army. He hoped the

two armies together would be able to keep fighting. Lee was having a hard time getting to the

other army. Each time he tried to turn to the south, Grant was waiting for him.

9 Lee's army finally made it to a little town called Appomattox Court House. This town was in

Virginia. The Confederates were quickly surrounded. The Southern army was tired. It was soon

clear to Lee that he could not fight his way out of this situation. He agreed to meet with General

Grant.

10 Lee and Grant met in someone's house in the town. The home belonged to Wilmer McLean.

This man's home had been used before during a battle. A general had borrowed it during the

Battle of Bull Run. McLean had been involved in both the first and last major battles of the war.

11 The generals first talked about their time in the Mexican War. Both men had served in that

conflict. Lee then asked Grant about surrendering. He wanted to know what the terms were.

12 Grant was very generous. He knew that the war was over. Soldiers that were going home

would need their horses to begin to rebuild their lives. Grant allowed all surrendering soldiers to

keep their horses or mules.

13 The soldiers would not be punished as traitors as long as they followed the laws where they

lived. Grant also offered food to Lee's men. Grant wrote out papers that spelled out the terms.

Both men signed them. Lee then rode away. For the rest of his life, Lee remembered how fair

Grant had been. Lee would never allow a bad word to be said about Grant in his presence.

14 After Lee's army surrendered, it was only a matter of time before the rest of the Southern

army did the same. Many of these men had been fighting each other for years. Now they had to

find a way to work together and rebuild the country.

1. Southerners blamed Sherman for burning

which city?

Georgia

2. Which general surrendered?

Lee

Grant

Appomattox Court House

Columbia

Sherman

3. What did Sherman do as he moved through

South Carolina?

4. What city was General Lee trying to

protect?

Richmond

Columbia

Atlanta

5. What war besides the Civil War had both

Grant and Lee served in?

6. What man's home was used during both the

first and last major battles of the Civil

War?

John Wilkes Booth By Cathy Pearl

1 John Wilkes Booth was an actor during the Civil War. But he isn't remembered for his talent

on the stage. Booth will always be known as the man who assassinated President Abraham

Lincoln.

2 Booth was born May 10, 1838. He came from a family that was strong in the theater. When

the Civil War broke out, he promised his mother that he wouldn't volunteer for the army. He did

support the South and wanted them to win the war.

3 During the winter of 1864 to 1865, Booth met with several other people. Together, they

planned to kidnap the president. They wanted to exchange him for Southern prisoners. Booth

tried to kidnap Lincoln several times, but he couldn't do it.

4 So Booth changed his plan. Instead, he would assassinate the president. Other members of

the group would attack the vice president, the secretary of state, and General Grant.

5 The night of April 14, 1865, Lincoln was seeing a play with his wife at Ford's Theater. Booth

went up to the box and shot Lincoln in the back of the head. He then jumped from the balcony to

the stage. He broke his leg. Limping, he escaped the theater.

6 Lincoln would be carried across the street. He would die the next morning. Lincoln was the

first president in this country to be assassinated.

7 Outside was a theater employee who was holding Booth's horse for him. The employee had

no idea what had happened. He watched Booth ride away.

8 The next day, Booth arrived at the house of Dr. Samuel Mudd. He also did not know what

had happened. He set Booth's leg. After going into town, he heard what had happened. He went

home and kicked Booth out of his house. Dr. Mudd would later be sent to jail for helping Booth.

In 1869, President Andrew Johnson would pardon him.

9 After being on the run for many days, Booth arrived at the Garrett farm. It was April 24. The

New York Cavalry Unit was not far behind him. Booth hid in a tobacco shed on the property.

10 The soldiers following him got to the farm on April 26. Booth was ordered to surrender. He

refused. The barn was set on fire. In the confusion, a soldier shot Booth.

11 The bullet hit him in the neck. He was paralyzed from the neck down. Booth was dragged

from the building. He died about two hours after being shot.

12 There are those who believe Booth really escaped that day. But many people came forward

and identified Booth's body, including a dentist and a doctor.

13 Booth's body was finally returned to his family in 1869. He was buried in the family plot. In

1994, Booth's family wanted the body exhumed. They wanted tests done to see if it really was

Booth who was buried there. A court refused saying that there wasn't enough evidence that it

wasn't Booth.

14 Of the attacks that were planned, only the one on Lincoln was successful. The rest of the

men lived to see the end of the Civil War. Vice President Andrew Johnson would become

president when Lincoln died.

15 The men who helped Booth plan the attacks went to trial. Many of them were hanged. Some

were sentenced to life in prison.

16 Booth did not achieve his goal. Killing Lincoln did not help the South. It was too late for

that. Lincoln did not see the end of the war, but he had achieved his goal. The Union had been

saved.

1. What did Booth plan to do first?

Kidnap the president

Assassinate the president

2. What happened when Booth jumped from

the balcony?

He broke his arm.

Join the Northern army

He broke his leg.

He was killed.

3. Where was Booth hiding when he refused

to surrender?

In a house

Under a bridge

In a tobacco barn

4. What happened to the rest of the men

Booth planned to attack?

They all lived.

They were also killed.

They were kidnapped.

5. What did Booth do before he assassinated

the president?

6. Why did Booth assassinate President

Lincoln?

Advantages and Disadvantages By Cathy Pearl

1 When the Civil War started, both

sides thought that they would win easily.

They also thought they were fighting the

war for the right reasons. The Union

planned an aggressive attack against the

South. They wanted to go to war to save

the Union. At first, ending slavery was

not a goal of the war.

2 The South planned on waiting until

the North was sick of fighting. The South

felt they were fighting to save their way of life. They compared the war to the Revolutionary

War. Those in the South felt that they were fighting to gain their freedom.

3 Both sides in the war had strengths and weaknesses. The South had one big advantage. They

planned to fight a defensive war. If the North did not come into the South, the South saw no

reason to fight.

4 It is easier to defend land that a person knows well. Friendly people in the country would

guide soldiers on roads that weren't on maps. Soldiers knew the forests well. They knew the best

places to hide. The trees also helped to protect Southern soldiers when the Union Army invaded.

5 Families in the South had grown up around guns and horses. They knew how to hunt and live

off the land. This helped them adjust to being soldiers. They were comfortable firing guns and

knew how to handle them well.

6 Many of the best military leaders were in the South. Lincoln had trouble during the war

finding generals that could match the skill that those in the South had. Robert E. Lee had a tough

time deciding which side to fight for. Lincoln asked him to command the Union Army. Lee was

from Virginia. When Virginia seceded, he chose his home state over the Union. Later he would

become commander of the Confederate Army in the South.

7 The South had disadvantages, too. One of the main weaknesses was their economy. They did

not have factories like those in the North. They could not quickly make guns and other supplies

that would be needed for a long war.

8 Their railroad system was another weakness. There weren't a lot of railroads in the South.

This made it hard to move troops and supplies. Also, many of the tracks did not connect to each

other. The tracks would go between two points and stop.

9 The North had both advantages and disadvantages, too. There were a lot more free people

living in the North than there were in the South. This meant there were a lot more men who

could volunteer in the Army. These extra people could also grow more food and work in the

factories.

10 When the war started, ninety percent of goods made in this country were made in the North.

After the war started, factories quickly started to make bullets, guns, uniforms, and other supplies

that an army would need. The North had an easier time getting supplies to an army.

11 The railroads in the North were much better. Seventy percent of all the rail lines were there.

This made it much easier to move people and supplies where they were needed.

12 When the war first started, some people were worried about Abraham Lincoln. They

wondered what kind of leader he would be. He did not have lot of experience in anything that

had to do with the military. In the end, Lincoln turned out to be very good at planning for a war.

He was a strong leader for the North.

13 The North had many things working against it. The men in the Union Army would be

invading a part of the country that they were not familiar with. They would not be defending

their own homes like the army in the South.

14 It would be harder to supply the Union troops as they got farther and farther away from

home. This long distance would make it easier for Southern troops to stop supplies from getting

to the Union Army.

15 Both sides were sure that their advantages would help them quickly end the war. One of the

first battles, the Battle of Bull Run, showed that this would not be true. The war would be long

and deadly for many of the soldiers fighting in it.

Copyright © 2010 edHelper

Name _____________________________

Date ___________________

Advantages and Disadvantages

1. Which side had more factories?

The South

The North

2. Whom did Lincoln ask to lead the

Union Army?

Robert E. Lee

Jefferson Davis

Abraham Lincoln

3. Why was the railroad a disadvantage for the

South?

Rail lines were often not connected.

It was easy to get from place to

place.

They had a lot of rail lines.

4. Why would it be harder to supply

Union troops as they moved farther

south?

5. Which side had more factories to make

supplies for their army?

The South

The North

6. Name two advantages that the North

had.

Slave Life By Cathy Pearl

1 What was slavery like for the people who were slaves?

It was not a great or an easy life. Many of the people that

were slaves had to work until they died. Families were torn

apart, and many people suffered.

2 Many slaves were given a few clothes every year. They

might get two shirts and a pair of pants. In the winter, they

were given a heavier coat. These clothes had to last a whole

year. Often they fell apart. Women would have to fix the

clothes many times.

3 There were slaves who worked in the house and slaves

who worked in the fields. House slaves usually had a better life. They would sometimes get

better food or the old clothing that their owners didn't use anymore. This wasn't true for

everyone. Some owners would dump out extra food so the slaves couldn't eat it.

4 The lucky slaves had owners who would teach them to read and write. This was rare. It was

also illegal. Some women didn't listen and taught the slaves anyway. There were cases where

slaves were given their freedom when the owner died. This would have been a very trusted slave.

Most of the time, this didn't happen.

5 In the early 1800s, there were no schools in the south that let in black children. Some schools

were run secretly at night. Teachers caught teaching black children could be put in jail or run out

of town.

6 Field slaves were in the fields from sunup to sundown. When it was harvest time, they could

be in the fields for eighteen hours a day. Women had to do the same work as men. Pregnant

women had to work right up until the day the baby was born. They were given very little time

before they had to go back to work.

7 Women with young children could go to them during the day to nurse them. The children

were usually taken care of by an older woman. This woman couldn't do field work anymore.

There were usually many older women whose job it was to take care of the children.

8 After a long day of work, many of us look forward to going home. Slaves did not have a

great home to go to. Their houses were usually wooden shacks with dirt floors. Each house

usually had two families that were living in it. Beds were usually just a pile of straw thrown into

a corner. Each person was lucky to have one blanket.

9 One of the worst parts of being a slave was the separation from family. Slave owners could

buy and sell slaves as they wanted. There was no protection for the slaves even if they were

married. Husbands could be separated from their wives. Children were taken away from their

mothers.

10 The threat of a child being sold was used as a way to control a slave's behavior. Sometimes it

didn't matter how good the slaves were; their children were sold anyway. Some mothers had to

stand by and watch as five or six of their children were sold at auction. Usually they never saw

them again.

11 Slavery would continue in the United States until the Civil War. During this war, President

Abraham Lincoln would free the slaves. Their struggle was not over. Former slaves and their

descendants would have to fight for their rights for many years.

Copyright © 2010 edHelper

Name _____________________________

Date ___________________

Slave Life

1. Which slaves usually had an easier life?

House slaves

Field slaves

2. How many hours a day did field slaves

work during harvest time?

Eighteen hours

Twelve hours

Eight hours

3. Who took care of the small children during

the day?

4. What were the houses that slaves lived in

like?

5. After slaves were married, they couldn't be

sold.

False

True

6. What could happen to teachers caught

teaching black children?

They were fired.

They were jailed or run out of town.

They were hanged.

Slavery in the West By Cathy Pearl

1 The Missouri Compromise quieted the

arguments over slavery for a little while. After the

Mexican War, the arguments started again. A lot

of land in the West was added to the United

States. Should slavery be allowed in these new

territories?

2 People in the North were afraid that the new

territories would allow slavery. A member of

Congress wanted to ban slavery in the territories

won from Mexico. This plan was called the

Wilmot Proviso. Southern leaders were very

against this plan. It would not pass because the Senate would defeat it.

3 People in the country found it very hard not to pick a side. Abolitionists thought that slavery

was wrong. They wanted it banned in the whole country.

4 Slave owners wanted slavery in all of the new territories. They also wanted all escaped slaves

in the North to be sent back to them. Even Southerners who didn't own slaves felt this way.

5 Others tried to take a view that was more in the middle. They thought the invisible line from

the Missouri Compromise should go all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Slavery would be allowed

south of the line. Some liked the idea of popular sovereignty. This meant voters would decide

whether to allow slavery in their territory.

6 Things continued calmly until 1850. That year California applied to be a state. It wanted to

be a Free state. At the time, there were fifteen Slave states and fifteen Free states. If California

became a state, there would be more Free states than Slave states. Free states would have more

power in Congress.

7 For Southerners, it got even worse. It looked like Oregon, Utah, and New Mexico also

wanted to become Free states. The South would be outvoted easily in the Senate.

8 Again, some thought that Slave states should secede, or leave the United States, and form

their own country. People in the North said that California should be made a state. Most of it was

north of the imaginary line from the Missouri Compromise.

9 Members of Congress were losing control of their tempers. In 1850, Senators Henry Foote

and Thomas Benton got into a bad fight. Benton moved angrily toward Foote. To protect

himself, Foote aimed a gun at Benton. Control was lost. Benton yelled that he didn't have a gun.

He ordered people to get out of the way and let Foote fire.

10 Foote did not shoot Benton. But it showed how deeply the country was divided. It seemed

there was no hope of saving the country.

11 Congress needed help. They looked to Henry Clay. He was called the "Great Compromiser"

because he had worked out the Missouri Compromise. But that had been thirty years ago. Clay

was in his seventies and sick. But he loved his country.

12 Clay pleaded for the North and the South to find a way to agree. Clay could see what was

coming. He knew if the fighting kept going, the country would break apart.

13 Senator John C. Calhoun was against Clay. Calhoun was dying. He could barely talk.

Another man read his speeches for him. He said that slavery must be allowed in the West. He

also wanted runaway slaves sent back to their owners. If the North did not like this, then Calhoun

thought the Slave states should secede. He also threatened to use force if that's what was needed.

14 The argument would continue even as Clay and Calhoun got sicker and sicker. Both men

knew it would take a miracle to keep the country together. Only time would tell if Clay could

come up with one more "great compromise" to save the country one more time before he died.

Copyright © 2010 edHelper

Name _____________________________

Date ___________________

Slavery in the West

1. Where did abolitionists want slavery

banned?

In the West

In the whole country

In the South

2. Under popular sovereignty, who decided

whether slavery was allowed in a territory?

The voters in the territory

Congress

The president

3. What four territories wanted to become

Free states?

4. What two members of Congress got into a

bad fight?

5. What man was called the "Great

Compromiser"?

Henry Clay

Henry Foote

John C. Calhoun

6. Calhoun thought that the Slave states

would probably need to:

Secede

Ban slavery

Agree with the North

Fugitive Slave Law By Cathy Pearl

1 The Fugitive Slave Law was passed in 1850. It was

part of the Compromise of 1850. It set up rules on what

Northerners were supposed to do when they saw

runaway slaves. The South liked the law. It helped them

to get runaway slaves back. People in the North hated

the law. They didn't want to be forced to send black

men, women, and children back into slavery.

2 The law made it illegal for any person to help a

slave. If an escaped slave was seen, the slave should be

captured right away. The slave should then be given to

authorities. After that, the slave would be sent back to

his or her owner in the South.

3 The law let slave owners start a posse anywhere in the United States. A posse is a group of

men that usually helped the sheriff. The posse would help capture a runaway slave. The courts

and police had to help them.

4 Anyone caught helping a runaway slave could get into a lot of trouble. They could be fined

one thousand dollars. This was a huge amount of money then. They could be put in jail for six

months. They also could be charged with treason because they didn't follow the law.

5 The new law also set up a new court system to deal with the runaway slaves. These courts did

not follow the normal rules. Instead the system helped slave owners. A judge was paid ten

dollars to send a slave back south or five dollars to free a slave.

6 African Americans did not have any rights in this new court system. Freedom was almost

impossible for anyone caught in the court system. Northern whites, even those who weren't

totally against slavery, were very angry about this.

7 Abolitionists did everything that they could to help free blacks in the North. Many African

Americans escaped to Canada after 1850. Signs were put up to warn slaves about the danger of

being caught and sent back into slavery. The signs didn't always work because many slaves did

not know how to read or write.

8 Shadrach Minkins was one of the first black men arrested under the new law. He lived in

New England. Minkins was taken to a court in Boston. An angry crowd gathered outside the

courthouse. Lawyers tried to help Minkins, but there was little they could do. His arrest was legal

under the new law.

9 During the trial, men burst into the courtroom. They grabbed Minkins and ran out into the

crowd with him. The crowd was so large and so angry that no one dared to go after them.

Minkins was hidden and sent to Canada by the Underground Railroad a few days later.

10 He was one of the lucky ones. Many times federal troops returned the fugitive to slavery.

11 Many thought the new law would keep slaves from running away. They were wrong. The

Underground Railroad was used the most in the ten years after the law was signed. The law

helped more people become involved in fighting against slavery. The differences between the

North and South were becoming much larger. There was little anyone could do to keep the

country together.

Copyright © 2010 edHelper

Name _____________________________

Date ___________________

Fugitive Slave Law

1. What year was the Fugitive Slave Law

passed?

1950

1850

1750

2. The new law kept slaves from running

away.

False

True

3. How much money could a person be fined

for helping a slave?

4. Signs warning slaves didn't always work.

Why?

5. What is a posse?

6. What country did most African Americans

run to after the law was passed?

Mexico

Russia

Canada

The Underground Railroad By Cathy Pearl

1 It is the middle of the night and clouds cover

the moon. This is good because it will make you

harder to find. As quietly as you can, you keep

walking north. There are people in the woods

hunting for you and you don't want to be caught.

You aren't a criminal. You are a slave who is

trying to run north to freedom.

2 The Underground Railroad was made up of a

lot of different people. Some of them were white,

and some were black. These people helped slaves escape to the Northern states and to Canada.

3 The Underground Railroad was not underground. And railroads were not used. But it was a

good name for the system that helped slaves make their way north.

4 The system worked well. Hundreds of slaves were helped north every year. Between 1810

and 1850, about 100,000 slaves used the Underground Railroad to run away.

5 The system was started in the late 1700s. It kept growing as more people started to dislike

slavery. It earned its name around the 1830s. This was about the time that steam engines were

making their way across the country.

6 The Underground Railroad used a lot of the same terms that were used by the railroad.

Homes where slaves would hide were called stations. A conductor helped to move slaves from

one station to another.

7 Running away was not easy. It was very hard and very dangerous. The first thing the slave

had to do was get away from his or her owner. They usually had to do this part by themselves.

Sometimes a conductor would come and help lead the slaves north.

8 The slaves always moved at night. They could go fifteen or twenty miles in one night. At

each station, the slaves would rest and eat. The slaves would hide in the barns or in secret places

in the houses.

9 While they waited, a message would be sent to the next station. This way the owner would

know that there were slaves coming. It gave him or her time to get food ready for the runaway

slaves.

10 The slaves could also travel by train or boat, but this cost money. This was also one reason

that slaves weren't taught to read or write. Owners thought that this would make it harder for the

slaves to read the train schedules.

11 The money that was needed for the slaves was donated or raised by different groups. The

money wasn't only used to pay for trains. The money was also used to make the runaway slaves

look nicer. A black man, woman, or child in old clothes would make people suspicious. Also,

Canada could be cold, and most slaves going there did not have clothing for cold weather.

12 Southerners were very angry that so many slaves were getting help from people in the North.

In 1850, a Fugitive Slave Law was passed. This made it legal to arrest runaway slaves. The

slaves could be returned to their owners. A person who helped runaway slaves faced fines and

jail time.

13 This new law was hard on communities of free blacks in the North. People who caught

slaves would often kidnap free blacks as well as slaves. But the kidnappings also helped. The

North saw how hard and unfair slavery was. More people were willing to help runaway slaves.

14 Many people who worked on the Underground Railroad were arrested or fined. Thomas

Garrett, who was in Delaware, paid more than eight thousand dollars in fines. Calvin Fairbank

spent seventeen years in jail. One man was even killed for his part in the Underground Railroad.

15 The Underground Railroad was used until the Civil War. Today, many of the houses and

barns that were used are listed as historic sites. Some of these are open to the public and can be

toured. Others are still used as homes. The Underground Railroad was an important system in the

fight to free slaves in the 1800s.

Copyright © 2010 edHelper

Name _____________________________

Date ___________________

The Underground Railroad

1. What was passed in 1850 that

made it legal to arrest runaway

slaves?

Fugitive Slave Law

Great Compromise

Underground Railroad

2. How many miles did a slave go in one

night?

Twenty to thirty

Fifteen to twenty

Two to three

3. What was the name for the

person that helped move slaves

from one station to another?

4. The Underground Railroad was

underground.

False

True

5. What could happen to someone

who helped runaway slaves?

6. What was one reason that slaves weren't

taught to read or write?

The Missouri Compromise By Cathy Pearl

1 In 1819, there were eleven slave states. There

were also eleven free states. That year, Missouri

applied to become a state. They wanted to be a slave

state. Immediately there was a problem. If Missouri

became a state, there would be more slave states

than free states. This meant the South would have

control in the Senate. Northern states did not want

Missouri to become a state.

2 A Congressman from New York wanted a new

amendment. It would prevent slavery from growing anymore in Missouri. It would also free the

children of slaves. The bill passed in the House. It did not pass in the Senate.

3 The argument went on for months. Henry Clay finally came up with a plan. The plan had two

parts that would hopefully make everyone happy.

4 During the debate, Maine had also applied to be a state. Maine wanted to be a free state, or a

state where slavery was not allowed. If Maine and Missouri were states, the number of slave

states and free states would be equal.

5 Congress also drew an imaginary line at the southern border of Missouri. Slavery would be

allowed in the Louisiana Purchase south of that line. It was banned north of the line. The only

exception was the state of Missouri.

6 One part of the compromise involved escaped slaves. Slaves that had escaped north of the

line could still be caught and sent back to the South.

7 The ideas sounded good, and they worked for a little while. But they only applied to the

Louisiana Purchase territory, not any other land. When the Mexican War was over, more land

was added in the West. Slavery again became a problem.

8 Some wanted the line from the Missouri Compromise to go all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Any new state north of the line would be free. Any state south of the line would be a slave state.

9 This battle would go on until the Civil War. It was impossible to keep the same number of

free and slave states. People and the country would continue to become more and more divided.

Copyright © 2010 edHelper

Name _____________________________

Date ___________________

The Missouri Compromise

1. Before the Missouri Compromise, how

many free states were there?

Thirteen

Twelve

Eleven

2. Slave states were allowed north of the

imaginary line.

False

True

3. If escaped slaves made it north of the line:

They could be captured and forced to

go back to their owners.

They could never be sent back south.

4. What land did the Missouri Compromise

apply to?

All of the United States

Only the Louisiana Purchase territory

Land taken after the Mexican War

5. Who came up with the plan to end the

argument over free and slave states?

6. What state wanted to be a free state?

Slave Codes By Cathy Pearl

1 Slave owners did anything that they could to

keep slaves from running away. They did not want

the slaves to do or learn anything that might help

them. One way the owners did this was with laws

called slave codes.

2 Slave codes were laws that were passed in states

in the South. The laws tried to keep slaves from

running away or fighting back. Each state had

different laws. But all of the laws had parts that were

the same.

3 In the laws, the color line was very clear. If you had one African American person in your

ancestry, you were black. It didn't matter how long ago that person had lived.

4 Whether or not you were a slave depended on what your mother was. If your mother was a

slave, you were a slave. It didn't matter if your father was a free man. This made slavery

permanent for any slave family. A child born to a slave was always a slave.

5 Slaves had very few legal rights. If slaves were badly treated, they couldn't bring charges

against their owners. In court, they couldn't talk about a white man. They couldn't own any

property. If they were attacked, the slaves could not hit a white person.

6 Slaves could not gather in a group larger than three people. This was to keep them from

making plans to fight back or to run away. They weren't allowed to leave their owner's land. If

the owner let them leave, the slaves needed to carry cards or pieces of paper that said they had

the owner's permission.

7 Slave codes made it a crime for slaves to learn how to read or write. This code wasn't always

followed. There were women who would teach the slaves in the house how to read. This had to

be done secretly.

8 Marriages are a type of contract. Slaves could not make contracts under the slave codes. This

meant that the marriages were not legal in the eyes of the law. A marriage did not help protect

the slaves. It also did not keep a married slave from being sold to other owners.

9 Owners hoped all of these laws would make it hard for slaves to escape or fight back. By not

being able to read, the owners thought it would be harder for slaves to find help if they ran away.

They thought the slaves would not be able to read a train schedule or use a map. This would

make it harder for the slaves to go North.

10 Slaves were made to follow the slave codes in many different ways. They could be whipped

or branded. They were even locked in jails. The slaves could also be killed, but this didn't happen

very often. Slaves were property. Owners did not kill the slaves because they would lose money.

11 Slave codes were not always enforced. But if there were signs of problems, the state would

be told. The slave codes would then be enforced to stop any problems before they started.

12 All of the slave codes had parts that talked about freed slaves. The codes had rules about

how the freed slaves moved around and even what kind of jobs that they could have. Many of

them had to leave the state after they were freed. Slave owners didn't want their slaves to get any

ideas about freedom.

13 The slave codes were in effect until the Civil War. After the Civil War, new laws were made

to keep African Americans from having the same rights as white men and women. It would take

almost one hundred more years for African Americans to gain all of the rights that other citizens

in the United States had.

Copyright © 2010 edHelper

Name _____________________________

Date ___________________

Slave Codes

1. Slaves were allowed to learn to

read and write.

False

True

2. A child born to a slave was always:

A slave

Free

3. How could slaves be made to

follow the codes?

4. Slaves could not own any:

Property

Shoes

Clothing

5. Slaves could not gather in a

group larger than how many

people?

Three

Two

Four

6. Owners thought that the laws would make

it hard for slaves to do what?

Harriet Tubman By Cathy Pearl

1 Harriet Tubman was born a slave around 1820. But she did not stay

a slave. Harriet ran away and then helped other slaves make their way

to freedom. She is known for being a conductor on the Underground

Railroad.

2 Tubman's parents were both slaves. This meant that she was a slave

as soon as she was born. When she was around five years old, she

started working as a house slave. When she was a teenager, she was

sent to work in the fields.

3 She was always ready to stand up for other people. Tubman tried to

protect another slave who was going to be punished for running away.

While doing this, she was hit in the head with a two-pound weight. The effects would stay with

her the rest of her life.

4 In 1844, she married a free black man, John Tubman. In 1849, Tubman was afraid that she

was going to be sold. She decided the best thing to do was to run away. She left one night on

foot. A white woman helped her first. At night, she followed the North Star. She made it to

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There she found work. She also joined an abolitionist group in the

city. This group was working to end slavery.

5 In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act. This led Tubman to join the Underground

Railroad. In 1851, Tubman made her first trip back to the South. She managed to lead her sister

and her sister's children to freedom.

6 Soon, she made another dangerous trip to the South. This time she helped her brother and

two other men. After this trip, she went after her husband. When she found him, she learned that

her husband had taken another wife. This did not stop her. Instead, she found other slaves and led

them to freedom.

7 From that time until the Civil War, Tubman kept traveling to the South and leading slaves to

freedom. She had tricks to help her. She had slaves run away on Saturday nights. This was

because the owner couldn't put a notice in the paper until Monday.

8 Tubman would also turn around and head south if she saw possible slave hunters. No one

thought that an escaped slave would run toward the South. This helped to confuse the people

looking for them.

9 Tubman was also said to carry a gun with her. She carried it with her for protection. She also

threatened runaway slaves with it if they tried to turn back.

10 In 1856, the government really wanted to catch her. There was a forty thousand dollar

reward if she was caught. Her reputation kept growing. By the time of the Civil War, she had

gone south almost twenty times. She had helped close to three hundred slaves. One of her most

dangerous trips was when she led her seventy-year-old parents to safety.

11 She was never caught. She also never lost a slave to hunters or to militia that looked for

runaway slaves in the South. Other people were always afraid for her, but she never seemed to be

afraid. The idea of being caught never seemed to worry her.

12 At the end of the Civil War, Tubman married Nelson Davis. They lived in Auburn, New

York. In 1908, she built a home for the elderly and the poor. She worked at this home. She was

also taken care of there right before she died in 1913.

13 Tubman was buried in Auburn with military honors. Since her death, she has been honored

in many ways. Freedom Park, named in her memory, opened in Auburn in 1994. There has also

been a postage stamp with her picture on it.

Copyright © 2010 edHelper

Name _____________________________

Date ___________________

Harriet Tubman

1. What year did Tubman make her first trip

back south?

1850

1844

1851

2. How much of a reward was offered to

capture Tubman?

3. What night was a good night for slaves to

run away?

Monday

Saturday

Sunday

4. How many slaves did Harriet Tubman

help?

Three thousand

Three hundred

Three

5. Name two ways Harriet Tubman has been

honored.

6. Who did Tubman lead north on her first

trip back south?

Her parents

Her sister and her sister's children

Her husband