Reformers who tried to change America: abolition, women's rights, schools and hospitals

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Words and petitions against slavery, 1831 to 1844 (cards A to E). Card A, a summary in our words from the National Park Service page on The Liberator: it was first published on January 1, 1831, in Boston, was edited by William Lloyd Garrison, and appeared weekly for thirty-five years, ending in December 1865. Garrison called for an immediate end to slavery without payment to enslavers and used moral suasion, appealing to people's morality. Black supporters made up roughly 75% of its subscribers in the early years. In a section called Refuge of Oppression, Garrison printed writings by people who disagreed with him; the page says this gave him a chance to clarify his arguments and served as a launch pad for his sharp responses. The page quotes his first edition: "I am in earnest-I will not equivocate-I will not excuse-I will not retreat a single inch-AND I WILL BE HEARD". Card B, from the Massachusetts Historical Society: the first issue closed its lead story with Garrison's promise, "I am in earnest! I will not equivocate! I will not excuse! I will not retreat a single inch! And I will be heard!" Each issue bore the motto "Our Country is the World, our Countrymen are all Mankind". Card C, a summary in our words from the U.S. House history office: on December 21, 1837, Representative John Patton of Virginia introduced a resolution renewing the 1836 "gag rule." It required that "all petitions, memorials, and papers touching the abolition of slavery or the buying, selling, or transferring of slaves in any state, district or Territory of the United States" be tabled without discussion, "essentially silencing those who wanted to express their opposition to slavery." Abolitionists had inundated Congress with petitions. John Quincy Adams argued that the rule violated the 1st Amendment. The House renewed the rule in each Congress until its repeal in 1844. Card D, the First Amendment (National Archives transcript): "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Card E, a summary in our words from the National Park Service page on The Liberator: William C. Nell, a Black journalist who learned the trade as an apprentice at the paper, later moved to Rochester, New York, to work with Frederick Douglass on The North Star. The final issue said the paper would be discontinued because "the object for which it was started has been accomplished."

2. 1.

   Card A quotes Garrison's first edition: "AND I WILL BE HEARD." What is it best evidence for, Ari asks?

   • What most abolitionists in the country believed about slavery
   • How many people subscribed to the paper in the year 1831
   • How slavery was ended by the 13th Amendment in December 1865
   • The aims and tone Garrison chose when he began the paper
3. 2.

   Card A says the paper came out weekly for thirty-five years. About how many issues is that, Esme asks?

   • About 18,200 issues, ten times the real number of issues
   • About 350 issues, from 35 years of 10 issues each year
   • About 35 issues, one for each year of the paper's life
   • About 1,820 issues, from 35 years of 52 weekly issues
4. 3.

   Card C: the gag rule was first adopted in 1836 and repealed in 1844. About how long did it last, Jun asks?

   • About eight years, from 1836 to 1844
   • About eighty years, measured from 1836 to the year 1916
   • About eighteen years, from 1836 until it was repealed
   • About one year, from the December 1837 renewal to the next
5. 4.

   Cards C and D link petitions, a rule and an argument. Which chain is best supported, Luz asks?

   • The House tabled the petitions first, and then abolitionists began sending them to it
   • The Liberator's final issue led the House to table the petitions
   • Petitions flooded Congress, the House tabled them, Adams cited the 1st Amendment
   • The Civil War ended the gag rule, so the petitions had been stopped
6. 5.

   A student says: "The gag rule stopped abolitionists from sending petitions to Congress." How strong is that claim, given card C, Milo asks?

   • Strong: Adams said the rule violated the 1st Amendment
   • Overstated: the rule required petitions to be tabled without discussion
   • Strong: card C says the rule was "essentially silencing" petitioners in Congress
   • Weak: card C says the rule applied just to petitions about trade
7. 6.

   Card C describes Adams and the supporters of the rule. How do their positions differ, Noah asks?

   • Both said the rule was needed to protect the freedom to petition Congress
   • Adams wanted slavery kept out of debate; supporters said it violated the 1st Amendment of the Constitution
   • Adams and the supporters agreed on everything but the date of the repeal
   • Adams said the rule violated the 1st Amendment; supporters wanted slavery kept out of debate
8. 7.

   Card D guarantees "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government." How did that matter in card C, Pia asks?

   • It allowed Congress to table petitions without discussion as it chose
   • It gave Adams a constitutional argument against the rule
   • It was written in 1837 to answer the gag rule that year
   • It required Congress to debate each petition at length before voting
9. 8.

   The House history office says the rule was "essentially silencing" petitioners. What should a careful reader do with that wording, Ren asks?

   • Accept it as proof that no petition was ever sent to Congress
   • Ignore it, because the House wrote it about its own earlier rule in the past
   • Treat it as the words of the people who passed the rule in 1837
   • Treat it as the historians' judgment, and check it against the text
10. 9.

    Cards A and E span the paper's life, 1831 to 1865. How did its stated goal and outcome connect, Tala asks?

    • It began in 1865 to end slavery and closed in 1831 when that goal was achieved
    • It closed in 1865 because its readers lost interest in the cause
    • It closed in 1865 because the gag rule had been repealed in 1844
    • It began demanding an end to slavery and closed in 1865 once that was achieved
11. 10.

    Card A says Garrison printed his opponents' writings in "Refuge of Oppression." What purpose might that serve, Zee asks?

    • It showed that Garrison agreed with his opponents on most questions
    • It let his opponents answer Garrison's arguments without any reply from him
    • It let him answer his opponents sharply in front of his own readers
    • It showed that the readers of the paper agreed with Garrison