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

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Seneca Falls, 1848 (cards A to D). Card A, the Declaration of Sentiments (National Park Service text): "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal;" "Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen, the elective franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides." "He has denied her the facilities for obtaining a thorough education - all colleges being closed against her." "In entering upon the great work before us, we anticipate no small amount of misconception, misrepresentation, and ridicule; but we shall use every instrumentality within our power to effect our object. We shall employ agents, circulate tracts, petition the State and national Legislatures, and endeavor to enlist the pulpit and the press in our behalf." For comparison, the Declaration of Independence of 1776 (National Archives): "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal". Card B, a summary in our words from the National Park Service: on July 9, 1848, five women met in Waterloo, New York, and decided to hold a convention, and they published a "call" in the local newspaper. The convention was held on July 19 and 20 at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls and drew over 300 people. One hundred women and men signed the Declaration. The page says: "This event was not the first time the rights of women had been discussed in American society." The vote was only one of many demands, among them equal educational opportunities, the right to property and earnings, and the right to custody of children. Card C, our count of the names under the Declaration on the National Park Service page: 68 women and 32 men, including Frederick Douglass. Card D, a summary in our words from the National Park Service page on Charlotte Woodward: of the 68 women who signed, only one, Charlotte Woodward Pierce, lived to see the 19th Amendment in 1920. She was 18 or 19 in 1848 and 92 in 1921. The page draws on a 1920 interview with her by the historian Rheta Childe Dorr. She was ill on election day, 1920. "I'm too old," she said. "I'm afraid I'll never vote." As far as the park knows, she never did.

2. 1.

   Card A is the Declaration of Sentiments, written by the convention's organizers. What is it best evidence for, Ari asks?

   • How many people crowded into the chapel on the second day of the convention
   • What the organizers demanded and how they argued their case
   • How the 19th Amendment was won in the year 1920
   • What most American women wanted in the year 1848
3. 2.

   Card A copies the 1776 sentence but says "men and women." What does the change claim, Bo asks?

   • Women are claimed to be more equal than men in the new wording
   • Men are removed from the equality the 1776 text claimed for the nation
   • The 1776 sentence is copied exactly, with no change of any kind
   • Women are included in the equality the 1776 text claimed for men
4. 3.

   Card C counts 68 women and 32 men among the signers. What share of the signers were women, Jun asks?

   • 32 percent of the signers were women, as card C counts them
   • 68 percent of the signers were women
   • 6.8 percent of the signers were women, a very small share
   • 68 percent of the people who attended the convention were women
5. 4.

   Card B: over 300 people came and one hundred signed. What can be said about the share who signed, Kira asks?

   • Less than one-third signed, because more than 300 came
   • About 68 percent signed, because 68 of the signers were women
   • Exactly one-third signed, since 100 is a third of 300
   • About 3 percent signed, since 100 is a small part of 3,000
6. 5.

   Cards A and B give the steps from planning to the signing. Which chain is best supported, Luz asks?

   • The signatures came first, and the meeting to plan the convention came afterward
   • A July 9 meeting, a newspaper call, the July 19-20 convention, then signatures
   • The 19th Amendment led the women to publish the call in the local newspaper
   • Frederick Douglass called the convention in the town of Seneca Falls
7. 6.

   Card B says one hundred signed. Cards C and D count 68 women, and card C counts 32 men. Do they agree, Milo asks?

   • No: card D counts men and women together, so its 68 is too low
   • Yes, which is enough to conclude that each name on the park's list is correct
   • Yes: 68 women plus 32 men make the 100 in card B, and card D also says 68
   • No: 68 women plus 32 men make 90, which does not match card B
8. 7.

   Card D draws on an interview with Charlotte Woodward Pierce in 1920 by a historian. What does that mean for the evidence, Noah asks?

   • It is partly second-hand, a historian's account, so details need checking
   • It is her own written diary from 1848, so each detail is firsthand
   • It is worthless, because the interview was taken so long afterward
   • It is a government record made at the convention, so each detail is exact
9. 8.

   Card D says Woodward was 18 or 19 in 1848 and 92 in 1921. Do the ages agree, Pia asks?

   • Yes, which is enough to conclude that she was born in exactly 1829
   • No: she would have been 18 or 19 in 1921, not 92
   • No: 83 years after 18 or 19 makes her 101 or 102
   • Yes: 73 years after 18 or 19 makes her 91 or 92
10. 9.

    A student says: "All 68 women signers lived to vote in 1920." How strong is that claim, given card D, Ren asks?

    • Strong: card D says the 19th Amendment passed in the year 1920
    • Weak: card D says none of the 68 women signers lived past 1848
    • Strong: Woodward lived to see the amendment, so the others did too
    • Weak: only one lived to see 1920, and she did not vote
11. 10.

    Card A says the writers expect "misconception, misrepresentation, and ridicule." What does that show about how they saw the public, Tala asks?

    • They treated the public as unimportant and wrote for their own circle alone
    • They expected the public to attack the convention with force and violence in the town
    • They expected the public to agree at once, so they planned nothing more to do
    • They expected mockery and planned to answer with tracts, petitions and the press