How West Virginia became a state during the Civil War

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Slavery and freedom in West Virginia

   Map 1, "Enslaved people in the western counties, 1850" (1850): 20,527 people were enslaved in the counties that became West Virginia, 6.79 percent of all 302,313 people there. Most lived in four valleys: the Shenandoah, South Branch, Kanawha and Greenbrier. Jefferson County had the most, 4,341 or 28.2 percent of its people; Kanawha County had 3,140, Hampshire 1,433 and Greenbrier 1,317. Kanawha saltmakers used more than 1,500 enslaved workers. Map 2, "West Virginia, 1863 to 1865" (1865): The 1863 constitution, with the Willey Amendment, allowed slavery but freed people gradually over time. The Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, did not apply here, because the state was loyal to the Union. On February 3, 1865, a state law ended slavery at once. Key: darker shading is a larger share of people enslaved; a broken chain is a law that freed people. Below the maps: Enslaved people in western Virginia cleared forests, farmed, tended livestock, worked in homes, and mined coal and made salt. During the war some escaped, gathered in towns where free Black people helped them, or joined the Union army. Slavery was rare in the west, yet it lay behind the quarrels that split Virginia.

2. 1.

   How many people were enslaved in the western counties in 1850, Ari asks?

   • 302,313
   • 4,341
   • 2,052
   • 20,527
3. 2.

   About what share of the western counties' people were enslaved in 1850, Bo asks?

   • About 28 percent
   • About 7 percent
   • About 70 percent
   • About 93 percent
4. 3.

   Which work did enslaved people do, by the note, Esme asks?

   • Running the new state's legislature and courts
   • Owning the salt works
   • Teaching in public schools
   • Mining coal and making salt, among other work
5. 4.

   Why didn't the Emancipation Proclamation free people in West Virginia, Jun asks?

   • It applied only to areas in rebellion
   • Congress had not met that year
   • West Virginia had no enslaved people
   • It was signed after the war ended in 1865
6. 5.

   What did the Willey Amendment do, by map 2, Kira asks?

   • Freed enslaved people gradually over time
   • Moved the capital to Charleston
   • Ended slavery in a single day
   • Ended slavery across Virginia, east and west
7. 6.

   How many years after statehood did slavery end in the state, Milo asks?

   • 3,728 years
   • 15 years
   • 12 years
   • 2 years
8. 7.

   How did some enslaved people gain freedom during the war, by the note, Noah asks?

   • By a vote in the 1850 census
   • By escaping, some to join the Union army
   • By the 1830 Virginia state constitution's rules
   • By moving to Richmond
9. 8.

   Which claim fits both maps, Pia asks?

   • The west held most of Virginia's enslaved people then
   • Slavery ended there in 1850
   • No one was enslaved in the west
   • Slavery was rare in the west but shaped its politics
10. 9.

    Which county had the most enslaved people in 1850, Tala asks?

    • Hampshire County
    • Kanawha County
    • Jefferson County
    • Greenbrier County
11. 10.

    Why does map 1 give both a number and a share, Zee asks?

    • The number alone is not known
    • Shares are used for years after 1865
    • A share counts free people, not enslaved
    • A share shows how common slavery was