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.

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

   • About 28 percent
   • About 7 percent
   • About 93 percent
   • About 70 percent
3. 2.

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

   • Owning the salt works
   • Mining coal and making salt, among other work
   • Running the new state's legislature and courts
   • Teaching in public schools
4. 3.

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

   • West Virginia had no enslaved people
   • It was signed after the war ended in 1865
   • Congress had not met that year
   • It applied only to areas in rebellion
5. 4.

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

   • Ended slavery across Virginia, east and west
   • Moved the capital to Charleston
   • Ended slavery in a single day
   • Freed enslaved people gradually over time
6. 5.

   When did a West Virginia law end slavery at once, Luz asks?

   • February 3, 1865
   • January 1, 1863
   • 1850, the year of the count
   • June 20, 1863
7. 6.

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

   • 2 years
   • 3,728 years
   • 15 years
   • 12 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 the 1830 Virginia state constitution's rules
   • By escaping, some to join the Union army
   • 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
   • Slavery was rare in the west but shaped its politics
   • No one was enslaved in the west
10. 9.

    A note says, 'West Virginia joined the Union with no slavery.' What fix does Ren make?

    • Keep it; the note is right
    • Change West Virginia to Ohio
    • Slavery ended gradually, then by law in 1865
    • Change the Union to the Confederacy in the note
11. 10.

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

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