Four famous documents read closely: Douglass 1852, a fireside chat, the Declaration of Sentiments, a Birmingham letter summary

Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   The Rochester speech, in brief

   Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: Rochester, New York. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Sewing Society invited Frederick Douglass to speak. He agreed on one condition: that he speak on July 5, not July 4. About 500 to 600 people came to Corinthian Hall. Afterward the Society asked him for one hundred printed copies, and the speech came out as a pamphlet in 1852.

2. 1.

   Pia wants to know how the audience felt. Afterward the Society asked Douglass for one hundred printed copies. What does that show?

   • That the speech persuaded its listeners, since a society asks for copies of speeches that moved it
   • The whole audience agreed with Douglass, since the Society asked for copies afterward
   • The speech was a success with the town, since one hundred copies is a large printing for a society
   • The Society wanted the speech printed, but one request cannot show how each listener felt

3. Roosevelt opens the talk

   Who made it: Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States. When: March 12, 1933. Where: the White House, Washington, D.C.. For whom: radio listeners across the country. Why: to explain the bank holiday and ask people to trust the reopened banks. Excerpt (Radio address on the banking crisis; Public Papers, 1938, item 16, about p. 61): "I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking — with the comparatively few who understand the mechanics of banking but more particularly with the overwhelming majority who use banks for the making of deposits and the drawing of checks." Context: The banks had been closed since March 6, 1933.

4. 2.

   Bo reads how Roosevelt opens his radio talk. Who does he say he most wants to reach?

   • The few who understand banking, since he names that group before the others
   • Members of Congress, since he is speaking about a banking crisis
   • The large majority who use banks, though most do not know how banking works
   • Bankers, since he promises to explain the mechanics of banking to them

5. Use this

   Source card "Douglass on the nation's inheritance". Who made it: Frederick Douglass, a speaker against slavery. When: July 5, 1852. Where: Corinthian Hall, Rochester, New York. For whom: 500 to 600 people at a celebration run by the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society. Why: to say what the Fourth of July meant to enslaved people. Excerpt (Oration at Rochester; pamphlet, 1852, p. 15): "The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed [handed down] by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. ... This Fourth July is yours, not mine."

6. 3.

   Douglass spoke in 1852, before the 13th Amendment. How does that order affect how Milo reads Douglass's words about slavery?

   • The words show his view while slavery still existed, not what he thought after it ended
   • The words look back on slavery after it ended, so they record what he remembered
   • The words predict the 13th Amendment, so he was planning for its passage
   • The order matters little, because a speech from 1852 is a primary source and needs no context

7. Use this

   Source card "The Emergency Banking Act, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The Emergency Banking Act was signed on March 9, 1933, three days before Roosevelt's talk. It set rules under which banks judged sound could reopen after the bank holiday that began on March 6. Source card "After the radio talk, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: In the talk, Roosevelt said that the banks of the twelve cities with a Federal Reserve Bank would open again the next day, March 13, 1933. Banks in about 250 more cities reopened on March 14. By March 15, banks holding 90 percent of the country's banking resources were open again, and deposits far exceeded withdrawals. Some 4,000 banks never reopened.

8. 4.

   Roosevelt spoke on March 12, 1933. Zee reads the strip and the cards. What was happening to banks that day?

   • They had been closed since March 9, when the Act was signed into law
   • They had already reopened, and he was thanking depositors for their patience
   • They had been closed since March 6, and the first would reopen the next day
   • They had closed on March 9 under the Act and would reopen within a week, so he asked for patience

9. Use this

   Source card "Letter from Birmingham Jail, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: On April 12, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, for leading a march that broke a court order against the protests. On April 16, in the city jail, he wrote a long letter. It answered a statement by eight white Birmingham clergymen, printed in the Birmingham News, that criticized the protests and asked for law and order. The letter was copied and passed around, then printed as a pamphlet and in magazines from May 1963. Its main points, in our words: Black Americans had been told for years to wait, and waiting had brought no change; a law used to keep segregation in place is unjust, and refusing it can be right; peaceful marches were meant to build pressure until city leaders agreed to talk; the bigger obstacle was moderate white people who put calm ahead of justice; and what happens in one city affects people everywhere. Context: King's letter is still under copyright, so this sheet gives its ideas in our words and does not quote it. Source card "Birmingham, April and May 1963, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: On April 10, 1963, a state court ordered the Birmingham protests to stop. On April 12, a group of about 50 people led by King marched anyway and were arrested. King wrote his letter on April 16 and spent eight days in jail. The letter was printed as a pamphlet and in magazines from May 1963. On May 10, 1963, Birmingham businesses agreed to desegregate their stores. Context: King's letter is still under copyright, so this sheet gives its events in our words and does not quote the letter.

10. 5.

    King was arrested for marching against a court order. How does that context change how Kira reads the letter's argument about unjust laws?

    • The author was jailed for breaking a court order, so the argument speaks to his own case
    • It shows the court order came after the letter, so the letter answered the order
    • It shows the letter was addressed to the judge who had issued the court order
    • It shows he accepted the court order as just, so the letter defends obeying any court order

11. Douglass on the nation's inheritance

    Who made it: Frederick Douglass, a speaker against slavery. When: July 5, 1852. Where: Corinthian Hall, Rochester, New York. For whom: 500 to 600 people at a celebration run by the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society. Why: to say what the Fourth of July meant to enslaved people. Excerpt (Oration at Rochester; pamphlet, 1852, p. 15): "The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed [handed down] by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. … This Fourth July is yours, not mine." Source card "The Rochester speech, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: Rochester, New York. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Sewing Society invited Frederick Douglass to speak. He agreed on one condition: that he speak on July 5, not July 4. About 500 to 600 people came to Corinthian Hall. Afterward the Society asked him for one hundred printed copies, and the speech came out as a pamphlet in 1852.

12. 6.

    Ren reads "This Fourth July is yours, not mine." Who are "you" and "me" in the speech?

    • "You" is the enslaved and "me" is his audience, who were sharing in the inheritance
    • "You" is his audience, who share the inheritance; "me" is Douglass, speaking for the enslaved
    • "You" is the Founders and "me" is the Society that invited him to speak in the hall
    • "You" and "me" both mean the audience, since a speaker uses the words in the same way

13. The Declaration of Sentiments on equality

    Who made it: Elizabeth Cady Stanton with Mary Ann M'Clintock; signed by 100 women and men. When: July 1848. Where: Seneca Falls, New York. For whom: the convention and the public. Why: to list women's complaints and demand their rights. Excerpt (Declaration of Sentiments; History of Woman Suffrage, 1881, p. 70): "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable [that cannot be taken away] rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." Limits: This text was printed in 1881, 33 years after the convention, by leaders of the movement.

14. 7.

    The 1776 Declaration says "all men are created equal." Luz reads the 1848 line. What did the writers change, and why does it matter?

    • They replaced men with voters, so the line is about who may cast a ballot
    • They kept the 1776 wording unchanged, to show they agreed with the Founders
    • They added women, claiming the 1776 promise of equality for women as well
    • They dropped the idea of rights, so the line is about fairness alone

15. Roosevelt asks for faith

    Who made it: Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States. When: March 12, 1933. Where: the White House, Washington, D.C.. For whom: radio listeners across the country. Why: to explain the bank holiday and ask people to trust the reopened banks. Excerpt (Radio address on the banking crisis; Public Papers, 1938, item 16, about p. 65): "You people must have faith; you must not be stampeded [rushed into panic] by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system; it is up to you to support and make it work. It is your problem no less than it is mine." Limits: A speech shows what the president said and asked; it does not show what listeners did next.

16. 8.

    Tala reads Roosevelt's request for faith. How does he describe who must make the plan work?

    • The banks, since they control the rumors that stampede depositors into the street
    • The government alone, since it has provided the machinery to restore the system
    • Both the government and the listeners, who must support the plan and avoid panic
    • The listeners alone, since he tells them the problem is theirs and not his

17. Letter from Birmingham Jail, in brief

    Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: On April 12, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, for leading a march that broke a court order against the protests. On April 16, in the city jail, he wrote a long letter. It answered a statement by eight white Birmingham clergymen, printed in the Birmingham News, that criticized the protests and asked for law and order. The letter was copied and passed around, then printed as a pamphlet and in magazines from May 1963. Its main points, in our words: Black Americans had been told for years to wait, and waiting had brought no change; a law used to keep segregation in place is unjust, and refusing it can be right; peaceful marches were meant to build pressure until city leaders agreed to talk; the bigger obstacle was moderate white people who put calm ahead of justice; and what happens in one city affects people everywhere. Context: King's letter is still under copyright, so this sheet gives its ideas in our words and does not quote it.

18. 9.

    Esme wants King's exact words about waiting. Why can Esme not take them from this card?

    • The card quotes the statement of the eight clergymen, not King's letter
    • The card is a primary source, so its wording is King's own
    • The card is a translation of the letter, so its words differ from the original in places
    • The card is a summary in our words, not a quotation of the letter

19. The Rochester speech, in brief

    Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: Rochester, New York. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Sewing Society invited Frederick Douglass to speak. He agreed on one condition: that he speak on July 5, not July 4. About 500 to 600 people came to Corinthian Hall. Afterward the Society asked him for one hundred printed copies, and the speech came out as a pamphlet in 1852. Source card "Douglass asks why he was invited". Who made it: Frederick Douglass, a speaker against slavery. When: July 5, 1852. Where: Corinthian Hall, Rochester, New York. For whom: 500 to 600 people at a celebration run by the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society. Why: to say what the Fourth of July meant to enslaved people. Excerpt (Oration at Rochester; pamphlet, 1852, p. 14): "pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied [written] in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?"

20. 10.

    Noah compares the "in brief" card on the Rochester speech with the excerpt. Which statement about them is right?

    • Neither is a source for 1852, since the summary is later and the excerpt is a fragment
    • Both are primary sources, since both describe the same speech given in Rochester
    • The summary is the primary source, since it states the facts of the day
    • The excerpt is Douglass's own 1852 wording; the "in brief" card is a later summary