Place a source in its time and judge what it can tell us

Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to G. Card A. Maker: a laborer in Dallas, Texas (name not printed). Date: April 23, 1917. Reader: a person in Chicago named by the Chicago Defender (the printed letter does not say who). Exact, from The Journal of Negro History, vol. IV, no. 3, July 1919, "Letters of Negro Migrants of 1916-1918" (collected under the direction of Emmett J. Scott), p. 291: "Dear Sir: Having been informed through the Chicago Defender paper that I can secure information from you. I am a constant reader of the Defender and am contemplating on leaving here for some point north. Having your city in view I thought to inquire of you about conditions for work, housing, wages and everything necessary. I am now employed as a laborer in a structural shop, have worked for the firm five years. … I am 31 yrs. old have a very industrious wife, no children. If chances are available for work of any kind let me know." Card B. Maker: a laundress in Mobile, Alabama (name not printed). Date: April 27, 1917. Reader: a Chicago advertiser in the Chicago Defender (the printed letter does not say who). Exact, same Journal, pp. 291-292: "Sir: Your advertisement appearing in the Chicago Defender have influenced me to write to you with no delay. For seven previous years I bore the reputation of a first class laundress in Selma. … I have a written recommendation from the foreman of which I largely depend upon as a relief. You will do me a noble favor with an answer in the earliest possible moment with a description all about the work." Card C, an editor's introduction in our words, unsigned, July 1919: the letters come from Black southerners of all conditions in almost all parts of the South, and they show the reasons people gave for leaving. It does not say how many letters were collected or how they were chosen. Card D, a note in our words: the United States entered the World War on April 6, 1917. The National Archives says war work then opened jobs in northern cities, and that about six million Black Americans moved from the South to other regions from the 1910s to the 1970s. Card E, an example made up for this sheet, not a quotation: an undated note to Chicago in which the writer says the whole town is talking about the war news since Congress voted, and asks about jobs. It appears in a collection printed in July 1919. Card F, an example made up for this sheet, not a quotation: a student's report that quotes the July 1919 article and adds a short list of the cities the writers named. Card G, a note in our words: the letters were written in April 1917 and printed in July 1919, two years and about three months later. Both letters answer or refer to the Chicago Defender, a newspaper that circulated in the South.

2. 1.

   Cards A, B and G tie both letters to the Chicago Defender. Ari asks what that supports.

   • The paper was one way both learned of Chicago, but two letters cannot show it caused the move
   • The paper was the main cause, since the editor says the letters show the reasons given
   • Northern employers recruited both writers through the paper, so the move was driven from the North
   • Both writers shared one reason, since both mention the paper and both ask about work
3. 2.

   Card C says the editor does not say how the letters were chosen. What is the main limit on Bo's use of cards A and B?

   • They are typical of the South but not of the migrants, since the writers stayed in place
   • They are untypical, since a journal prints only the most striking letters it receives
   • They are typical, since the editor says they come from people of all conditions
   • No one can tell if the printed letters are typical of those sent or all migrants
4. 3.

   Esme reads cards A, B and D together. Which statement do the three cards support?

   • Both asked about work and D says jobs opened, so jobs were the main reason for the move
   • Both asked about work, but D is a later note, so jobs cannot count as a reason
   • D shows jobs opened and the letters show the writers got them
   • Both writers asked about Chicago work, and D says war work opened jobs, so jobs were one reason
5. 4.

   Card G says the letters were written in April 1917 and printed in July 1919. What does the gap tell Jun?

   • The letters were revised for print, so the words are not the writers' own
   • The editor held the letters until the migration ended, so they show how it turned out
   • Editors had two years to choose and arrange them, so the set shows 1919 choices
   • The gap does not matter, since a letter's words stay as written
6. 5.

   Card E is undated. It mentions the war news "since Congress voted" and appears in a collection printed in July 1919. Kira places it.

   • Before April 6, 1917, since talk of war in town began before Congress voted
   • After July 1919, since the collection that prints it could include later notes
   • After April 6, 1917 and before the end of that April, since the other letters are dated then
   • After April 6, 1917 and before July 1919
7. 6.

   Luz's report says: "The two letters prove why six million Black Americans left the South." Which fix is best?

   • Say the letters show typical reasons, since D's six million confirms that many wrote
   • Say the letters show two writers' reasons; the six million comes from card D
   • Say D supports the letters, since both show that war work opened jobs
   • Say the six million come from letters like these, which the Journal counted
8. 7.

   Card F lists cities the letter writers named. What should Milo check before saying "most migrants went to Chicago"?

   • Whether the student cited the Journal correctly, since an error would change the list
   • Whether other letters name other cities, since a larger sample is more typical
   • Whether the letters were typical, since a chosen few cannot show where most went
   • Whether the cities are the largest in the North, since migrants went to large cities
9. 8.

   Which card is the strongest evidence that war work opened jobs in northern cities, Pia asks?

   • Card B, since a written recommendation shows employers wanted her skills
   • Card D, which states it; cards A and B only show interest in jobs
   • Card A, since a worker with five years in a shop knows how jobs were changing
   • Cards A and B together, since two letters count for more than one note
10. 9.

    Writers could write and had seen the Defender. What does that suggest Ren about cards A and B as a sample?

    • They are a random sample, since the editor picked them from many letters
    • They may leave out people who could not write or never saw the newspaper
    • They are people who left, so they give a complete record of why people left
    • They show only northern views, since the letters were sent to Chicago
11. 10.

    Zee asks whose voice is missing from cards A to G when the question is why some people stayed in the South.

    • Chicago employers, whose advertisements shaped the letters the Journal printed
    • The Journal's editor, whose short introduction on card C gives few details
    • Migrants who came back, whose letters would show what Chicago was like
    • People who stayed, whose letters would not be collected as migrant letters