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

Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to F. Card A. Maker: President Abraham Lincoln, speaking after he was re-elected. Date: March 4, 1865. Place: in front of the Capitol, Washington, DC. Audience: the crowd and the readers of newspapers. Purpose: to explain what the war was about and to unite the nation as the war neared its end. Exact, from his Second Inaugural Address (Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, ed. Nicolay and Hay, 1894): "One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the Southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents [those in rebellion] would rend [tear apart] the Union, even by war; while the government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it." Card B, a note in our words from the 1860 census totals: about 31.4 million people lived in the United States, and about 3.95 million of them were enslaved. Card C. Maker: Jacob Riis, a Danish-born police reporter for New York newspapers. Date: 1890. Reader: book readers across the country, to move them toward reform of tenement housing. Exact, from How the Other Half Lives, Introduction, p. 1: "Long ago it was said that "one half of the world does not know how the other half lives." That was true then. It did not know because it did not care. The half that was on top cared little for the struggles, and less for the fate of those who were underneath, so long as it was able to hold them there and keep its own seat. There came a time when the discomfort and crowding below were so great, and the consequent upheavals so violent, that it was no longer an easy thing to do, and then the upper half fell to inquiring what was the matter." Card D. Same book, Introduction, p. 2: "To-day three-fourths of its [New York's] people live in the tenements, and the nineteenth century drift of the population to the cities is sending ever-increasing multitudes to crowd them. The fifteen thousand tenant houses that were the despair of the sanitarian [health inspector] in the past generation have swelled into thirty-seven thousand, and more than twelve hundred thousand persons call them home." Card E, a summary in our words from the National Park Service, written today: Riis's 1890 book found readers across the country, and the Park Service credits it with helping reform efforts in other cities. Card F, a note in our words: Riis had reported on crowded tenement districts as a police reporter since 1877. His lines on card D name no source for the totals.

2. 1.

   Lincoln says "All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of the war." How should Ari read "All knew"?

   • As a count of what Northerners believed, since he spoke as the leader of the Union
   • As evidence of what Southerners believed, since he calls the cause well known
   • As Lincoln's own claim to unite listeners, not a count of what people believed
   • As an exaggeration, since a speech cannot be set beside other evidence
3. 2.

   Lincoln says "One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves." Bo checks it with card B (3.95 of 31.4 million). What does the check show?

   • His figure is confirmed, and so is his claim that slavery caused the war
   • His figure is close to the census share, but it does not test his claim about the cause
   • The check is invalid, since a census and a speech cannot be compared
   • His figure is slightly low, so his speech understates the share and weakens his claim
4. 3.

   Esme asks which question Lincoln's address on card A cannot answer by itself.

   • Whether enslaved people agreed with Lincoln's account of the cause
   • How large Lincoln said the enslaved share of the population was
   • What Lincoln said the "peculiar and powerful interest" was
   • What Lincoln said the government claimed no right to do
5. 4.

   Cards D, E and F bear on Riis's totals. Which statement about the totals is best, Kira asks?

   • They are one writer's counts with no source named, so check them against another record
   • They are reliable, since a police reporter had access to the city's official counts
   • They are unreliable, since reform writers inflated numbers to win support
   • They are confirmed by card E, which says the book moved other cities to reform
6. 5.

   Card D says three-fourths of New Yorkers live in tenements, and 1.2 million persons call 37,000 houses home. Which statement is fair, Luz asks?

   • About 1.6 million in all and 32 per house; they agree, but one writer gave them
   • They imply 32 persons per house, which is too crowded to be believed
   • They imply about 1.6 million in all, which confirms that three-fourths is correct
   • They imply about 0.9 million people in all, so "three-fourths" is an overstatement
7. 6.

   Card E is a summary written today. What can it show Milo that card C cannot?

   • How tenement families felt, since reform in other cities shows their views
   • What Riis meant by "the other half," which card E explains better than he does
   • How readers responded afterward, which Riis could not know in 1890
   • Whether his totals were accurate, since a later writer would have checked them
8. 7.

   Noah wants to know how tenement families felt about Riis's book. Which card helps most?

   • Card C, since Riis spent years in the districts and wrote from what the families told him
   • Card E, since reform in other cities shows tenants approved of the book
   • None directly; the cards come from a reformer, a President and a modern summary
   • Card D, since counts of tenement houses reflect what residents wanted
9. 8.

   Lincoln says the government "claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement" of slavery. How should Pia treat that sentence?

   • As a neutral summary of both sides, since a President speaks for the whole nation
   • As Lincoln's description of the government's position, so one side of the argument
   • As the position of the rebels, since the sentence names those who would "rend the Union"
   • As evidence about the 13th Amendment, which ended the question later in 1865
10. 9.

    A textbook writes: "In 1890, 1.2 million New Yorkers lived in tenements." What should Tala say about the sentence?

    • It turns an unsourced count into a fact; it should say Riis counted
    • It is sound, since card E shows the Park Service accepted the book's totals
    • It is wrong, since a count from a reform book cannot appear in a textbook
    • It is sound, since textbooks check totals before they print them
11. 10.

    Zee's note says: "Lincoln's address shows what the rebel leaders said the war was about." Which fix is best?

    • Change it to "shows what Union soldiers said the war was about," since they fought for the speaker
    • Keep the note, since a President's speech records the stated aims of the other side
    • Change it to "shows what the nation said," since he spoke at his inauguration
    • Change it to "shows what Lincoln said the war was about; the rebels' words are not in it"