Place a source in its time: who wrote it, when, why, and what was happening
Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
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Card A (1762): "The Social Contract". Who made it: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a thinker born in Geneva in 1712. For whom: European readers. Why: to argue that a state is right only when the general will of its people guides it. Excerpt (Book I, chapter 1; G. D. H. Cole's English translation, 1913, p. 5): "Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains." Context (what else was happening): Rousseau wrote in French. The book was condemned in Geneva, his home city. Limits (what this source cannot tell us): It is a theory. It does not describe how any real government worked. Card B (1789): "The Interesting Narrative". Who made it: Olaudah Equiano, who wrote that he was kidnapped as a child in West Africa and enslaved. For whom: British readers. Why: to tell his life story and to argue against the slave trade. Excerpt (volume II, chapter 7; London, 1789, first edition, in Equiano's own English): "...before night, I who had been a slave in the morning, trembling at the will of another, was become my own master, and completely free. I thought this was the happiest day I had ever experienced..." Context (what else was happening): A society to end the slave trade had first met in London in 1787, and Equiano spoke out against the trade. Limits (what this source cannot tell us): It is one person's account. Historians debate where he was born. Below the strip: Card A is a translation; card B is in its writer's own words.
By card A's context box, what happened to the book in Geneva, Ari asks?
- It was read to William and Mary
- It was banned in London in 1787
- It was condemned
- It was made the city's law
Why did Equiano write card B, by the card, Bo asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- To tell his life and oppose the trade
- To defend the slave trade in Britain
- To argue for the general will
- To report on the Estates-General
Card A's excerpt says people are born free. Where does it say they are, Jun asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- In chains just in France
- Everywhere in chains
- Free wherever they live
- Masters of their own land
Card A is a theory. By its limits box, what can it not show Kira?
Use the picture in question 1.
- How a real government worked
- What Rousseau argued
- Rousseau's idea of freedom
- That the book appeared in 1762
Why do historians read card B with care, by its limits box, Luz asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- It praises the slave trade
- It was written in French
- It was written after 1900
- It is one person's account
How many years passed from card A (1762) to card B (1789), Milo asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- 2 years
- 37 years
- 3,551 years
- 27 years
On the strip, when did the society to end the slave trade first meet, Noah asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- 1712
- 1789
- 1787
- 1762
Rousseau wrote in French. What does that tell Ren about card A?
Use the picture in question 1.
- It was first written in 1913
- It is a law of France
- Its words are Equiano's own
- Its words are a translation
Which claim does card B support, Tala asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- Slavery in Britain ended in 1789
- Equiano called his day of freedom his happiest
- Equiano was born free and stayed free
- Equiano wrote his book in Geneva
Which claim about card A is careful, Zee asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- Rousseau wanted kings to rule alone
- Rousseau showed that France obeyed his book
- Rousseau wrote about the London society
- Rousseau argued for the people's general will