119 Selection Review #1 One More River to Cross “Crispus Attucks” 1. Explain how Crispus Attucks’ family background might give him a love of freedom. How did Attucks show this love as a young man? Crispus Attucks’ father was probably an African. He was probably free before he was a slave. He may have given his son a love of freedom. Attucks’ mother was an Indian woman. She was probably descended from John Attucks, a Christian Indian. In 1676, John Attucks fought on the side of the Indians against the colonists. He was put to death for this. Crispus Attucks’ mother may have also passed on to him a tradition of refusing unfair treatment. Attucks showed his love of freedom by running away from slavery in 1750. He probably lived as a sailor until his death twenty years later. 2. Why do you think there were so many fights between the citizens of Boston and the British soldiers? What happened in particular on the evening of March 5, 1770? The people of Boston were angry with the British already. They thought the taxes and laws the British govern- ment made them follow were unfair. In 1769 the king sent about 1,000 British soldiers to Boston to control the city. The people of Boston had to house and feed these soldiers. This made them even angrier. They expressed their anger by insulting the soldiers. They also threw things at them and had street fights with them. On March 5, 1770, a young apprentice insulted a British captain. A private hit him in the face. Then the boy ran through the streets shouting that he had been “killed.” An alarm was sounded and angry crowds filled the streets. 3. What good and bad qualities did Crispus Attucks show when this happened? When this happened, Crispus Attucks showed that he was a leader of men. He led the crowd to demon- strate where the soldiers were staying. Attucks was also brave. He challenged the British soldiers openly. However, this was also a rude, reckless thing to do. The soldiers answered the crowd by firing their guns. Attucks and four other men were killed. This incident was later called the “Boston Massacre.” 4. The Boston Massacre changed history. Tell how. What was important about Crispus Attucks’ role? The colonists were very angry with the British after the Boston Massacre. This helped lead to the Revolutionary War. In particular, African Americans in Massachusetts thought about Attucks’ death. It helped them take their need for freedom more seriously. They sent several petitions to the state legislature. They wanted to be freed from slavery. There were also several African-American minutemen. They fought against the British in the Revolutionary War. continued... 120 5. John Adams changed his mind about the Boston Massacre between 1770 and 1773. Explain how and why. In 1770 John Adams was the defense lawyer for some of the soldiers. They were accused of killing innocent people. At that time Adams was loyal to the British king. He said the Boston Massacre was mostly Crispus Attucks’ fault. He and the other people insulted and threatened the soldiers. Adams said the soldiers fired their guns to defend themselves. How- ever, three years later, Adams’ bias – his view of the situation – had changed. He no longer accepted the way the British were governing the colonies. At this time Adams thought the British governor was responsible for the Boston Massacre. He thought that the unfair conditions in Boston led to the fighting between the citizens and the British soldiers. 121 Selection Review #2 One More River to Cross “Madam C. J. Walker” 1. Responding to challenges: each of the graphic organizers below represents a problem that Sarah Breedlove faced. For each problem, tell how Sarah overcame the difficulty in the box following the upward arrow. In the box following the dotted downward arrow, tell what would have happened if she had done nothing. Some possible answers are given (see back of page). Problems Sarah’s response: _______________________ _______________________________________ husband brutally mur- dered Consequences if she had done nothing: _____ ________________________________________ Sarah’s response: _______________________ _______________________________________ hair falling out Consequences if she had done nothing: _____ ________________________________________ Sarah’s response: _______________________ _______________________________________ white stores wouldn’t sell product Consequences if she had done nothing: _____ ________________________________________ continued... 122 2. Why was life more difficult for many slaves after they had been freed? After the Civil War, most blacks did not own land they could use to grow food, and it was difficult for them to find work. Many slaves continued to work for their former slave owners as sharecroppers. Also, white supremacy groups like the Ku Klux Klan terrorized them. 3. What qualities made Madam C. J. Walker successful? Many answers are possible. Some important qualities that Madam Walker possessed are self-confidence, willingness to work hard, decisiveness, toughness, persistence, intelligence, persuasive abilities, outspokenness, and hope. 4. How did Madam Walker take an idea and turn it a product that made her a millionaire? What steps did she take to accomplish this? The steps include: 1) She developed a prod- uct to stop hair loss from a vision she had; 2) She started to share the product with friends who used and liked the product; 3) She learned how to advertise her product successfully from her husband, C. J. Walker; 4) She developed more hair care products that were also successful; 5) she hired and trained employees to help her expand her business. Possible answers to Question #1: Problems Sarah’s response: moved away from the South husband brutally murdered Consequences if she had done nothing: would have gone on living in fear and despair Sarah’s response: tested and developed a product to solve the problem hair falling out Consequences if she had done nothing: would have continued to suffer hair loss Sarah’s response: advertised in newspapers and traveled to sell product through talks to black or- ganizations white stores wouldn’t sell product Consequences if she had done nothing: business would not have developed successfully 123 Selection Review #3 One More River to Cross “Matthew Henson” 1. Why was Matthew Henson unusual when compared to other African Americans of his time period? Matthew Henson received more education than the average African American of his day. He attend school more years than most. Later he was personally educated by Captain Childs. Because of his experience as a sailor and his travels with Robert Peary, he also saw much more of the world than was usual. 2. Robert Peary first noticed Matthew Henson when he was working as a stock boy. What qualities did Peary see that convinced him to take Henson on his trip to Nicaragua? What qualities in Henson made him important to Peary’s work? As Peary talked with Matthew Henson, he noticed Henson’s intelligence and willingness to work hard. Henson became important to Peary’s work because he was a skillful and dependable co-worker. He learned quickly, endured harsh living conditions without complaining or turning back, and performed well all the responsibilities he was given. 3. Why did scientists name Dr. Peary the discoverer of the North Pole instead of Dr. Cook? Peary was not honored at first when he returned from the arctic because Dr. Frederick Cook claimed to have discovered it before him. However, experts later hailed Peary as the true discoverer of the North Pole because his records proved it. Cook, on the other hand, had no evidence to support his claims. 4. Why wasn’t Matthew Henson honored as a co-discoverer of the North Pole along with Robert Peary? Robert Peary did not acknowledge Henson’s importance in the North Pole discovery because Henson was black. Peary feared the public would not approve of his having a black partner. 124 Selection Review #4 One More River to Cross “Marian Anderson” 1. Why was Marian Anderson’s Easter Sunday concert in 1939 unusual? How did this event change many Americans’ ideas about racial discrimination? Marian Anderson wanted to give the concert at a concert hall in Washington. However, the organization that owned the hall would not let her perform there because she was black. Many people were angry when they heard about this. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, President Franklin Roosevelt’s wife, decided to help. She arranged for Anderson to sing in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Anderson sang to a huge crowd, about 75,000 people. This situation helped many white Americans to see that racial discrimination did not make sense. They also saw that it was a serious problem that had to be solved. 2. What are some of the problems Anderson faced on her way to becoming a world-famous singer? Tell how she overcame these problems. People recognized Marian Anderson’s great talent as a singer even when she was a young girl. However, her parents did not have money for music lessons. One teacher gave her free lessons in high school. When Anderson decided to pursue a singing career, her church helped her pay for lessons with Mr. Boghetti. Anderson’s first big New York concert failed. She felt like giving up, but she decided to swallow her pride and go on. Anderson did not sing as well in foreign languages. For this reason, she saved her money to go to Europe and study. Respected concert halls in America were often closed to her because of race. There was less racial discrimination in Europe, so she developed her career there for several years. 3. What was ironic about Anderson’s popularity in Europe? It was ironic that for a long time white audiences in Anderson’s home country ignored her talent.