RI 5.3 - Historical Text

The Puritans settled in America, so they could practice their religion as they pleased. However, they did not always allow others to do the same. They encouraged church members to discuss their faith. However, they were very strict about following church rules. They felt if people did not obey the rules, there would be chaos in the community.

Anne Hutchison spoke out against some of the rules of behavior set up by the church. She was allowed to argue her position in court. However, in the end, she was forced to leave and never return.

When Roger Williams spoke out against using the town's tax money for a single religion, he was also forced to leave. He started a new colony where all people could worship as they wished. Even Anne Hutchison joined him. They were both happy to live in a community that allowed more religious freedom.

What is the main reason Anne Hutchison and Roger Williams settled in a new place?

• To find a new community

• To follow different rules of behavior

• To have religious freedom.

• To use tax money as they please.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.9

CCSS.RI.5.9

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

The Puritans settled in America, so they could practice their religion as they pleased. However, they did not always allow others to do the same. They encouraged church members to discuss their faith. However, they were very strict about following church rules. They felt if people did not obey the rules, there would be chaos in the community.

Anne Hutchison spoke out against some of the rules of behavior set up by the church. She was allowed to argue her position in court. However, in the end, she was forced to leave and never return.

When Roger Williams spoke out against using the town's tax money for a single religion, he was also forced to leave. He started a new colony where all people could worship as they wished. Even Anne Hutchison joined him. They were both happy to live in a community that allowed more religious freedom.

Anne Hutchison and Roger Williams both...

• believed taxes should be outlawed.

• were forced to leave their communities.

• disliked the strict rules of the church.

• wished they could move away.

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.3

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

Today, most people would consider a car a big purchase. However, in the early 1900s, they were so expensive that most Americans could not even own one. Henry Ford decided to change that. In 1907, he changed his factories so he could produce his cars easier, faster, and more affordably than other companies.

In other factories, one person made one car. In his factories, many people worked on each car. A worker learned how to do one small task that helped build the car. Nobody had to be an expert on an entire car. In other factories, a worker moved around a car to put the pieces together. In Ford's factories, the cars came to the workers on a wide belt. This saved a lot of time.

Henry Ford did something else that helped him sell more cars. He paid his factory workers a good daily wage. Once people earned enough to buy the things they needed, they bought things they wanted. Many of them could now afford to buy the cars they helped build.

Within a short time, Henry Ford was able to achieve his goal of creating a car that many Americans could afford to own. Other companies even started making cars the same way.

Why did Henry Ford change the way his cars were made?

• The other factories had better tools.

• He wanted to build cars with better features.

• He wanted to make a car that most people could buy.

• The other factories were selling more cars.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

Today, most people would consider a car a big purchase. However, in the early 1900s, they were so expensive that most Americans could not even own one. Henry Ford decided to change that. In 1907, he changed his factories so he could produce his cars easier, faster, and more affordably than other companies.

In other factories, one person made one car. In his factories, many people worked on each car. A worker learned how to do one small task that helped build the car. Nobody had to be an expert on an entire car. In other factories, a worker moved around a car to put the pieces together. In Ford's factories, the cars came to the workers on a wide belt. This saved a lot of time.

Henry Ford did something else that helped him sell more cars. He paid his factory workers a good daily wage. Once people earned enough to buy the things they needed, they bought things they wanted. Many of them could now afford to buy the cars they helped build.

Within a short time, Henry Ford was able to achieve his goal of creating a car that many Americans could afford to own. Other companies even started making cars the same way.

Question: Ford could build cars more quickly because..

• his cars were simpler to build than other cars.

• workers were paid good wages to do their job.

• he hired very skilled people to work for him.

• the cars moved from worker to worker on a line.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

Today, most people would consider a car a big purchase. However, in the early 1900s, they were so expensive that most Americans could not even own one. Henry Ford decided to change that. In 1907, he changed his factories so he could produce his cars easier, faster, and more affordably than other companies.

In other factories, one person made one car. In his factories, many people worked on each car. A worker learned how to do one small task that helped build the car. Nobody had to be an expert on an entire car. In other factories, a worker moved around a car to put the pieces together. In Ford's factories, the cars came to the workers on a wide belt. This saved a lot of time.

Henry Ford did something else that helped him sell more cars. He paid his factory workers a good daily wage. Once people earned enough to buy the things they needed, they bought things they wanted. Many of them could now afford to buy the cars they helped build.

Within a short time, Henry Ford was able to achieve his goal of creating a car that many Americans could afford to own. Other companies even started making cars the same way.

Question: When factory workers earned good money, they

• found easier ways to make cars.

• bought more than just what they needed.

• wasted their earnings on nicer cars.

• performed their jobs much faster.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

In the 1800s, it was difficult to travel across the United States, and it took a long time. People didn't have cars or airplanes. They traveled in wagons and on horseback. Today, crossing the country takes just hours. In the 1800s it took months.

People wanted a railroad that would link the east coast and the west coast, but nobody could decide on its path. Two railroad companies agreed to take on the task. In 1862, President Lincoln signed a bill that would pay each company up to $48,000 for each mile of track they built.

One company headed east from California. The other company headed west from Nebraska. The job was to quickly meet in the middle. Each company raced to lay as much track as possible. They were being paid by the mile, and as long as they laid track, they got paid.

In 1869, both companies were only miles from each other, but they refused to connect their two lines. President Grant told them that he would not pay any more until they did. That got them working again. On May 10, 1869, the lines met in Utah. They had completed the first cross-country railroad.

What happened as a result of completing the railroad?

• Travelers could cross country more safely.

• The government took charge of the railroad.

• The two railroad companies made a lot of money.

• Travelers traveled from coast to coast more quickly.

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.3

CCSS.RI.4.3

CCSS.RI.5.3

CCSS.RI.6.3

CCSS.RI.7.3

In 1848, James Marshall and John Sutter were building a sawmill when they discovered gold in California. Although they made their workers promise to keep the gold a secret, word quickly spread. Soon thousands of people came from across the world in hopes of becoming rich. Everyone from clerks to cooks left their jobs. This time became known as the California Gold Rush.

Mining for gold wasn't the only way to make a fortune, though. When the miners arrived, they had to stay somewhere. They had to stock up on food. They had to buy tools to help them mine. Smart merchants started businesses to give the miners what they needed—at a cost.

Store owners charged high prices for everything. The pans miners needed to search for gold cost twenty cents in 1848, but soon the price rose to eight dollars each. A single egg started at one dollar, but rose to three dollars. Most miners only found $10 to $15 of gold a day. When gold became more and more scarce, many miners went home even poorer than when they had arrived.

During the Gold Rush, how were a pan and an egg alike?

• The price of both increased a lot.

• Both were left behind when miners returned home.

• The use of both increased a lot.

• Both were used by store owners when the miners left.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

The Colorado River used to travel through a desert. In the 1930s, the Hoover Dam was built. It blocked the flow of the Colorado River with a large concrete wall. This flooded the desert and formed Lake Mead on one side.

The dam was built to make electricity. The water from the Colorado River passes through the wall in certain places. It turns large wheels called turbines. This creates power for millions of people. The land and water surrounding the dam is now a national park enjoyed by many each year.

According to the passage, a benefit of the Hoover Dam is that...

• visitors enjoy the land around it.

• the empty desert was flooded.

• water collects in the lake whenever it rains.

• people do not have to look at a wall.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2