Studies Weekly 23 - A New Era in Texas

Answer questions 1-3 after reading the article “The Best Day of My Life.”

1. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

• how General Granger looked

• why President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation

• how Mr. Smith explained the slaves were free

• why Papa was missing

2. How does Mama probably feel as soon as she learns the news of their freedom?

• tired

• angry

• happy

• frustrated

3. Mama and Sally haven’t seen Papa in a long time because _______.

• he was freed long ago

• he is in the army

• he went to Africa

• he works for another plantation

Answer questions 4-7 after reading the article “An End to War and Slavery.”

1. Why was the Emancipation Proclamation important to people in the United States?

• It gave President Lincoln complete control of the war.

• It ended the Civil War.

• It was the first order given by any president of the United States.

• It ended slavery in the United States.

5. In paragraph 1 of the section called “Reconstruction in Texas,” what does the word reconstruction mean?

• to build again

• a center length of time

• jobs for former slaves

• the southern part of the United States

6. Why was the Freedmen’s Bureau established?

• to provide more sharecropping jobs

• to help freed slaves improve their lives

• to help the Confederate government

• to help southern states rejoin the Union

7. The reader can tell that Edmund Davis ________.

• was not liked by many people

• was not fair

• was not smart

• did not want Texas to be a par t of the United States again

8. From what the reader learns about Matthew Gaines, which of the following would he probably do?

• tell on the Anglo boy who taught him to read

• organize a voters’ registration meeting

• turn down a chance to speak at a government meeting

• return to live and work on a plantation

For questions 9, 10 and 11, use this week’s Studies Weekly magazine because you must cite one source for your answer. (For example: You found part of the answer on Page 1 in the article “The Best Day of My Life.”)

9. How were slaves and sharecroppers DIFFERENT?

10. Why does Texas have “six flags”?