A Nation Divided

What is the central idea of the text?

• A how the postal service adapted to the Civil War

• B how the Union control of the mail affected the Confederacy

• C the role of the postal service during the Civil War

• D the importance of mail for Confederate soldiers

Which is a summary of the section entitled “Crossing the Border"?

• It details how many ships were used as blockade runners during the Civil War.

• It explains why ship mail was so expensive during the Civil War.

• It describes how mail was transported from the North to the South during most of the Civil War.

• It defines the role of the ship's master as the new postmaster of the Confederate Post Office Department.

How does the section entitled "The Confederate Postal System” contribute to the understanding of the title?

• The section explains why the United States Postal Service could not produce stamps during the Civil War.

• The section describes the characteristics of the first postmaster general, John H. Reagan.

• The section describes why ships were needed by the United States Postal Service.

• The section explains that the Confederate states started their own postal system during the Civil War.

Why was the printing of postal stamps delayed for the Confederate postal system?

• The stamp designs had to be imported from England.

• The typical stamp printers were all located in the North.

• All of the reliable stamp printers were housed in the South.

• No one could decide on a design for the stamp.

What does the phrase “first-person depictions of battles" mean in paragraph 12?

• direct participation in the battles themselves

• permission to send letters about battles

• battles seen through the eyes of the men fighting

• recorded sounds of the battles

How does the author support the claim that the U.S. Mail tried to assist the communications between the soldiers and their loved ones?

• The soldiers had to send their letters through certain cities.

• The soldiers needed to have special stamps for their letters.

• The soldiers did not have to pay for stamps to send their letters.

• The soldiers sent their letters on specially designed ships.

How did the Civil War influence the mail service?

• A Mail service was difficult and slow, but it persevered.

• B Mail service was carefully controlled and never faltered.

• C Mail service was inept, expensive, and rarely successful.

• D Mail service was interrupted for the duration of the war.

Which statement is supported by information in the text?

• A The Union postal system played an important role in ending the Civil War.

• B The Confederacy ran a successful mail program with Union support.

• C The Union postal system lacked resources to support the Confederacy.

• D The Union limited the Confederacy’s ability to send mail.