Prereading Quiz: A Voice for Freedom

Before you read “A Voice for Freedom,” take this five-question quiz to find out how much you already know.

1

When did the Civil War begin?

The Civil War began in 1861, after a group of Southern states known as the Confederacy broke away from the United States, opposed to ideas of ending slavery. The war ended in the spring of 1865.

2

True or False: In the 1850s, it was illegal for enslaved children to attend school in some states.

Enslaved children were not allowed to attend school in Georgia and several other states. However, when Susie King Taylor was 7, she was allowed to move in with her grandmother, who sent Susie to a secret school.

3

Which of these words means “able to read and write”?

Literate means “able to read and write.” Because of laws that limited education, only 5 percent of Black people in Georgia were literate in the 1850s.

4

During the Civil War, Georgia ____.

Georgia was one of 11 Confederate states that allowed slavery and withdrew from the Union. It was a key battleground in the Civil War because supplies could be shipped in along its Atlantic coast.

5

What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

The Emancipation Proclamation formally freed the 3.5 million enslaved people in states that had withdrawn from the Union. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signed it on January 1, 1863.

Text-to-Speech