Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
A Nation Divided
(1840-1861)

Slavery and the Law

Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
Black History and Blacks in U.S. History


Slavery and the Law
Print Slavery and the Law Reading Comprehension


Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 7 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.96

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    knell, manumission, recourse, polarize, corrupt, virtual, bondage, legislation, barred, better, founded, status, radical, immigrate, shun, federal
     content words:    American Revolution, Sierra Leone, United States, Thomas Jefferson, Missouri Compromise, Fugitive Slave Law, Underground Railroad, Civil War, Fugitive Slave Act, Emancipation Proclamation


Slavery and the Law
By Mary L. Bushong
  

1     Imagine agreeing to work for someone for a set period of time. In return for that work you will do, they pay for you to immigrate to a new country, a trip you could not have made otherwise. That is the basic idea behind being an indentured servant. But what would happen if your "contract" was lost? You could easily find yourself in a position many of the first slaves found themselves. That problem did not affect just them, but their children as well.
 
2     In a time of severe labor shortage, it became convenient to declare the black arrivals slaves, not indentured servants as the first had been. After the American Revolution, the legal position of slaves was not debated. Generations of whites had lived in virtual slavery in Europe under the feudal system. Human bondage in many forms had been common up until then, and was generally accepted. When the U.S. Constitution was written, the phrase "all men" did not apply to slaves.
 
3     Slave owners were not required to give a minimal amount of care. Since slaves were considered no better than animals, a slave owner could do whatever he wanted with his "property." Some slaves were starved, some were beaten, and many slaves were worked to death. As people began to move to new territories, they took their slaves with them.

Paragraphs 4 to 10:
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Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
             Black History and Blacks in U.S. History


A Nation Divided
(1840-1861)

             A Nation Divided
(1840-1861)



United States
             United States


    American Government  
 
    Black History and Blacks in U.S. History  
 
    Children in History  
 
    Government Careers  
 
    Hispanic Heritage  
 
    How Can I Help?  
 
 
    Immigration  
 
    National Parks and Monuments  
 
    Native Americans  
 
    Presidents of the United States  
 
    Women's History  
 


United States History
    A Nation Divided
(1840-1861)
 
 
    A New Nation
(1776-1830)
 
 
    After the Civil War
(1865-1870)
 
 
    American Revolution  
 
    Cold War
(1947-1991)
 
 
    Colonial America (1492-1776)  
 
    Lewis and Clark
(1804-1806)
 
 
    Pearl Harbor  
 
    Spanish American War (1898)  
 
    The 1890's  
 
    The 1900's  
 
    The 1910's  
 
    The 1920's  
 
    The 1930's  
 
 
    The 1940's  
 
    The 1950's  
 
    The 1960's  
 
    The 1970's  
 
    The 1980's  
 
    The 1990's  
 
    The 2000's  
 
    The Civil War
(1861-1865)
 
 
    The Great Depression
(1929-1945)
 
 
    The United States Grows
(1865-1900)
 
 
    The War of 1812  
 
    Wild, Wild West  
 
    World War I
(1914-1918)
 
 
    World War II  
 


50 States

             Fifty States Theme Unit


Document Based Activities
      Document Based Activities



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