Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Spanish American War (1898)
At War with Bigotry - Buffalo Soldiers in the Spanish American War

Spanish American War (1898)
Spanish American War (1898)


At War with Bigotry - Buffalo Soldiers in the Spanish American War
Print At War with Bigotry - Buffalo Soldiers in the Spanish American War Reading Comprehension


Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 7 to 9
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.09

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    demeaned, long-simmering, mind-sets, officialdom, staffed, stoic, task-confronting, oust, manpower, mid-1890s, restraint, hostility, short-lived, mellow, telegraph, amongst
     content words:    Civil War, Cavalry Regiments, Colored Troops, American West, Buffalo Soldiers, Indian Wars, African Americans, Jim Crow, At Las Guasimas, Rough Riders


At War with Bigotry - Buffalo Soldiers in the Spanish American War
By Toni Lee Robinson
  

1     After the U.S. Civil War, troops were needed for remote outposts in the West. Troop strength had been cut after North and South had made peace. At the same time, the military was kept busy subduing native tribes as white settlers pushed west. The newly formed 9th and 10th U.S. Cavalry Regiments were called upon to fill the manpower gap.
 
2     The soldiers of the 9th and 10th were not green recruits. They had fought for the Union as members of the U.S. Colored Troops. They were black units staffed with white officers. A few years later, they were joined by two infantry units, the 24th and 25th. These were also made up of black soldiers.
 
3     For the next two decades, the four units served in the American West. They put up forts, strung telegraph line, built roads, and guarded mail shipments. That was in addition to the main task-confronting the Apache, Kiowa, Sioux, and other tribes who strongly objected to being cornered on reservations. It was the Kiowa who gave the black troops their nickname-"Buffalo Soldiers."
 
4     In their many skirmishes with the tribes, the black troops proved as tough and fearsome as the shaggy king of the Plains. Nearly 20 Medals of Honor were awarded amongst the four units during the "Indian Wars." Back in "civilization," however, it didn't matter how bravely a black soldier had served his country. He was subject to the same bias as before. He was still barred from white society, except as a servant.
 
5     By the mid-1890s, the Buffalo Soldiers had worked themselves out of a job. The West had been tamed. Native tribes had been confined to their allotted lands. Then, towards the end of the decade, a long-simmering conflict just south of U.S. shores boiled over. America joined Cuban freedom fighters to oust Spain from the area. Again, troops were needed to fill the gap.
 
6     The men of the four black units were useful assets to the U.S. Army. All were seasoned soldiers. They had proven themselves under difficult conditions. One hazard of the tropics for white troops was disease. It was widely thought that the illnesses would have no effect on African Americans.
 
7     The Buffalo Soldiers were among the first of the regular army called to duty in Cuba. The units were sent to staging areas near Tampa, Florida. In southern towns, the old prejudice was alive and well. The black men who'd proudly done the U.S. military's job in the West were now insulted and demeaned. They endured racial slurs. Their daily lives were controlled by humiliating Jim Crow rules.
 
8     Most of the soldiers met the insults with stoic restraint. But tension prowled the streets. Violence loomed just beneath the surface of every contact between black soldiers and whites. The war seemed a bitter joke to many black people. The U.S. was eager to come to the aid of those oppressed by Spain. At the same time, its own black citizens struggled with oppression every day.
 
9     Still, the soldiers were anxious to depart for the battlefield. Anything was better than the hostility all around them in the staging camps. Besides, most believed the war was another chance for them to prove themselves. Once more they would march out under U.S. colors, laying their lives on the line. Surely now the hard edge of hatred would soften.

Paragraphs 10 to 17:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable



Weekly Reading Books

          Create Weekly Reading Books

Prepare for an entire week at once!


Feedback on At War with Bigotry - Buffalo Soldiers in the Spanish American War
Leave your feedback on At War with Bigotry - Buffalo Soldiers in the Spanish American War   (use this link if you found an error in the story)



Spanish American War (1898)
             Spanish American War (1898)


More Lessons
             High School Reading Comprehensions and High School Reading Lessons


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



Copyright © 2018 edHelper