Vocabulary in Context
In the text, it says "Men of Color proved their valor in battle." What does "valor" mean?
What is great courage and bravery?
Douglass urged Black men to "rise up in the dignity of their manhood." What does "dignity" mean in this context?
What is the quality of being respected as a man?
In the article, Robert Smalls was "the helmsman of the ship Planter." What is a helmsman?
Who is the pilot or person who steers the ship?
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was important because it did this.
What is freed enslaved people in Confederate states?
Smalls "fought for equality during Reconstruction." What does "equality" mean?
What is the state of being equal in rights and opportunities?
Douglass was a famous abolitionist. What is an abolitionist?
Who is a person who worked to end slavery?
Why did Douglass call the Civil War a "golden moment" for Black men?
What is a unique chance to fight for freedom and prove their worth as men and citizens?
The author writes, "every heartbeat must have sounded like a drum" as Smalls approached Fort Sumter. What is the purpose of this line?
What is to create tension and highlight the great risk of the moment?
Why did the Union want to blockade Charleston harbor?
What is to stop Confederate supplies and weaken their war effort?
What was one of Robert Smalls’ political goals after the Civil War?
What is to create public schools for all children?
Douglass published a broadside to recruit soldiers. What is a broadside?
What is a public poster or announcement?
How did Black soldiers challenge the idea that the Civil War was "a white man's war"?
It showed that Black men were also willing and able to fight for their country?
How did Smalls use his skills as a sailor to help the Union?
What is stealing a Confederate boat and becoming a Union Navy pilot and captain?
How did the Emancipation Proclamation change the role of Black soldiers in the Civil War?
What is it officially allowed Black men to enlist in the Union Army?
What is the main message of Robert Smalls’ life story?
What is courage and determination can change your destiny and help others?
The Union army had blockaded Charleston harbor. What does "blockaded" mean?
What is closed off with ships to stop supplies?
What did Douglass mean when he said Black men should “show that we are worthy to be freemen”?
What is by fighting bravely in the war and proving their equality?
What did Smalls do to avoid being captured by Confederate forces during his escape?
What is he wore the captain’s uniform and flew the Confederate flag as a disguise?
Why did some white Union soldiers initially oppose allowing Black men to fight?
What is racism, disbelief in Black equality, or fear that it would lengthen the war?
How did Robert Smalls continue to serve his community after the war ended?
What is he served in Congress and fought for public education and civil rights?
Smalls "ran up a white flag of surrender." What does "surrender" mean?
What is giving up to an enemy?
Why was it significant that Douglass, a former enslaved person, was recruiting Black men to fight for the Union?
What is it showed that the war was not just about preserving the Union, but about freedom and citizenship for Black Americans?
Why was Smalls’ escape on the Planter especially significant to the Union war effort?
What is he not only freed himself and his crew, but also delivered a Confederate ship and supplies, and provided valuable intelligence about Confederate defenses?
How did the Emancipation Proclamation shift the moral purpose of the Civil War?
What is it changed the war from solely preserving the Union to also fighting for human freedom?
Why is the story of Black Civil War soldiers central to the fight for civil rights in America?
What is their military service challenged ideas of racial inferiority and helped build the case for full citizenship and voting rights?