Unit 4 Week 2 Skills Test

The Courage of Elizabeth Freeman

Around the year 1742, a child named Bett was born into slavery. She had no last name. She and her younger sister Lizzie grew up in the household of Pieter Hogeboom, a Dutch landowner. He lived in the Hudson Valley of New York State. Bett and Lizzie were either sold or given by the Hogeboom family to John and Hannah Ashley of Sheffield, Massachusetts.

Bett lived in the Ashley household for about thirty years. There are not many documents that give information about her early life, and the facts are difficult to determine. Records state that she married and had a child. By that time, she was known as “Mum Bett.” Her daughter was called “Little Bett.” Her husband fought in the American Revolution and was probably killed in battle.

 John Ashley, the head of the Ashley household, was an influential man in eighteenth-century Massachusetts. He was a lawyer and a judge, and he was involved in writing the state constitution, which established the laws of the state. The constitution, adopted in October of 1780, included a statement called the Sheffield Declaration. It said, “Mankind in a State of Nature are equal, free, and independent of each other, and have a right to the undisturbed Enjoyment of their lives, their Liberty and Property.”

No one knows just how Mum Bett learned about this statement. Some sources say she overheard a discussion about it when serving at the family table or working around the house. Others say she heard the Sheffield Declaration read aloud at the village meetinghouse. Either way, the statement made her think about the injustice of slavery.

No one is sure, either, what drove Mum Bett to act. One story claims that Mum Bett became furious at Hannah Ashley’s cruel treatment of her sister Lizzie. In trying to defend her sister, Mum Bett received a serious injury on her arm.

Mum Bett left the Ashley house and refused to return. The Ashleys tried to use the law to bring her back. At that time, slavery was legal in Massachusetts. Mum Bett went to a lawyer named Theodore Sedgwick, who was known for his antislavery views. He would later become a state senator. She asked him to help file a lawsuit for her freedom. Sedgwick agreed, and another man named Brom joined in the lawsuit. Citing the state constitution, Sedgwick sued for their freedom, claiming that Ashley was acting unlawfully by enslaving Mum Bett.

The case was tried in 1781, and in August of that year, Sedgwick won the case. There is no record of what happened to Brom after the trial. The court fined Ashley, and Mum Bett was freed. Other similar cases were tried in Massachusetts, and finally, in 1783, slavery was outlawed in the state. Massachusetts was only the third state in the United States to ban slavery, and it did so more than eighty years before slavery was outlawed in the country as a whole.

Mum Bett changed her name to Elizabeth Freeman and went to work as a paid housekeeper for the Sedgwicks. She stayed with them until she was able to buy her own house. The family loved and relied on her, and in an uprising called Shays’ Rebellion, she defended the Sedgwicks’ house against rebels who tried to enter and loot it. Holding a shovel and using her wits, she convinced the rebels to leave. Freeman died in 1829 and is buried in the Sedgwick family burial plot.

Elizabeth Freeman was denied access to an education, but she had strong beliefs, and she was courageous. She fought hard for her freedom and later became a respected nurse and midwife in her community. Not only did Freeman’s daring and inspiring efforts help change the Massachusetts law allowing slavery, but her case inspired others in Northern states to sue for their freedom.

• I read the text

• I didn't read the text

Which statement describes the author’s perspective about Elizabeth Freeman?

• She loved her family a great deal.

• She showed great determination and bravery.

• She was misunderstood by historians for many years.

• She may have accomplished even more if she were allowed to receive an education.

Which sentence from the passage gives a clue about what the author's perspective is?

• “There are not many documents that give information about her early life, and the facts are difficult to determine.” (paragraph 2)

• “Some sources say she overheard a discussion about it when serving at the family table or working around the house.” (paragraph 4)

• “The case was tried in 1781, and in August of that year, Sedgwick won the case.” (paragraph 7)

• “She fought hard for her freedom and later became a respected nurse and midwife in her community.” (paragraph 9)

Read the following sentences from the passage

“It said, ‘Mankind in a State of Nature are equal, free, and independent of each other, and have a right to the undisturbed Enjoyment of their lives, their Liberty and Property.’” (paragraph 3)

 

“Either way, the statement made her think about the injustice of slavery.” (paragraph 4)

 

Using the knowledge that the Latin prefix in- means “not,” What do the words independant and injustice mean?

The suffix -or means “person who.” What does senator mean as it is used in paragraph 6?

6       Mum Bett left the Ashley house and refused to return. The Ashleys tried to use the law to bring her back. At that time, slavery was legal in Massachusetts. Mum Bett went to a lawyer named Theodore Sedgwick, who was known for his antislavery views. He would later become a state senator. She asked him to help file a lawsuit for her freedom. Sedgwick agreed, and another man named Brom joined in the lawsuit. Citing the state constitution, Sedgwick sued for their freedom, claiming that Ashley was acting unlawfully by enslaving Mum Bett.

• a local volunteer

• someone from another state

• a member of a state’s senate

• someone who believes in no government

What are two examples of chronology in the passage

• Massachusetts outlawed slavery two years after Freeman won her case.

• Freeman left the house and refused to return after defending her sister.

• Freeman was inspired to hire a lawyer after overhearing the Sheffield Declaration read aloud.

• John Ashley was an influential person who helped write the Massachusetts Constitution.

• Freeman gained her freedom less than a year after the adoption of the Massachusetts Constitution.