Notable Americans — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. An Eleanor Roosevelt letter says: 'You must do the things you think you cannot do.' This advice encourages readers to:
A) Avoid challenges that feel uncomfortable
B) Wait for others to act on their behalf
C) Trust only experts to solve problems
D) Face fears and try difficult tasks
Roosevelt urged courage and action despite self-doubt or fear.
2. Frederick Douglass wrote: 'Without a struggle, there can be no progress.' He believed that:
A) Real change requires effort and conflict
B) People should avoid difficult problems
C) Progress happens automatically over time
D) Struggling makes societies weaker overall
Douglass taught that meaningful change demands persistent hard work.
3. Comparing King's marches, Thurgood Marshall's court cases, and Stowe's novel, which statement is most accurate?
A) Only courts can produce real social change
B) Writing is always more powerful than protest
C) Different methods together advanced civil rights
D) Marches fail without celebrity participation
Combining tactics brought stronger pressure for civil rights advances.
4. Susan B. Anthony's legal challenge differed from King's marches because Anthony's method:
A) Required thousands of marchers to succeed
B) Used courts and laws to challenge unfairness
C) Avoided publicity and stayed private
D) Was based entirely on religious teachings
Legal challenges work through courts; marches work through public pressure.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. Frederick Douglass escaped slavery and became a powerful abolitionist writer and speaker.
Douglass used his own story to expose slavery's cruelty to readers.
2. Thurgood Marshall argued Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme Court.
His legal victory ended legal school segregation across America.
3. Eleanor Roosevelt was nicknamed First Lady of the World for her global rights work.
She championed human rights at the United Nations after 1945.
4. Peaceful protest, legal action, and writing are three methods of advocacy for change.
Reformers choose methods matching their talents and target audiences.
5. Frederick Douglass published an autobiography titled Narrative of the Life of a Slave in 1845.
His memoir became a bestseller that turned many readers against slavery.