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"War Woman" of the Cherokee

by Emily Herring Wilson
Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian, Spring 1994.
Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC Museum of History

Children born to Cherokee parents in what is now North Carolina before the Cherokee had any contact with European settlers would have been a members of their mother's clan. Property belonged to the women. They had a great deal of freedom in choosing their partners and in managing their families. Some women even spoke in meetings and helped decide tribal matters, including whether to go to war.

The Cherokee had a matrilineal society, which means that everyone traced kinship through the mother's side of the family. Indian life was also matrilocal, which means that families lived in the woman's house. After marriage, a husband moved in with his new wife.

When British explorers began to settle in the New World, they introduced a different model for society-one that was patriarchal, or dominated by men. By the beginning of the 1700s, Indian life had been so dramatically altered by white control that the role of Indian men and women within their own villages was changed forever.

Nanye'hi upheld her native culture in some ways and in other ways, adapted to the new. Nanye'hi's own people called her War Woman and, later, Beloved Woman because of her leadership within the Cherokee Nation. She was also highly regarded by white scouts, hunters, and government agents, who valued her friendship and advice. They called her "the famous Indian woman Nancy Ward."

Nanye'hi was born around 1738 in the Cherokee town of Chota on the Little Tennessee River. Her mother's brother was the famous Attakullakulla. He was called the Little Carpenter because he was good at putting together treaties. Before Nanye'hi was born, Attakullakulla had gone with several Cherokee chiefs to England, where they had met the king. When Nanye'hi was a little girl, she likely heard stories about her uncle. Perhaps she was influenced in this way to become a friend of the new settlers.

Nanye'hi's childhood was spent in a very confusing time. There were many different kinds of conflicts going on. Indian tribes often went to war against each other, as they had throughout their history. Also, France and England fought each other for control of North America in the French and Indian War (1754-1763). Later, the American colonies fought the English in the American Revolution (1775-1783). Many Cherokee favored the British, but Nanye'hi took the side of the colonists.

When Nanye'hi was in her teens, she married Kingfisher, and they had two children- Fivekiller and Catherine. Kingfisher was a member of the Deer clan, but the children became members of their mother's Wolf clan. When the children were small, Nanye'hi must have lived like many other Cherokee women-tending her own small garden, working in the community fields, preparing food for her family, and participating in village life. Nanye'hi's life changed dramatically when she joined Kingfisher in a war party to fight the Creek Indians in Georgia. She was probably along to help prepare food for the warriors, but when the battle began, Kingfisher was killed. Nanye'hi seized his gun and helped defeat the Creek Indians. The Cherokee recognized Nanye'hi for her bravery in battle and called her War Woman. This title meant that she could speak in council meetings and had the power to decide the fate of prisoners.

When Nanye'hi later married a white trader named Bryant Ward, she became known as Nancy Ward. They had a daughter, Elizabeth. Their marriage lasted only a few years because he joined his family again. But Nanye'hi was later an honored visitor in his home.

Learning so much about the European settlers must have helped her to understand and accept them. On several occasions she warned settlements about Indian attacks. She once saved a white woman from being burned alive by Indian warriors who were angry that European settlers had broken treaties and taken Indian land. In return for Nanye'hi's help, the settlers treated her as their special friend.

Because of the settlers' success in claiming land as their own and because of the weapons they had available to defend it, Nanye'hi must have decided that the only way to preserve any of the Indians' way of life was to make peace with the settlers. At the same time, she did not want the Cherokee to give up any more of their land. She asked that the Cherokee and the settlers establish "a chain of friendship."

Nanye'hi, called Beloved Woman by the Cherokee in her later years, died in 1822. In the next decade, most of the Cherokee were forced to leave North Carolina on the Trail of Tears to move to government lands in the West. Some were allowed to remain in the western mountains of North Carolina, where their descendants live today as members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Image credit:
Catlin, George. "Nanyehi." Online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nanyehi.jpg.
Additional resources:
Resources in libraries [via WorldCat]

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Ward, Nancy (from Tar Heel Junior Historian)

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"War Woman" of the Cherokee by Emily Herring Wilson Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian, Spring 1994. Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC Museum of History Children born to Cherokee parents in what is now North Carolina before the Cherokee had any contact with European settlers would have been a members of their mother's clan.

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Ida B. Wells was born into slavery in Mississippi on July 16, 1862, less than a year before the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 freed enslaved people. After moving to Tennessee when she was about 20, Wells began writing for Black newspapers, speaking out against segregated schools-which which forced Black children to go to separate schools-and other forms of discrimination in the southern states. But after a friend was killed by a mob of white people, Wells knew more had to be done.

For several months she travelled throughout the South, interviewing people and investigating records about similar attacks. Then she wrote and published the articles in a Tennessee newspaper that she co-owned. The articles told the truth about what was happening to Black people, but the stories made people angry. Some stormed her office and destroyed her press. Eventually Wells had to leave the South forever.

That dangerous experience didn't stop Wells from writing. After moving to New York City and then Chicago, she continued to report about discrimination against Black people, and her articles were read by people across the country. Using reporting methods that are still used today, she exposed conditions that African Americans were forced to live under. She died on March 25, 1931, but still inspires people to fight for change.

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Ida B. Wells was born into slavery in Mississippi on July 16, 1862, less than a year before the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 freed enslaved people. After moving to Tennessee when she was about 20, Wells began writing for Black newspapers, speaking out against segregated schools-which which forced Black children to go to separate schools-and other forms of discrimination in the southern states.

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Ida B. Wells
Journalist and reformer
1862-1931
Holly Springs, Mississippi

Ida B. Wells-Barnett.

Poster for dedication of the Ida B. Wells Housing Project in Chicago. From the Works Projects Administration Poster Collection, 1940, Library of Congress

U.S. Postal Service Commemorative Stamp, 1990

By Patti Carr Black

Ida Bell Wells (1862-1931), one of the most important civil rights advocates of the 19th century, was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, just before the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. She was the first child of James Wells, an apprentice carpenter, and Elizabeth Warrenton, a cook.

A wartime birth in Mississippi

When Ida was born, both of her parents were slaves who worked on the property of Spires Bolling, a building contractor. The family witnessed more than a dozen major military skirmishes during the Civil War before Confederate Mississippi surrendered in 1865 and the slaves were freed. Over 450,000 emancipated slaves in the State of Mississippi had to look for jobs. Many also had to struggle to define new relationships with former owners who needed workers.

James Wells' owner in Tippah County was also his father. Shortly before he died, James's father apprenticed his eighteen-year-old son to learn the building trades from Spires Bolling. After emancipation, Bolling invited James to continue working for him. Wells became a skilled building craftsman, helping to repair and rebuild Holly Springs after the war.

James and his wife quickly exercised the privileges of freedom. They legalized their marriage, and as their family grew they deepened their commitment to education as a way out of poverty. James Wells served on the board of trustees of the newly organized Rust College (then called Shaw University). The couple eventually had four boys and four girls.

Ida Wells later wrote, "Our job was to go to school and learn all we could."

When Ida Wells was sixteen both of her parents and her infant brother died in the Yellow Fever Epidemic of l878, a plague that killed over three hundred people in Holly Springs. Ida Wells took on the task of rearing her five remaining brothers and sisters (another brother had died earlier of spinal meningitis).

Ida get a job teaching in a rural school and with her family's savings, attended Rust College. Although she was expelled two years later after a confrontation with the school president, she continued to teach in local schools for three years.

A teacher in Tennessee

When her brothers were settled into apprenticeships in carpentry, Ida took her sisters and moved to Memphis to live with her aunt. While she waited to take the examination for teaching in the public schools of Memphis, she accepted a job in Woodstock, a rural community outside Memphis.

An important incident occurred on a train trip from Memphis to Woodstock. This dramatic event showed the different path her life would take.

Some eighty years before Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, twenty-two-year-old Wells refused to move out of her train seat for which she had paid. She had bought a ticket for the first-class ladies' car and refused the conductor's order to move to the smoker car. The authorities forcibly removed her from the train.

Backed by the Civil Rights Act of 1875, she filed and won a lawsuit against the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in 1887. She was awarded $500 damage, but the Tennessee Supreme Court shortly reversed the victory. Frustrated, she began writing political columns in church newspapers. Having secured a job in the Memphis public schools, she saved her money and became part owner of a small newspaper called Free Speech and Headlight in Memphis.

In 1891 she was dismissed from the Memphis school system for a strong article she wrote pointing out unequal funding of the black schools by the board of education.

For the rest of her life she would be an outspoken and courageous voice for civil rights, fighting educational inequities, lynching, and segregation, and supporting economic boycotts and women's rights.

Political journalist to the world

A violent episode close to home intensified her attention on the problem of violence toward blacks. Three of her friends in Memphis were lynched in 1892. They had defended their small grocery store against whites who attempted to put them out of business. When a deputy sheriff was killed by one of the three men, all were arrested and subsequently dragged from the jail by a mob and lynched.

The incident galvanized the black community and fired Wells's determination to fight back. Her newspaper office was destroyed because of her hard-hitting investigations. She advised her readers to abandon Memphis, and she moved to New York City. She joined the staff of the New York Age and continued to write exposés of lynchings in the South. She lectured in Europe for a time, and in 1893 she moved to Chicago.

Civil rights campaign in Chicago

In Chicago, Ida Wells first attacked the exclusion of black people from the Chicago World's Fair, writing a pamphlet sponsored by Frederick Douglas and others. She continued her anti-lynching campaign and began to work tirelessly against segregation and for women's suffrage. She helped block the establishment of segregated schools in Chicago.

In 1895 in Chicago, she married attorney Ferdinand Lee Barnett who founded and edited the Chicago Conservator, the city's first black newspaper. The couple had three children. Although Ida Wells-Barnett tried to retire from public life to raise her children, she soon returned to her campaign for equal rights. In 1906 she joined with William E. B. Dubois to promote the Niagara Movement, a group which advocated full civil rights for blacks. In 1909, Wells-Barnett helped form the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

She never obtained a position of leadership within the NAACP, perhaps because she opposed Booker T. Washington's moderate position that blacks focus on economic gains rather than social and political equality with whites. Or perhaps it was because at this time women did not have such power. She founded the Alpha Suffrage Club of Chicago, the first black suffrage organization in 1913, and from l913-1916 worked as a probation officer in Chicago. The poet Langston Hughes said her activities in the field of social work laid the groundwork for the Urban League.

When she was sixty-eight, she ran for the Illinois legislature, one of the first black women in the nation to run for public office. A year later, in 1931, she died at the age of sixty-nine.

The Ida B. Wells legacy

Writings published in her lifetime include Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases (1893), The Reason Why the Colored American is Not in the World's Columbian Exposition (1893), A Red Record (1895), Mob Rule in New Orleans (1900), and numerous newspaper articles. She wrote an autobiography which was published nearly forty years after her death. Crusade for Justice: the Autobiography of Ida B. Wells (1970) was edited by her daughter, Alfreda M. Duster.

Her influence today is apparent. In 1941 the Chicago Housing Authority opened the Ida B. Wells Housing Project. High schools have been named for her from San Francisco, California, all across the United States to Jamaica, New York. A prestigious award for promoting blacks in journalism is named the Ida B. Wells Award. She was honored by the nation with the Ida B. Wells Commemorative Stamp issued in 1990. She was the subject of a prize-winning video, "Ida B. Wells: a Passion for Justice" produced by William Greaves in 1989.

In 1998, she was the subject of a new biography, To Keep the Waters Troubled: the Life of Ida B. Wells by Linda McMurry (New York, Oxford University Press). The Spires Bolling house in Holly Springs where she was born is now the Ida B. Wells-Barnett Family Art Gallery and open to the public.
Patti Carr Black, former director of the Old Capitol Museum, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, has written and edited numerous books.
Posted February 2001

Bibliography

Duster, Alfreda, ed. The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1970.)

McMurry, Linda, To Keep the Waters Troubled: the Life of Ida B. Wells (N.Y., Oxford University Press, 1998).

Royser, J. J. ed., Southern Horrors and Other Writings (Boston, St. Martin Press, 1997)

Smith, J. ed., Notable American Black Women (Detroit, Gale Research, 1992)

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Ida B. Wells: A Courageous Voice for Civil Rights

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Ida B. Wells Journalist and reformer 1862-1931 Holly Springs, Mississippi Ida B. Wells-Barnett. Poster for dedication of the Ida B. Wells Housing Project in Chicago. From the Works Projects Administration Poster Collection, 1940, Library of Congress U.S.

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Born: July 16, 1862 in Holly Springs, Mississippi, United States

Died: March 25, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Other Names: Wells-Barnett, Ida B.; Wells-Barnett, Ida Bell; Wells-Barnett, Ida; Wells, Ida Bell; Iola; Barnett, Ida B. Wells

"There is only one thing left that we can do; save our money and leave a town which will neither protect our lives and property, nor give us a fair trial in the courts, but take us out and murder us in cold blood when accused by a white person."

Ida B. Wells-Barnett was born into slavery, grew up during Reconstruction, and spent her adult life fighting racism. She was noted for her fiery columns in Free Speech and the New York Age. She also lectured on America's inhumanity to blacks, was a founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), helped lay the groundwork for the National Association of Colored Women, and played a key role in many other black rights organizations.

Ida Bell Wells-Barnett was born a slave on July 16, 1862, in Holly Springs, Mississippi, to James and Elizabeth Wells. With the Emancipation Proclamation signed six months later, Wells-Barnett and her four brothers and four sisters were raised in freedom. She attended Rust College, a freedmen's high school and industrial school. After her parents died in 1878 from yellow fever, Wells-Barnett was responsible for the family. She passed the teachers' examination and taught for a short time in the rural district of Holly Springs, earning twenty-five dollars a month.

In the 1880s Wells-Barnett moved the family to Memphis, Tennessee, so she could be closer to her father's sister, Fannie Butler, and to find a higher-paying teaching job. She taught at a rural school in Woodstock, just outside the city, while preparing for the teachers' examinations for the Memphis black public schools.

In May 1884 Wells-Barnett purchased a first-class ticket on a local Memphis-to-Woodstock line operated by the Chesapeake, Ohio, and Southwestern Railroad Company. After she took her seat in the ladies' coach, she was asked by the conductor to move to the forward car, which was a smoker. She refused, got off the train, returned to Memphis, and filed suit against the railway company for refusing to provide her with first-class seating. In December 1884 the Memphis circuit court ruled in her favor and fined the company $300. Wells-Barnett was awarded $500 in personal damages. The company appealed the decision to the Tennessee Supreme Court, which, on April 5, 1987, reversed the earlier decision on the grounds that the company had satisfied the statutory requirements to provide "like accommodations."

From 1884 to 1891 Wells-Barnett taught in Memphis city schools. She spent Friday afternoons with other teachers at the Memphis Vance Street Christian Church reading essays and discussing literature. The meetings closed with the reading of the Evening Star, an internal publication that was prepared and read by the editor. Wells-Barnett eventually became editor, and her writing came to the attention of Reverend R.N. Countee, pastor of the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church. He asked her to write for the Living Way, a religious weekly. She soon began writing regularly for the black press throughout the country. At the 1889 meeting of the Colored Press Association in Washington, D.C., she was elected secretary. Later that year she was invited to become editor and partner in the Free Speech and Headlight, a militant journal owned by the Reverend Taylor Nightingale, pastor of the Beale Street Baptist Church, and J.L. Fleming.

Wells-Barnett became known for her scathing opinions. She wrote an editorial that criticized the Memphis Board of Education for its unequal distribution of resources between black and white schools. The board fired her in 1891, so she devoted all of her time to the paper. She shortened its name to Free Speech and worked hard to increase its circulation. In less than a year, circulation jumped by 38 percent.

In May 1892 Wells-Barnett went to Philadelphia to attend the African Methodist Episcopal church convention. Shortly before she left, she wrote an editorial to be printed in Free Speech about the lynching of eight blacks. Wells-Barnett questioned the excuses whites used for executing blacks without due process of the law. She declared: "Nobody in this section of the country believes the old thread-bare lies that Negro men rape white women. If Southern men are not careful they will overreach themselves and public sentiment will have a reaction; a conclusion will be reached which will be very damaging to the moral reputation of their women."

Other newspapers in the city protested that the editorial, which they falsely credited to J.L. Fleming, had gone too far. A group of leading white citizens met and voted to send a committee to warn the proprietors of Free Speech to never publish such comments again. Neither Wells-Barnett or Fleming were there to meet the delegation. On May 27, 1892, the Free Speech offices and presses were destroyed and Wells-Barnett was warned not to return to Memphis.

Wells-Barnett exchanged the circulation list of the Free Speech for a quarter interest in the New York Age. She became a columnist, and on June 7, 1892, the paper published a full page about lynching and debunked the myth that white men in Memphis intended to shield white women from rape. Ten thousand copies were sold across the country, including 1,000 in Memphis. This report became the basis for two booklets, Southern Horrors, published in 1892, and A Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States, 1892, 1893, and 1894, that was published in 1895.

Wanting to do more than just write about these problems, Wells-Barnett began lecturing throughout the Northeast. In 1893 she was invited to speak in England, Scotland, and Wales. While overseas she learned about the endeavors of English women through their civic groups. When she returned home she advised her friends to become more involved in the community, city, and the nation through civic groups.

Later that year she worked with Frederick Douglass, Ferdinand Lee Barnett, and I. Garland Penn to produce an eighty-one page pamphlet entitled The Reason Why the Colored American Is Not in the World's Columbian Exposition: The Afro-American's Contribution to Columbian Literature.

Also in 1893 Wells-Barnett moved to Chicago to work for the Chicago Conservator, the first black newspaper in the city. She continued her interest in women's clubs and organized Chicago's first civic club for black women, which was later named in her honor. She also lectured in England and in the northern and western United States.

On June 27, 1895, Wells-Barnett married Ferdinand L. Barnett, a black attorney and editor and founder of the Chicago Conservator. They had four children. The marriage did not lessen her activities. In 1898 she was a member of a delegation that called on President William McKinley to seek redress in the case of a black postmaster lynched in South Carolina. She was also active in the Afro-American Council and served as secretary until 1902.

In 1909 Wells-Barnett was one of two women-Mary Church Terrell was the other-who signed the "Call" for a conference on blacks, which came after three days of racial violence in Springfield, Illinois, in August 1908. The conference convened on May 31, 1909, in New York City and led to the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She delivered one of the major speeches and was placed on the executive committee. Wells-Barnett also encouraged black men to register for the vote. She worked in the women's suffrage movement, and on January 30, 1913, she founded the Alpha Suffrage Club of Chicago, the first black suffrage organization. When the National Association of Colored Women met in Chicago in 1924, Wells-Barnett ran for president but lost to Mary McLeod Bethune. Six years later she was an independent candidate for state senator but was handily defeated.

On March 21, 1931, Wells-Barnett became ill and was rushed to Chicago's Daily Hospital on March 23. She died two days later and was buried in Chicago's Oakwood Cemetery.

FURTHER READINGS:

Davidson, Sue, Getting the Real Story, Seal Press-Feminist, 1992.

Essence, February 1988, pp. 75-79.

Klots, Steve, Ida Wells-Barnett, Chelsea House, 1994.

Lisandrelli, Elaine Slivinski, Ida B. Wells-Barnett: Crusader against Lynching, Enslow, 1998.

McMurry, Linda O., To Keep the Waters Troubled: The Life of Ida B. Wells, Agitator, Oxford University Press, 1998.

Selected Works of Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Oxford University Press, 1991.

Thompson, Mildred, Ida B. Wells-Barnett: An Exploratory Study of an American Black Woman, 1893-1930, Carlson Publishing Co., 1990.

Van Steenwyck, Elizabeth, Ida B. Wells-Barnett: Woman of Courage, Franklin Watts, 1992.

Wells-Barnett, Ida B., Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells, edited by Alfreda M. Duster, University of Chicago Press, 1970.

Source Citation

Gale Document Number: GALE|EJ2108102390

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Born: November 12, 1815 in Johnstown, New York, United States

Died: October 26, 1902 in New York, New York, United States

Other Names: Stanton, E. Cady

Elizabeth Cady Stanton sought to change not only the legal status of women but the way society viewed the very role of women.

In the years before the Civil War, American women did not exist according to the laws of many states. They could not inherit property, sign contracts, or bring a lawsuit to court. They did not have the right to vote, to hold public office, or to be tried in a court before a jury of their peers. Under the law, a woman was not protected from an abusive husband and any money she earned and any children she bore belonged to her husband. Because women were considered morally superior to men, one of the very few vocations open to them was motherhood. A few daring women, however, began calling for greater opportunities. In 1848, in Seneca Falls, New York, a group of these women gathered to draw attention to their plight and to work for change. This meeting launched the women's rights movement in the United States, and its leader was Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Stanton was born on November 12, 1815, into an affluent family in Johnstown in upstate New York. Her parents, Daniel and Mary Livingston Cady, preferred boys, and one of Stanton's earliest memories was of her parents' disappointment on the birth of her younger sister. While growing up, Stanton tried to copy her brothers' academic achievements. She attended Johnstown Academy and studied Greek and mathematics. She also learned to ride and manage a horse and became a skilled debater. After she graduated in 1830, she convinced her father to allow her to attend the Troy Female Seminary in New York. It was one of the first women's academies to offer an advanced education equal to that of male academies. Here she studied logic, physiology, and natural rights philosophy (which holds that all members of society have certain basic rights, such as life, liberty, and the ownership of property).

Seeks to end discrimination

Stanton's father was a judge and lawyer, and after she returned from the academy in 1833, she read law in his office and watched how he handled his cases. Seeing firsthand how women suffered legal discrimination, she resolved to change the laws. She also became involved at this time with the abolitionist (antislavery) movement and was exposed to progressive-thinking reformers. One of these was the journalist Henry Stanton, whom she married in 1840 against her father's wishes.

Stanton traveled with her husband to London to attend the World Anti-Slavery Convention in June 1840. Here Stanton met Lucretia Mott, who was to become her close friend and intellectual mentor. When the convention refused to recognize women as legitimate delegates, Stanton and Mott were humiliated and angered. They resolved to call together a women's rights convention after they returned to America.

Begins association with Susan B. Anthony

Eight years later, in Seneca Falls, New York, they carried through with their plan. On July 19, 1848, five women met to "discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of women." Stanton, acting as leader, wrote the meeting's manifesto, the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments. It included a women's bill of rights and listed demands for social equality, including women's suffrage (the right to vote). Public response to the declaration was highly critical, but soon other women met and began petitioning for suffrage. In 1851 Stanton met Susan B. Anthony, whose organizing abilities complemented Stanton's more philosophical focus. Their lifelong association did much for the advancement of women's rights.

The women's movement still remained within the larger antislavery movement, and when slavery came to an end, so did abolitionist support for women's rights. This betrayal led Stanton and Anthony in 1868 to create the independent National Woman Suffrage Association with Stanton as president. That same year, Stanton began publishing the Revolution, a women's rights newspaper. She refused to focus on suffrage alone, believing it was only a part of a greater program of social, economic, and political reform. Stanton sought to change not only the legal status of women but the way society viewed the very role of women. Her ideas were progressive. She protested the sexual abuse of women and championed the idea of husbands and wives equally caring for their children. She also lobbied to have men and women educated together.

Documents the fight for women's rights

In 1881 Stanton and Anthony published the first volume of the History of Woman Suffrage, a collection of writings about the movement's struggle. Two more volumes were published in the next five years. While many women's organizations had sprung up by this time, they differed in their opinions and approach. Many called only for moral reforms in society, not women's suffrage. To better achieve their goals, Stanton and Anthony united the two major women's groups into the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1890.

Although Stanton was elected the first president, her radical stance on religion threatened to break the association apart. She believed organized religion promoted superstition and hostility to women. In 1895 she published The Woman's Bible, a study of sexism in the Old Testament. A storm of protest arose and many of Stanton's colleagues condemned her. By the time she died in New York City on October 26, 1902, she was no longer the movement's leader. The Nineteenth Amendment, adopted by Congress in 1920, finally gave women the right to vote, but it did little to alter their lives. Change began only when Stanton's far-reaching ideas of equality were finally recognized in the last half of the twentieth century.

FURTHER READINGS:

Banner, Lois, Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Radical for Women's Rights, Little, Brown, 1980.

Clarke, Mary Stetson, Bloomers and Ballots: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Women's Rights, Viking, 1972.

Connell, Kate, They Shall Be Heard: Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1993.

Griffith, Elizabeth, In Her Own Right: The Life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Oxford University Press, 1984.

Oakley, Mary Ann B., Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Feminist Press, 1972.

Stanton, Theodore, and Harriot Stanton Blatch, eds., Elizabeth Cady Stanton: As Revealed in Her Letters, Diary and Reminiscences, Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1922.

Source Citation

Gale Document Number: GALE|EJ2108102158

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Article Reading Levels Level 3 Document controls Citation metadata Born: November 12, 1815 in Johnstown, New York, United States Died: October 26, 1902 in New York, New York, United States Other Names: Stanton, E. Cady Elizabeth Cady Stanton sought to change not only the legal status of women but the way society viewed the very role of women.

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Elizabeth Cady Stanton | Orator, Author, and Activist Video | PBS LearningMedia

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Powerful orator and author Elizabeth Cady Stanton, along with Susan B. Anthony, co-founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, an organization dedicated to obtaining equal rights for women. Stanton's ideas about religion, divorce, and labor were radical for her time.

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Elizabeth Cady Stanton (November 12, 1815-October 26, 1902) was a writer, a proponent for women's rights and an anti-slavery crusader. One of Stanton's major causes was suffrage, the right of women to vote.

Elizabeth Cady was born in Johnstown, New York. In 1840, Elizabeth married Henry Brewster Stanton, a lawyer and abolitionist (anti-slavery activist). They eventually had seven children. At the time, women were not allowed to vote, married women were not allowed to own property (all their property belonged solely to their husband), and women were not given the same educational opportunities and legal rights as men. Men were even legally allowed to beat their wives.

Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and others organized the first national women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in July, 1848. After meeting Susan B. Anthony in 1851, the two women became close friends and collaborated in working for social and legal equality for women, and other causes, including temperance (the outlawing of alcoholic drinks). In 1868, Stanton started publishing the women's rights newspaper called "Revolution." Stanton, Anthony, and Matilda Joslyn Gage later wrote the "History of Woman Suffrage" (1881-85).

Although Stanton faced opposition from many people throughout her life, especially on her radical proposal that women should be allowed to vote, she worked her entire life trying to obtain rights for women. In 1920, long after Stanton's death, Congress adopted the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, giving women the right to vote.

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Advertisement. EnchantedLearning.com is a user-supported site. As a bonus, site members have access to a banner-ad-free version of the site, with print-friendly pages. Click here to learn more. Elizabeth Cady Stanton (November 12, 1815-October 26, 1902) was a writer, a proponent for women's rights and an anti-slavery crusader.

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Rachel Carson was born on May 27, 1907, in Springdale, Pennsylvania. She is best known for her courage in standing up to companies that were spreading pesticides on the Earth. These harmful chemicals were meant to kill weeds, insects, and rodents but were, in fact, harming the Earth's wildlife.

As an only child, Rachel spent most of her time playing alone and exploring her family's farm in Pennsylvania. It is here that she discovered her love for wildlife and nature. She dreamed of one day living by the sea and studying the animals and plants that lived in and near it.

When she reached school age, she became interested in a monthly magazine called St. Nicholas. It was full of interesting stories, poems, and articles. However, Rachel's favorite section was written entirely by children and teenagers. It was this section that inspired her to begin writing and to submit her own story for publication. In September of 1918, Rachel's article, "A Battle in the Clouds," was selected as a silver badge winner. It was then that Rachel knew she could be a real writer.

Rachel was determined to get into college, even though there were few women in American colleges and universities at the time. Although Rachel was poor, her family sold some of their farmland and the Pennsylvania College for Women gave her a scholarship to attend their school.

In 1925, Rachel entered college as an English major. She wrote for the student magazine and was a reporter for the school newspaper. Although she had majored in English, she had to take other college courses. One such class was biology, the study of plants and animals. This quickly became another passion of hers. She was excited by the class trips to the local state parks and thrilled with the experiments that they conducted in the lab. Rachel was faced with a problem: continue her time in college as a writer or switch majors to biology.

In the 1930s, only men were scientists, but Rachel had her mind made up. She took the civil service test to work as a marine biologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Finally in 1935, Rachel was offered a job after she scored higher than all other applicants (including the men!). After all those years, Rachel was finally going to be a real biologist!

Part of Rachel's new job was writing about the fish that she studied. Rachel hated being indoors but she enjoyed writing about her passion. In fact, she was so good at writing that her boss encouraged her to write books. In 1941, her first book, Under the Sea Wind. was published. It described how everything that lived by the sea, from the fish to the birds, was connected. It was a whole new way to think about the world.

Rachel went on to write other books about how everything on Earth was connected to the environment. It wasn't until Rachel was a famous speaker and author for many years that she found the project that would define her life. In the 1950s, Rachel became aware of chemical companies that were spraying an insect repellent, called DDT, over the yards and farms of the world. Rachel was worried. She knew the poisons were killing innocent animals and contaminating the soil and the sea. The companies were rich and powerful, but Rachel knew what she had to do.

In 1962, she published her shocking book, Silent Spring. This caused a great discussion between the chemical companies and scientists. The chemical companies denied their pesticides were harmful and tried to discredit the science behind Rachel's work. President John F. Kennedy asked for a special report from the top scientists in the world detailing whether or not the chemical was indeed harmful to the environment. When the report came out, it found that Rachel was right. Congress passed several new laws to protect the environment. Rachel's hard work had paid off!

Rachel Carson will always be remembered for her passion for protecting the Earth. Her writings taught us that every living thing is dependent upon each other and that one woman could actually change the way people look at the world.

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Rachel Carson was born on May 27, 1907, in Springdale, Pennsylvania. She is best known for her courage in standing up to companies that were spreading pesticides on the Earth. These harmful chemicals were meant to kill weeds, insects, and rodents but were, in fact, harming the Earth's wildlife.

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Rachel Carson

Born: May 27, 1907
Died: April 14, 1964

Rachel Carson was a trained biologist and a best-selling author. In her writing, Carson presented scientific facts from an ecological perspective in a poetic writing style. She made science interesting and understandable to regular people. She was best known for her books Silent Spring and The Sea Around Us. Her writing about ecology and the dangers of pesticides was essential to the start of the environmental movement.

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Rachel Carson Born: May 27, 1907 Died: April 14, 1964 Rachel Carson was a trained biologist and a best-selling author. In her writing, Carson presented scientific facts from an ecological perspective in a poetic writing style. She made science interesting and understandable to regular people.

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Born: May 27, 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania, United States

Died: April 14, 1964 in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States

Other Names: Carson, Rachel Louise; Carson, Rachel L.

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Rachel Carson grew up on her family's large farm, where she learned about nature.

Carson became an environmentalist, a person who helps the environment.

She became worried about pesticides. These are chemicals sprayed on crops.

She wrote the book Silent Spring to warn people about the dangers of pesticides.

Rachel Carson was an environmentalist. This is a person who works to help the environment. Carson wrote a book called Silent Spring. It is about the dangers of pesticides. These are chemicals used to kill pests that destroy crops. These pests include insects and weeds. Pesticides harm the environment.

Early Life

Rachel Carson was born on May 27, 1907, in Springdale, Pennsylvania. She was the youngest of three children. Her parents were Robert and Maria McLean. Carson grew up on a large farm, where she learned about nature and animals from her mother.

Carson enjoyed reading and writing. She published her first story in a children's magazine when she was only ten years old.

Carson went to college and graduated in 1929. Then she received a master's degree in zoology in 1932. A master's degree is an advanced degree.

In 1932, her father died and she needed to earn more money to help support her family. She was hired by the US Bureau of Fisheries. She wrote materials for the public. She stayed there for 15 years. She became the editor in chief for all publications.

Silent Springs

Carson also wrote books. She wrote some about the sea. They included Under the Sea Wind (1941) and The Sea Around Us (1951). She won a National Book Award. This is an important prize.

Carson worried about pesticides. Farmers sprayed them on crops to kill pests. Pesticides hurt wildlife. They caused many bird species to become extinct. An extinct species is gone forever.

Pesticides can hurt people, too. They can cause cancer, a serious illness.

Carson wrote about pesticides in her book Silent Spring (1962). Many people read her book. Carson also fought the industries that make pesticides. She wanted them to admit that the pesticides were dangerous.

Chemical companies spread lies about Carson. They did not want people to believe her. People did believe her, however, and Carson received many awards for her work. She received a medal from the National Audubon Society, an organization that works to protect birds.

Carson became ill with breast cancer. She died in 1964, two years after Silent Spring was published. Carson continued to win awards after her death. One of them was the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In Carson's Time

1902: The first movie theater opens.

1908: The ball is dropped in Times Square in New York City for the first time.

1910: The Boy Scouts of America is founded.

1928: Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly over the Atlantic Ocean.

1955: Disneyland opens in California.

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Family: Parents: Robert and Maria Carson; never married. Education: Education: Graduated from the Pennsylvania College for Women in 1929; earned master's degree in zoology from Johns Hopkins in 1932.

Source Citation

Gale Document Number: GALE|HITAAU346507786

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Document controls Citation metadata Born: May 27, 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania, United States Died: April 14, 1964 in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States Other Names: Carson, Rachel Louise; Carson, Rachel L. Sidebar: Hide Show Rachel Carson grew up on her family's large farm, where she learned about nature.

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Born: September 06, 1860 in Cedarville, Illinois, United States

Died: May 21, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Other Names: Addams, Laura Jane

Jane Addams was one of the first people in America who sought to improve the lives of these desperate poor.

The Industrial Revolution took place in America in the years immediately following the Civil War. The boom of machines and manufacturing required a cheap and plentiful labor force around the same time millions of Europeans swarmed into American cities. By 1890, 80 percent of the people living in Chicago were immigrants or children of immigrants. Most cities, however, did not have the resources to handle such a rapid growth of people. Many immigrants were forced to settle in slums, living lives of poverty and hopelessness. Problems were only worsened by the fact that several different ethnic groups were huddled into one area.

Jane Addams was one of the first people in America who sought to improve the lives of these desperate poor. In Chicago she founded a settlement house (community center) called Hull House. Her work toward social improvements in Chicago, coupled with the work of other reformers, marked the beginning of the Progressive movement in America. Reaching its height in the early twentieth century, this movement sought to overcome the often dehumanizing effects of rapid industrialization through a variety of political, economic, and social reforms. Later in her life, Addams focused her energies on international problems, becoming a dedicated leader in the peace movement.

Addams was born in Cedarville, Illinois, on September 6, 1860, only seven months before the start of the Civil War. Her mother died when she was two years old, and Addams was raised by her father, John Huy Addams. A successful businessman and politician, John Addams helped build Cedarville into a thriving community. He passed on to his daughter his belief in the ideals of hard work, achievement, democracy, and equality. He also imparted to Jane a high moral sense of responsibility and purpose, traits of his Quaker faith.

Jane Addams was torn because of these teachings. She had learned that it was essential to do something important with her life, yet she grew up in a society that gave women the single role of homemaker. Even though her father encouraged her education, he believed its purpose was to make her a better wife and mother. Addams, however, desired more and enrolled in nearby Rockford College beginning in 1877. Upon her graduation in 1881, she planned to attend Women's Medical College in Philadelphia and, later, to work as a doctor among the poor.

European trip gives her insight

These plans went awry when a mysterious illness struck Addams. An unknown back ailment forced her to drop out of Women's Medical College at the end of her first year. She underwent an operation and was confined to bed for six months. After recovering her health, she went to Europe to figure out what to do with her life. In her travels through European cities, Addams was deeply moved after seeing the dismal conditions in which the poor lived. Her visit to Toynbee Hall in England opened her eyes to what could be done to help these people. Founded by Samuel Barnett in 1884, Toynbee Hall was the very first community center established to tackle the problems of poverty in the cities.

Addams returned to America determined to achieve similar improvements. On September 8, 1889, she opened Hull House on Halsted Street in the middle of Chicago's worst immigrant slum. By living at the center, Addams and her fellow reformers believed they could better understand the problems of the poor. Hull House offered the people of the surrounding neighborhood hot lunches, child care services, tutoring in English, and parties. Addams tried to develop the idea of a neighborhood spirit. She encouraged the immigrants to work together to do what they could to improve the conditions of their neighborhood. Addams also petitioned the city government to pave better streets and to build public baths, parks, and playgrounds.

Seeks reform on a national stage

Local activities to improve social conditions soon spread to state and national levels. Community centers sprang up across America. Hull House became a meeting place for intellectuals and reformers like the physician Alice Hamilton and the philosopher and educator John Dewey. Investigations into every social problem took place at Hull House. National campaigns were developed for issues such as women's suffrage (the right to vote) and labor rights of women and children. Addams gave lectures and wrote articles and books detailing the work performed at the center. Her book Twenty Years at Hull-House, published in 1910, did much to promote her work. In 1911 the National Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers was established with Addams serving as its first president.

Addams spent her life working to overcome social inequalities. When World War I began in 1914, she became an outspoken member of the pacifist (peace) movement. The following year she joined other peace-minded women in forming the Women's Peace Party. The party sought a peaceful end to the war and worked to establish a permanent international peacekeeping organization. National pride was high both during and after the war, and pacifists were criticized for their activities. Remaining firm in her beliefs, Addams helped organize the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. She served as its president until her death. For her dedicated work toward peace, Addams was awarded (along with fellow activist Nicholas Murray Butler) the Noble Peace Prize in 1931. Four year later, on May 21, 1935, she died of cancer in Chicago.

FURTHER READINGS:

Davis, Allen F., American Heroine: The Life and Legend of Jane Addams, Oxford University Press, 1973.

Lasch, Christopher, ed., The Social Thought of Jane Addams, Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1965.

Linn, James Weber, Jane Addams: A Biography, D. Appleton-Century Company, 1935.

McPherson, Stephanie Sammartino, Peace and Bread: The Story of Jane Addams, Carolrhoda Press, 1993.

Simon, Charnan, Jane Addams: Pioneer Social Worker, Children's Press, 1997.

Tims, Margaret, Jane Addams of Hull House: A Centenary Study, Macmillan, 1961.

Wheeler, Leslie, Jane Addams, Silver Burdett Press, 1990.

Source Citation

Gale Document Number: GALE|EJ2108100020

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Article Reading Levels Level 3 Document controls Citation metadata Born: September 06, 1860 in Cedarville, Illinois, United States Died: May 21, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois, United States Other Names: Addams, Laura Jane Jane Addams was one of the first people in America who sought to improve the lives of these desperate poor.

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Jane Addams, founder of Hull House

Born: September 6, 1860
Died: May 21, 1935

Jane Addams is best known as the founder of Hull House, a place that provided aid to poor working-class families in Chicago. These centers are often called "settlement houses." Born into a wealthy family, Addams was one of a small number of women in her generation to graduate from college. Her commitment to improving the lives of those around her led to her work for social reform and world peace.

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Jane Addams, founder of Hull House Born: September 6, 1860 Died: May 21, 1935 Jane Addams is best known as the founder of Hull House, a place that provided aid to poor working-class families in Chicago. These centers are often called "settlement houses."

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Welcome to Britannica Library , it provides your patrons with access to three sites in one, with age appropriate material from the child-friendly collection through to the adult general reference collection.

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keller

Born: June 27, 1880
Died: June 1, 1968

When Helen Keller was 19 months old, she got sick and lost her sight and hearing. Her accomplishments as a deaf and blind person were an inspiration to millions. She believed that "true sight and hearing are within, not without." With the help of her lifelong teacher and assistant, Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller learned to read, write, and speak. During her lifetime she graduated from college; became a best selling author; traveled around the world; met with Presidents, world leaders, celebrities, and ordinary people; and serve as an advocate for social justice and for people with disabilities.

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keller Born: June 27, 1880 Died: June 1, 1968 When Helen Keller was 19 months old, she got sick and lost her sight and hearing. Her accomplishments as a deaf and blind person were an inspiration to millions. She believed that "true sight and hearing are within, not without."

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W.E.B. Du Bois, 1868-1963

Born: February 23, 1868
Died: August 27, 1963

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was a noted scholar, editor, and African American activist. Du Bois was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP -- the largest and oldest civil rights organization in America). Throughout his life Du Bois fought discrimination and racism. He made significant contributions to debates about race, politics, and history in the United States in the first half of the 20th century, primarily through his writing and impassioned speaking on race relations. Du Bois also served as editor of The Crisis magazine and published several scholarly works on race and African American history. By the time he died, in 1963, he had written 17 books, edited four journals and played a key role in reshaping black-white relations in America.

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W.E.B. Du Bois, 1868-1963 Born: February 23, 1868 Died: August 27, 1963 William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was a noted scholar, editor, and African American activist. Du Bois was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP -- the largest and oldest civil rights organization in America).

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Born: February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, United States

Other Names: Du Bois, William Edward Burghardt

Full Text: COPYRIGHT UXL, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning

For his efforts to achieve racial equality, W. E. B. Du Bois is recognized as a pioneer of the American civil rights movement.

While growing up in Massachusetts, W. E. B. Du Bois never knew racial discrimination. His intelligence earned him the friendship and respect of his mostly white classmates. When he attended Fisk University in Tennessee in the 1880s, however, he came face to face with the South's system of racial segregation. Jim Crow laws set up rigid divisions between blacks and whites in public places. Frightened by these restrictions, Du Bois never rode a streetcar or went to a movie theater. His experiences at Fisk led him to devote his education to the study of the social problems facing African Americans. Increasing racism in America in the early twentieth century soon led him to devote his life to the struggle for African American freedom. For his efforts to achieve racial equality, Du Bois is recognized as a pioneer of the American civil rights movement.

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868, in the rural New England village of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. His mother, Mary Burghardt Du Bois, had been abandoned by her husband and was forced to raise her son alone. The young Du Bois excelled in school and helped support his family by working odd jobs-splitting wood, shoveling coal, selling tea at the local A & P store.

Earns doctorate at Harvard

Du Bois had wanted to enroll in Harvard University, but lacked the money to attend. Instead, he went to Fisk. After three years in the hostile environment there, Du Bois seized the chance to transfer to Harvard. He completed his undergraduate studies in 1888 and went on to receive his master of arts degree in 1891. He spent the following two years studying and traveling abroad. Upon his return in 1895, he obtained his doctorate from Harvard, becoming the first African American to receive that degree from the university. He spent most of the next fifteen years teaching economics and history at Atlanta University. In 1896 he married Nina Gomer, and they stayed together until her death in 1950.

Out of the classroom, Du Bois devoted his time to writing and research. In 1899 he published The Philadelphia Negro, the first study of an African American community ever undertaken. His most significant work on African American life, however, was published four years later. The Souls of Black Folk documented the abuse of African Americans since the Civil War. Although Du Bois had hoped his logical arguments would convince white Americans of the need for racial justice, the book did little to stop the rising racial violence in America. At that time, on average, one African American continued to be lynched (hanged) every other day.

Du Bois soon believed only protest could bring about change. In 1905 he founded the Niagara Movement, the first African American organization that demanded total equality. By taking this stand, the Movement openly disagreed with the policies of the influential African American leader Booker T. Washington, who called only for economic equality. In 1910, along with others, Du Bois transformed the Niagara Movement into the interracial National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

He gave up his teaching position to become editor of the NAACP journal the Crisis, a post he held for the next 24 years. His editorials shocked many people. He attacked the idea of democracy in America and urged African Americans to resort to violence if necessary to protect themselves.

Radical views upset NAACP leaders

Du Bois's concern for black freedom soon extended beyond America. In 1919 in Paris, France, he helped organize the first of several Pan-African Congresses. This congress adopted resolutions calling for the independence of former German colonies in Africa and for the humane treatment of all Africans. When the rest of the world paid little attention to these resolutions, Du Bois returned to America more determined to fight for his cause. His writings in the Crisis became more radical. He promoted the idea that African Americans could achieve freedom only by having separate economic, social, and political organizations. Because of his controversial beliefs, Du Bois was forced to resign as editor of the Crisis in 1934.

Du Bois returned to Atlanta University to teach for ten years. During the latter 1930s, he urged African Americans to support democratic movements that would gain Africans independence throughout the world. By the mid-1940s, however, Du Bois began supporting policies of the communist Soviet Union. In 1949 he attended a peace conference in Moscow, and in 1951 he circulated a petition in America to ban nuclear weapons. He was arrested and tried by the federal government for being an agent of the Soviet Union. Although the charge against the 83-year-old Du Bois was dropped, the government continued to harass him. His books were seized and many of his speeches were canceled. His passport was confiscated in 1952 and he could not travel outside the country for six years.

When the civil rights movement grew in America in the late 1950s, many African Americans looked to Du Bois as a leader. Nonetheless, the NAACP refused to accept him because of his political views. By this time, he had come to embrace communism, which he believed stood for national freedom and peace. On October 1, 1961, he joined the United States Communist party. Four days later, at the invitation of Ghana president Kwame Nkrumah, Du Bois left to live in that west African country. He never returned to America, dying in Accra, Ghana, on August 27, 1963.

FURTHER READINGS:

Cavan, Seamus, W. E. B. Du Bois and Racial Relations, Millbrook Press, 1993.

Du Bois, W. E. B., Writings (collection includes The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade, The Souls of Black Folk, Dusk of Dawn, and essays and articles), Library Classics of the United States, 1986.

Hamilton, Virginia, W. E. B. Du Bois: A Biography, HarperCollins, 1972.

Lewis, David Levering, W. E. B. DuBois: Biography of a Race, 1868-1919, Henry Holt, 1993.

Marable, Manning, W. E. B. Du Bois: Black Radical Democrat, Hall, 1986.

McKissack, Patricia, and Fredrick McKissack, W. E. B. DuBois, Franklin Watts, 1990.

Stafford, Mark, W. E. B. Du Bois, Chelsea House, 1989.

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Born: February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, United States Other Names: Du Bois, William Edward Burghardt Full Text: COPYRIGHT UXL, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning For his efforts to achieve racial equality, W. E. B. Du Bois is recognized as a pioneer of the American civil rights movement.

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William Edward Burghardt DuBois (February 23, 1868 - August 27, 1963) was a writer, historian, leader and one of the founders of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). DuBois was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He was a gifted student who became a reporter for the New York Globe when he was 15 years old. DuBois later attended Fisk University, then transferred to Harvard University (from which he earned a bachelor's degree in 1890, a master's degree in 1891, and a Ph. D.). DuBois was the first black to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University; his thesis was titled, "The Suppression of the African Slave Trade in America."
DuBois became a teacher and later studied the state of black people in the USA and around the world. In 1903, DuBois' famous book, "The Souls of Black Folks," was published. In 1909, DuBois was instrumental in starting the NAACP and founded the NAACP's magazine, "Crisis," which he edited for 25 years. After a trip to to Russia in 1927, DuBois embraced communism as a means of obtaining the best welfare for the masses.

DuBois wrote the books "Black Reconstruction," "Dusk of Dawn," and "The World and Africa" in this late period. After working for civil rights for decades, DuBois was disappointed with the progess of civil rights in the USA, and lived in Ghana, Africa, for the last few years of his life in a self-imposed exile.

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Unable to See or Hear

Helen Adams Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, in 1880. Her father owned a cotton plantation, and he was an officer in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. She started speaking when she was six months old, and she was able to communicate with her parents. When she was 19 months old, a very high fever left Helen blind and deaf. When she was an adult, both her eyes were replaced with glass eyes for medical and cosmetic reasons.

Behavioral Problems

Martha Washington, the daughter of their family cook, was her friend while she was young. They developed a sort of sign language so they could talk to each other. Helen was bright, but unfortunately, she was also an unruly, spoiled child who disrupted family life with her temper tantrums.

Helen Meets Anne Sullivan

In 1886, Helen's mother read a story by Charles Dickens that described how another deaf-blind child named Laura Bridgman had been educated. Alexander Graham Bell taught speech to deaf students using a manual alphabet called "Visible Speech" that was invented by his father. He referred Helen and her parents to the Perkins Institution for the Blind for help. It was there where Helen met Anne Sullivan. They were together for 49 years.

Anne Earns Helen's Trust

Anne contracted an infection of the eyes called trachoma when she was seven. She was legally blind until she had an operation at age 15 that restored some of her sight. Anne learned the manual alphabet at the Perkins School. Words were signed into the palm of the hand where a deaf-blind person could feel the movement of the fingers. This skill was critical for her success in working with Helen. Anne was loving, patient, and determined. First she taught Helen to behave, then how to spell things with her hands, and then to speak. Helen learned speech by feeling the throats and mouths of others as they spoke.

Anne was able to teach Helen to understand finger spelling after she had Helen feel water coming from a pump. Helen described it like this:
"I stood still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers. Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten - a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that "w-a-t-e-r" meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free!"
Helen Learns Braille

Helen demanded to know the names of other things. That first day she learned 30 words. After six months, she knew 625. By age 10, she knew the manual alphabet, Braille (an alphabet of raised dots that people can feel), and how to use the typewriter.

Helen Graduates from Radcliffe

In 1904, Helen graduated with honors from Radcliffe College. Anne interpreted lessons and spelled out textbooks for her. Helen learned to read French, German, Greek, and Latin in Braille. Because of her accomplishments, Helen became famous. Alexander Graham Bell gave a picture of Helen and one of her letters to a newspaper. People became eager to meet Helen and Anne. Mark Twain called Anne a "miracle worker." Twain and Keller became friends. Twain introduced her to Henry H. Rogers, an oil executive, who agreed to pay Helen's expenses at Radcliffe College. Helen was the first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree.

Teachings and Legacy

Helen was an advocate for women and people with disabilities. She was in favor of women's right to vote and trade unions; she was against war, child labor, and capital punishment. Helen wrote 12 books including her autobiography, The Story of My Life. She traveled to over 40 countries to lecture on the problems of the blind and the need to prevent the causes of blindness. When she visited Akita Prefecture in Japan, she mentioned that she would like to have an akita dog. Subsequently, the Japanese government gave her an akita as a gift. This is how the akita breed became known to people in the United States. In 1920, she helped found the American Civil Liberties Union. She was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 and elected to the Women's Hall of Fame in 1965.

Helen devoted her life to helping others. She was a symbol of courage in the face of overwhelming odds. Helen died on June 1, 1968.

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Helen Adams Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, in 1880. Her father owned a cotton plantation, and he was an officer in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. She started speaking when she was six months old, and she was able to communicate with her parents.

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Born: June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, United States

Died: June 01, 1968 in Westport, Connecticut, United States

Other Names: Keller, Helen Adams

Sidebar: Hide Show

Main Ideas

Helen Keller had a high fever when she was 19 months old; it left her blind and deaf.

Keller was angry because she knew she was different from other children.

A teacher named Anne Sullivan taught her to read Braille and speak.

Keller spent the rest of her life working to help the blind and deaf.

Helen Keller inspired millions of people with her bravery. Keller was blind and deaf. Yet she learned to speak and read. She worked to make improvements in how the blind and deaf are educated and treated.

Born with Sight and Hearing

Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880, in Alabama. At 19 months of age, she became ill. She had a fever so high she fainted. The fever left her blind and deaf. Keller's world was forever changed.

Keller became deaf before she had learned to speak. Thus, she communicated with her family by using a system of signs she made up. Keller knew she was different from other children. She sometimes became frustrated and angry. She would often kick and scream until she became exhausted.

Anne Sullivan to the Rescue

Keller's parents knew their daughter needed help. They also knew they were not able to provide it. When she was six years old, Keller's father took her to see Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. Bell had developed a system that helped teach deaf people to speak. Bell told Keller's father to find a private teacher for his daughter. Anne Sullivan was that teacher.

Sullivan separated Keller from the rest of her family. She wanted Keller to learn to control herself. She wanted her to stop acting out in anger. Keller was used to her family doing everything for her. Sullivan wanted to teach her to help herself.

This was not an easy time for Sullivan or Keller. One day Keller and Sullivan were pumping water from a well. Keller realized Sullivan was spelling the word "water" into Keller's hand using a kind of sign language. At that moment, Keller understood that everything in her world had a name. She understood that every name could be spelled.

Learns to Speak

Sullivan was patient with Keller and tried to answer all her questions. Keller learned to read Braille. This is a system of writing that uses characters made of raised dots instead of letters printed on paper. The blind reader "feels" the words.

When Keller was ten, Sullivan took her to the Horace Mann School for the Deaf. Keller made great progress in learning to speak at this school. Speech is difficult for deaf people to learn. They cannot hear spoken words. So they do not know how to say the sounds out loud to others.

Keller learned English, German, and French. She attended two more schools and studied many subjects. These included history, math, and literature. Keller graduated with honors from Radcliff College in 1904.

Makes a Difference

Keller overcame her own fears and limitations. Now she wanted to educate the public about physical disabilities. She spent the rest of her life trying to improve the education and treatment of the blind, deaf, and mute. People who are mute cannot speak.

She wrote many letters. She gave speeches around the world. She raised money to improve conditions for the blind and deaf. She also worked with the blind to improve their own lives.

In 1903 Keller wrote The Story of My Life. This was the first half of her autobiography. She was 23 years old. She wrote the second half in 1929. It was called Midstream: My Later Life.

Keller and Sullivan remained friends for 49 years. Even Sullivan's marriage did not get in the way of the women's friendship. Sullivan died in 1936. Keller lived another 31 years. She died at the age of 88 in 1968.

In Keller's Day

1876: Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone.

1908: Henry Ford introduces the Model‐T automobile, one of the first cars.

1928: Penicillin is discovered to be an antibiotic.

1962: The Miracle Worker, a movie about Helen Keller, starring Patty Duke, is released.

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Family: Never married. Education: Tutored by Anne Sullivan; attended Horace Mann School for the Deaf, Wright‐Humason School for the Deaf, Cambridge School for Young Ladies; graduated from Radcliff College in 1904.

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Article Reading Levels Level 2 Document controls Citation metadata Born: June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, United States Died: June 01, 1968 in Westport, Connecticut, United States Other Names: Keller, Helen Adams Sidebar: Hide Show Helen Keller had a high fever when she was 19 months old; it left her blind and deaf.

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Helen Keller | Author, Advocate, and Activist Video | PBS LearningMedia

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Through viewing a video about Helen Keller's life, examining a 1904 photograph of Keller, and reading excerpts of her autobiography, students will learn about Helen Keller's commitment to advocating for equal treatment for people with disabilities. The lesson concludes with students choosing a quotation that best represents Keller's challenges and successes.

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Born: 1595? in Virginia, United States

Died: March 01, 1617 in Gravesend, England

Other Names: Rolfe, Rebecca; Matoaka

Pocahontas (pōkəhŏnʹtəs), c.1595-1617, Native North American woman, daughter of Chief Powhatan . Pocahontas, meaning "playful one" (her birth name was Amonute, and her family called her Matoaka), used to visit the English in Virginia at Jamestown. According to the famous story, she saved the life of the captured Capt. John Smith just as he was about to have his head smashed at the direction of Powhatan, an account that is questioned by scholars and present-day members of her tribe. In 1613, Pocahontas was captured by Capt. Samuel Argall, taken to Jamestown, and held as a hostage for English prisoners then in the hands of her father. At Jamestown she was converted to Christianity and baptized as Rebecca. John Rolfe , a settler, gained the permission of Powhatan and the governor, Sir Thomas Dale, and married her in Apr., 1614. The union brought peace with the Native Americans for eight years. With her husband and several other Native Americans, Pocahontas went to England in 1616. There she was received as a princess and presented to the king and queen. She started back to America in 1617 but was taken ill and died at Gravesend, where she was buried. Pocahontas bore one son, Thomas Rolfe, who was educated in England, went (1640) to Virginia, and gained considerable wealth.

See P. L. Barbour, Pocahontas and Her World (1969); G. S. Woodward, Pocahontas (1969).

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Article Reading Levels Level 3 Document controls Citation metadata Born: 1595? in Virginia, United States Died: March 01, 1617 in Gravesend, England Other Names: Rolfe, Rebecca; Matoaka Pocahontas (pōkəhŏnʹtəs), c.1595-1617, Native North American woman, daughter of Chief Powhatan .

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Pocahontas, 1596-1617

Born: 1596 (exact date uncertain)
Died: March (exact date uncertain) 1617

Pocahontas was the daughter of Powhatan, an important chief of the Algonquian Indians (the Powhatans) who lived in the Virginia region. Her real name was "Matoaka." "Pocahontas" was a nickname meaning "playful" or "mischievous one." Pocahontas is most famous for reportedly saving the life of English Captain John Smith. Throughout her short life (she died at the age of 22), however, she was important in other ways as well. Pocahontas tried to promote peace between the Powhatans and the English colonists. She even converted to Christianity and married John Rolfe, a Jamestown colonist, a union which helped bring the two groups together. Her untimely death in England hurt the chance for continued peace in Virginia between the Algonquians and the colonists.

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Meet Amazing Americans |America's Library - Library of Congress

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Pocahontas, 1596-1617 Born: 1596 (exact date uncertain) Died: March (exact date uncertain) 1617 Pocahontas was the daughter of Powhatan, an important chief of the Algonquian Indians (the Powhatans) who lived in the Virginia region. Her real name was "Matoaka." "Pocahontas" was a nickname meaning "playful" or "mischievous one."

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Introduction

Pocahontas was born in 1595 in Werowocomoco (Eastern Virginia) to the powerful tribal leader Powhatan. She was one of as many as one hundred children. Pocahontas, however, was said to be Powhatan's favorite. Powhatan was the chief of the Algonquian Indians in the Virginia area. Pocahontas's real name was Matoaka.

Helping the Jamestown Colonists

John In April of 1607 the first group of English settlers arrived in Virginia and founded the colony of Jamestown. Life was difficult for the settlers. Pocahontas watched as the settlers struggled to find food, build shelter, and survive. As winter set in Pocahontas made several visits to Jamestown bringing the colonists much needed supplies.

Friendship with John Smith

During her visits to Jamestown she met Captain John Smith whom she taught the Powhatan's language and tradition. Pocahontas took an immediate liking to Captain Smith, and some accounts claim that she saved him from execution. Other accounts assert that Smith was captured by the Algonquian Indians and was to be executed, or, that a false execution was a ceremony to adopt him into the tribe. The Powhatans admired John Smith and believed him to be a powerful magician. Pocahontas went back and forth delivering messages from her father and keeping trade between the Indians and the settlers open. Powhatan, however, eventually demanded that the settlers bring him guns in exchange for food and supplies, but John Smith refused. Slowly, relations between the two groups broke down. The Jamestown settlement continued to suffer from corruption, laziness, disease, and poor management. In October of 1609, John Smith was badly injured by a gunpowder explosion. After his injury, and repeated attempts by the Indians and the settlers to kill him, John Smith returned to England. After his departure, and several changes in leadership, the Powahatan Indians moved in on the settlers.

Kidnapped!

Powhatan ordered several settlers to be killed and Pocahontas was sent to live with the Patawomeke tribe. In response, Captain Samuel Argall devised a scheme to kidnap Pocahontas. With the help of Japizaws and his wife, and two Patawomeke Indians, Argall lured Pocahontas onto a ship headed for Jamestown. The ship promptly set sail and Pocahontas was a captive. During her capture she was treated well and learned of Christianity. She was baptized in 1614, at which time she renounced her previous Gods. While in captivity, Pocahontas met colonist and tobacco developer John Rolfe. They were married in 1615. Soon after, Pocahontas gave birth to a son, Thomas.

Life in England

Pocahontas traveled to London in 1616 with her husband and son, where she soon became the center of attention. She met with the king and queen and went to banquets and dances all over England. While in England she was reunited with John Smith whom she believed was dead.

The Baptism of Pocahontas

Death at an Early Age

While in England Pocahontas contracted smallpox and died in March of 1617 at the age of 21. She was buried in the chapel of the parish church in Gravesend, England. John Smith wrote that Pocahontas was "the instrument to pursurve this colonie from death, famine, and utter confusion."

Captain John Smith

Jamestown Colony Articles and Activities

13 Colonies People and Founders

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Pocahontas was born in 1595 in Werowocomoco (Eastern Virginia) to the powerful tribal leader Powhatan. She was one of as many as one hundred children. Pocahontas, however, was said to be Powhatan's favorite. Powhatan was the chief of the Algonquian Indians in the Virginia area. Pocahontas's real name was Matoaka.

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Welcome to Britannica Library , it provides your patrons with access to three sites in one, with age appropriate material from the child-friendly collection through to the adult general reference collection.

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Welcome to Britannica Library , a safe, up-to-date, and age-appropriate information resource for Children, Young Adults, and Adults.

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Desmond Mpilo Tutu
The Nobel Peace Prize 1984

Born: 7 October 1931, Klerksdorp, South Africa

Residence at the time of the award: South Africa

Role: Bishop of Johannesburg, former Secretary General, South African Council of Churches (S.A.C.C.)

Prize share: 1/1

Africa's Peace Bishop

Like his countryman Albert Lutuli, the Anglican bishop Desmond Tutu was honored with the Peace Prize for his opposition to South Africa's brutal apartheid regime. Tutu was saluted by the Nobel Committee for his clear views and his fearless stance, characteristics which had made him a unifying symbol for all African freedom fighters. Attention was once again directed at the nonviolent path to liberation.

Despite bloody violations committed against the black population, as in the Sharpeville massacre of 1961 and the Soweto rising in 1976, Tutu adhered to his nonviolent line. Yet he would not blame Nelson Mandela and his supporters for having made a different choice.

The Peace Prize award made a big difference to Tutu's international standing, and was a helpful contribution to the struggle against apartheid. The broad media coverage made him a living symbol in the struggle for liberation, someone who articulated the suffering and expectations of South Africa's oppressed masses. There are many indications that Tutu's Peace Prize helped to pave the way for a policy of stricter sanctions against South Africa in the 1980s.

Copyright © The Norwegian Nobel Institute

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MLA style: Desmond Tutu - Facts. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2020. Wed. 26 Feb 2020. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1984/tutu/facts/>

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Their work and discoveries range from how cells adapt to changes in levels of oxygen to our ability to fight global poverty.

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Desmond Mpilo Tutu The Nobel Peace Prize 1984 Born: 7 October 1931, Klerksdorp, South Africa Residence at the time of the award: South Africa Role: Bishop of Johannesburg, former Secretary General, South African Council of Churches (S.A.C.C.)

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"Here was a man who had inspired an entire nation with his words and his courage, who had revived the people's hope during the darkest of times ... who selflessly fought the evils of racism during the most terrible days of apartheid."-Nelson Mandela

With most of the anti-government leaders in South Africa in jail or living outside the country in the 1980s, Desmond Mpilo Tutu rose from obscurity to spearhead the global campaign that brought an end to the country's racist policies and police state in 1994. As the representative of Christian churches in South Africa, he openly challenged the country's white supremacist rulers. They were not Christians as they claimed to be, and Tutu lectured them to their faces. Like an Old Testament prophet, he warned the rulers that they were destined to wind up the "flotsam and jetsam [the scum] of history."

Tutu also risked imprisonment and assassination for advocating international economic sanctions against South Africa. A global agreement to cut trade with South Africa, he reasoned, would shatter the wealth of South African whites and pressure them into giving up their hold on the country's power and profits.

Above all, Tutu instilled a sense of worth and pride in South Africa's black majority. He filled black Africans with faith that they were ascending from the lowest depths of injustice-injustice that had condemned them to a status lower than human beings. "We will be free, we will be free!" was his battle cry in the worst, most chaotic of times. Nobel judges awarded Tutu the Peace Prize in 1984 in recognition of his nonviolent crusade to change the white minority government kept in power by its military forces. The Nobel committee also succeeded in bolstering his standing in the international campaign against apartheid.

Nelson Mandela, who came out of prison to be chosen South Africa's first black president in 1994 democratic elections, paid tribute to Tutu, calling him "a man who had inspired an entire nation with his words and his courage, who had revived the people's hope during the darkest of times ... who selflessly fought the evils of racism during the most terrible days of apartheid."

A short, small man, the energetic Tutu brings a number of talents to a task. Blessed with a knack for humor, his sense of timing would have insured him success as a stand-up nightclub comedian had he not answered a loftier calling. Tutu has often employed humor to drive home a large and serious point to his audiences. His abilities include being able "to handle tricky situations in a way that is little short of miraculous." One observer noted that "when uncertain what to do he simply plays the clown, frequently diffusing tense situations by scrapping his prepared text and amusing his audience until they are ready to hear what he has to say."

In addition to his talent for diffusing tense situations, Tutu also uses images and anecdotes to get his point across to his audiences. In one of his sermons he said, "Many religious people think long sulky faces somehow are related to holiness-they often look like they have taken an unexpected dose of castor oil and find it hard to laugh in church, being somewhat sheepish when they do. And yet Jesus was funny when He described the chap who is concerned to remove a speck of dust from his brother's eye while a huge beam was sticking out of his own. Jesus was poking fun at this chap and His audience would roar with laughter.... Our God does not reign over puny guilt-ridden obsequious [fawning or subservient] creatures."

As a preacher of the Christian gospel, Tutu was anything but flippant. "He is a man of God," said Helen Joseph, a white opponent of the apartheid government who was prevented from speaking publicly for years. Tutu could also be temperamental. When the United States and European countries dragged their feet on imposing sanctions against South Africa, he said:"America and the West can go to hell."

Tutu also tells stories in which he stars as a fall guy, but that make a point. In one such story, Tutu talks about when he was Anglican bishop of Johannesburg and he and South African President P. W. Botha-who always wore a hat-met privately in a small boat on Zoo Lake in the northern part of the city. The privacy, however, was short-lived. Members of the press heard about the meeting and gathered around the lake with their binoculars and telephoto lenses. As the two men talked, a gust of wind blew the president's hat off his head, and across the water. The confident bishop told the president to sit tight and not to worry. He then jumped out of the boat, walked on the surface of the water, picked up the hat, and returned it to Botha. The next day, newspaper headlines read: "Tutu can't swim." The point was that Tutu was unable to do anything right in the eyes of his critics.

Elected the first black archbishop of Cape Town in 1986, a delighted Tutu told news reporters: "I'm tongue-tied, and some people hope it's permanent."

Tutu was born on October 7, 1931, in Klerksdorp, a small mining town in an agricultural region west of Johannesburg. He was the middle child of Zachariah and Aletha Tutu. Educated at Christian mission schools, Zachariah was headmaster of the Methodist Primary School in Klerksdorp. He was a tall, proud man who wanted his children to grow up strong, healthy, and well educated. At times, however, he drank too much. During some of those binges, he abused his wife. Tutu's mother, Aletha, had little education and worked as a domestic servant. She was a gentle woman who exerted a profound influence on Tutu.

While Tutu was young, the family lived in black townships near Ventersdorp, Roodepoort, Krugersdorp, and other small towns west of Johannesburg, due to Zachariah's job. Although black South Africans did suffer varying degrees of discrimination back then, racial division was less extreme in the 1930s-when Tutu was growing up-than after 1948. That was the year the white National party imposed its policy of apartheid, a program intended to separate all races and restrict blacks to inferior education.

In the mid-1940s Tutu met British-born bishop Trevor Huddleston, then a parish priest in the mostly black township of Sophiatown. In this lively and historic township on the western edge of Johannesburg, people of all races and classes mixed, carried on business, and socialized together. Huddleston turned out to be Tutu's greatest role model.

When he was fourteen years old, Tutu lived for a time at a hostel supported by the Fathers of the Community of the Resurrection in Sophiatown, near where he attended Madibane High School (named for a famous black headmaster celebrated as an educator and Anglican churchman.) He got to know Father Huddleston before being stricken with tuberculosis and confined for treatment at a state sanatorium for twenty months. Each week, Huddleston visited young Tutu in the hospital, bringing books and encouragement. "He was full of laughter and caring," Tutu recalled, as quoted by Du Boulay. "He made you feel special. He was a wonderful man ... a white man who made you feel you mattered." During his illness, Tutu made the decision to become an Anglican priest.

Gifted with a photographic memory, Tutu excelled as a student despite missing months of school. He recovered from his illness and graduated from Madibane High in 1950, then obtained a teacher's certificate from Pretoria Bantu Normal College in 1953 and a bachelor's degree from the University of South Africa in 1954.

On July 2, 1955, Tutu married Nomalizo Leah Shenxane in Munsieville, the black township in Krugersdorp. She had been a student of Tutu's father, who was headmaster of an Anglican primary school in Munsieville. Leah also was a close friend of Tutu's younger sister, Gloria. When she was attending school in Munsieville, Leah lived with one of her elder brothers in a shack in a rented backyard. Her mother worked as a domestic servant in a town on the other side of Johannesburg. By the time Tutu asked her to marry him, Leah was studying at a teacher training college. The Tutus have one son (Trevor, named for Tutu's mentor, Father Trevor Huddleston) and three daughters (Theresa, Naomi, and Mpho).

From 1955 to 1958, Tutu taught at Munsieville High School. He studied for the priesthood at St. Peter's Theological College in Rosettenville near Johannesburg from 1958 to 1960. After he was ordained as a deacon in 1960, he worked as an assistant at St. Alban's Church in Benoni township, east of Johannesburg. The church's rector set up Tutu, his wife, Leah, and their first two children in horrible housing-a Benoni garage next to a fly-infested stable. In 1961, Tutu was ordained an Anglican priest and assigned to a church in Thokoza, a black township southeast of Johannesburg.

Tutu and his family would never have to sleep in a garage again. In 1962, Tutu was awarded a scholarship for study abroad. Church officials arranged for Tutu to study for a degree in theology at King's College at the University of London. London was "paradise" for the family. Tutu didn't have to carry a pass as he did in South Africa. His family could walk or travel where they wished in England. They could enter front doors or any public entrances or exits they pleased. Porters addressed him as "sir." He preached in the affluent white village of Bletchingley, won acceptance among the people there, and was invited to local Gin and God parties-occasions in lush gardens where guests were given a dry Martini upon arrival and treated to a gourmet meal before getting down to prayer and worship. Tutu's time in London helped him to reject the conditioning imposed by apartheid: "You didn't know that gnawing away at you was this worm which was sowing a horrible kind of self-doubt in you.... The most horrible aspect of apartheid, a blasphemous aspect, is it can make a child of God doubt that they are a child of God, when you ask yourself in the middle of the night, 'God, am I your step-child?'"

Similarly, in his 1986 Martin Luther King Peace Prize address, Tutu described the self-doubt resulting from the state system of racial discrimination: "You are brainwashed into an acquiescence in your oppression and exploitation. You come to believe what others have determined about you, filling you with self-disgust, self-contempt and self-hatred, accepting a negative self-image ... and you need a lot of grace to have that demon of self-hatred exorcised.... You accept that only white races really matter and you allow the white person to set your standards and provide your role models."

Tutu earned his bachelor's degree in theology in 1965 and his master's degree the following year. He then returned to South Africa to study for his doctorate and teach at the Federal Theological Seminary in Alice, a town in southeastern South Africa. At that point, Tutu began to sense serious discontent rising among young black South Africans. Tutu lectured in Lesotho for a couple of years before returning to England in 1972 as associate director for Africa of the Theological Education Fund, an organization founded to help free churches in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In 1974, however, Tutu was called home to become Johannesburg's first black bishop.

Tutu found himself in the spotlight throughout the next decade. On March 1, 1978, he became general secretary of the South African Council of Churches-a position that catapulted him to the forefront of the fight against apartheid just as black rebellion was reaching fever pitch. Three years later, the white government held hearings to investigate the Council of Churches, drawing worldwide attention to Tutu and the black majority cause. After the hearings, he embarked on a tour of Europe and the United States. Tutu returned to Johannesburg a hero to black South Africans. Peter Storey, Methodist bishop of Johannesburg, was at the airport to welcome Tutu home. According to Du Boulay, Storey "sensed on that return that here was someone who knew-perhaps had always known-that he came back as someone with destiny on his shoulders. A sense of having to be the instrument of his people's liberation, to be their spokesman."

In the introduction to An African Prayer Book (1995), Tutu sums up his outlook on human relationships. He retells the Christian creation story-of Adam's feeling of incompleteness before God created Eve, the first woman: "And so God asked Adam to choose a mate for himself from among the animals which paraded before him in procession. God would ask his human friend, 'What about this one?' Adam would reply, 'Not on your life! No, thank you!' And so God decided to put Adam to sleep and produced from his rib [a woman named] Eve; and when Adam awoke he exclaimed: 'Wow! This is just what the doctor ordered '"

Tutu continued: "This beautiful story tells a fundamental truth about us-that we are made to live in a delicate network of interdependence with one another, with God, and with the rest of God's creation. We say in our African idiom: 'A person is a person through other persons.' A solitary human being is a contradiction in terms. A totally self-sufficient human being is ultimately subhuman.... I have gifts that you do not; and you have gifts that I do not. Voila! So we need each other to become fully human."

Tutu tried to warn South African leaders-Prime Minister John Vorster (prime minister from 1966 to 1978) and later President P. W. Botha (president until 1989)-of the swelling tide of violence among blacks. The heads of state ignored his warnings. Risking a charge of treason (betrayal of one's country), Tutu called for the world to shut off trade with South Africa and for foreign businesses to withdraw investments. No legal action was taken against him, however, because arresting Tutu would have caused worldwide backlash against the white government. He had won the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize and this international acclaim made him virtually arrest-proof.

On February 11, 1990, black activist Nelson Mandela was released after more than twenty-seven years in prison. He and his wife, Winnie, spent his first night of freedom with Archbishop Tutu and Leah at their church residence, Bishopscourt, in a wealthy-and mostly white-Cape Town suburb. Proclaiming he was "over the moon," Tutu said he was turning the political fight against apartheid back to Mandela, and he would return to preaching.

After retiring in 1995 as Anglican archbishop of Cape Town-the church's most influential position in South Africa-Tutu found himself back in the political limelight in 1996 as chairman of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated the crimes of South Africa's apartheid government. Criticized for heading a commission that granted amnesty (forgiveness without punishment) for apartheid crimes if full confessions were submitted, Tutu retorted: "Victims and survivors who bore the brunt of the apartheid system need healing. Perpetrators [those who carried out the racist policies] are, in their own way, victims of the apartheid system and they, too, need healing."

As commission chairman, Tutu gained the satisfaction of hearing five white South African security police officers plead for forgiveness of their crimes and admit the inherent worth of all "children of God," no matter what their color. In their amnesty petition, the security officers stated: "We were brought up to believe in apartheid. We were made to believe that apartheid was sanctioned by God, through the church. We were made to believe that our participation in the Security Forces was justified to uphold apartheid. We were made to believe that black people were inferior, and the needs, emotions and aspirations of black people differed from ours. We were made to believe that we were superior, and that these differences justified apartheid. We have come to realize that these beliefs were wrong, morally and in reality."

Though he was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, Tutu continued to guide the commission from 1996 to 1998 through particularly difficult times. "Nobody but Tutu could have headed that commission," said Father Michael Lapsley, a chaplain at the Cape Town Trauma Centre. Lapsley lost both hands and an eye to a letter bomb sent to him in 1990 by agents of the former white government.

Tutu has continued to remain active as a public speaker, giving lectures and accepting visiting professorships at various universities all over the world. He also has worked as a global activist, with a particular emphasis on issues involving human rights, democracy, and freedom. Along with his wife, Tutu established the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre in 1998. The organization's mission is to promote peace, understanding, and justice through reconciliation and restoration rather than retribution. By 2004, the organization had established a leadership academy to train others in Tutu's ideas and philosophies about peace. Tutu also has helped other organizations all over the world, including the 100,000 Miracles campaign of the Christian Blind Mission International. In 2007, Tutu, Nelson Mandela, and Gra¸a Machel formed a group called The Elders. The group includes world leaders who are dedicated to addressing some of the world's most pressing problems. Other members of the group have included Kofi Annan, Jimmy Carter, Ela Bhatt, and several others. As of 2011, Tutu was chairing The Elders, which is funded by several founders including singer/songwriter Peter Gabriel, Sir Richard Branson, the Bridgeway Foundation, the United Nations Foundation, and others. He also is the patron of the Desmond Tutu Diversity Trust, an organization in South Africa that helps implement and facilitate diversity awareness, diversity training, and diversity management. Tutu is credited with first coining the phrase Rainbow Nation as a way of describing the ethnic diversity in post-apartheid South Africa.

Tutu also has continued his interest in South African politics and has been an outspoken critic of the corruption of government officials. He also has criticized the ineffectiveness of the African National Congress (ANC) in dealing with a variety of issues, including poverty and violence in some parts of the country. Tutu has long been considered South Africa's moral conscience. Mandela has said of Tutu: "Sometimes strident, often tender, never afraid and seldom without humour, Desmond Tutu's voice will always be the voice of the voiceless." A well-respected leader all over the world, Tutu also has been called on to assist and participate in a wide variety of efforts. In 2006, he was named a member of the United Nations advisory panel on genocide prevention. Then in 2008, he visited the Gaza Strip as a member of an independent United Nations investigative committee. While there, he condemned the violence against Palestinian refugees and their living conditions.

Over the years, Tutu also has spoken out against policies of the United States and other nations. He criticized former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision to support former President George W. Bush and the United States, leading up to the 2003 invasion of that country. Tutu questioned why Iraq was being singled out since other countries also had weapons of mass destruction. More recently, Tutu published an article in April 2011 in the Huffington Post that criticized Arizona Senate Bill 1070. The anti-illegal immigration law requires all aliens older than fourteen years old to register with the U.S. government for stays longer than thirty days and to carry registration documents with them at all times. In the article, Tutu said: "...when you you strip a man or a woman of their basic human rights, you strip them of their dignity in the eyes of their family and their community, and even in their own eyes. An immigrant who is charged with the crime of trespassing for simply being in a community without his papers on him is being told he is committing a crime by simply being. He or she feels degraded and feels they are of less worth than others of a different color skin. These are the seeds of resentment, hostilities and in extreme cases, conflict."

In addition to his political and humanitarian efforts, Tutu also has been a strong advocate of efforts to combat TB and HIV. He is a patron of the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 2003 that is involved in providing AIDS care and research at the University of Cape Town and in various community clinics throughout South Africa. That same year, the Desmond Tutu TB Centre was established at Stellenbosch University in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Tutu also serves as the honorary chairman of the Global AIDS Alliance.

For his many contributions to humanitarian causes and human rights, Tutu has received a number of awards and honors over the years. In addition to winning the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize, he also has received the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism (1986), the Pacem in Terris Award (1987), the Gandhi Peace Prize (2005), the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding (2008), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009) from President Barack Obama. An Artists for a New South Africa benefit was held in honor of Tutu in October 2011 in San Francisco to celebrate the release of a biography by Allister Sparks called Tutu: Authorized. The book also includes contributions from President Barack Obama, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Nelson Mandela. Others like Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, and F.W. De Klerk were interviewed for the book.

In addition, Tutu has published a number of articles and several books over the years, including Crying in the Wilderness (1982), The Words of Desmond Tutu (1989, with Naomi Tutu), The Rainbow People of God: The Making of a Peaceful Revolution (1994), No Future without Forgiveness (1999), An African Prayerbook (2000), and God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time (2004). George Packer, contributor to the Chicago Tribune wrote of The Rainbow People of God: The Making of a Peaceful Revolution,: ". . . one has a powerful sense of Tutu's fundamentally sound moral judgment. He never appears to be acting out an idea of himself, and his reactions to crises almost always proved wise, as if no amount of weariness or confusion or rage could poison the core of his character."

Despite his tireless work with a variety of humanitarian causes and organizations, Tutu announced plans to retire from public life. Taking a phased approach that he began at the age of seventy-nine, Tutu worked one day a week in his office up until the end of February 2011. At a July 2010 forum, Tutu said he wanted to spend more time with his family. "The time has now come to slow down, to sip Rooibos tea with my beloved wife in the afternoons, to watch cricket, to travel to visit my children and grandchildren, rather than to conferences and conventions and university campuses."

Tutu did make more time for himself and his family, but he did not give up monitoring the news and supporting a wide range of social, cultural, and spiritual causes. Through letters, announcements, and petitions, he made his powerful voice heard in many situations across the world. He has written appeals to save whistleblowers, preserve the dignity of the dying, and defuse religious intolerance and conflict. In 2016, Tutu joined fellow spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to co-author The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World.

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"Here was a man who had inspired an entire nation with his words and his courage, who had revived the people's hope during the darkest of times ...

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Marshall was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 2, 1908. In 1933 he graduated from Howard University Law School in Washington, D.C.

Marshall's most important courtroom victory was in the case of Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954. Before this case, the law allowed states to have separate schools for whites and blacks. Marshall convinced the Supreme Court that this practice went against the U.S. Constitution. This ruling helped to end all forms of legalized segregation, or separation, by race.

In 1961 President John F. Kennedy made Marshall a judge. In 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson made Marshall the U.S. solicitor general. In that job he represented the government in cases before the Supreme Court. Then in 1967 Johnson put Marshall on the Supreme Court.

As a Supreme Court justice, Marshall continued to support equal rights for blacks. He also opposed the death penalty. Marshall retired in 1991. He died in Bethesda, Maryland, on January 24, 1993.

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Kids InfoBits - Document - Marshall, Thurgood

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Marshall was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 2, 1908. In 1933 he graduated from Howard University Law School in Washington, D.C. Marshall's most important courtroom victory was in the case of Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954. Before this case, the law allowed states to have separate schools for whites and blacks.

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Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 - January 24, 1993) was a prominent civil-rights lawyer and the first African-American justice of the US Supreme Court.
Thurgood Marshall was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. His name was originally spelled Thoroughgood, but Marshall shortened it to Thurgood when he was in elementary school. Thurgood Marshall's parents were William and Norma Africa Marshall; William was the chief steward at a private club and Norma was an elementary school teacher.

In 1930, Marshall graduated with honors from Lincoln University in Chester, Pennsylvania; he got his law degree from Howard University (in Washington, DC) in 1933. He then began a law practice in Baltimore, and joined the NAACP (the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) in 1936.

Marshall was the legal director of the NAACP from 1940 until 1961. He was on the team of lawyers in the historic Supreme Court trial concerning school desegregation, Brown v. Board of Education (1954). As a result of this trial, the "separate but equal" doctrine in public education was overthrown.

The US Post Office issued a stamp honoring Thurgood Marshall on January 7, 2003 .

In 1961, after many successful years as a lawyer and judge fighting for civil rights and women's rights, Marshall was appointed to the Second Court of Appeals (by President John F. Kennedy). In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Marshall the U.S. solicitor general (the chief legal officer of the United States working under the Attorney General, in charge of appeals to the Supreme Court). In this position, Marshall won 14 of the 19 cases that he argued for the government.
Marshall was appointed to the Supreme Court in June, 1967 (by President Johnson). He was the first African-American on the Supreme Court. In the high court, Marshall continued his fight for human rights until he retired on June 27, 1991; he served on the Supreme Court for 24 years.

Marshall died of heart failure at the age of 84. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetary (in Arlington, Virginia), near the graves of other Supreme Court Justices.

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Advertisement. EnchantedLearning.com is a user-supported site. As a bonus, site members have access to a banner-ad-free version of the site, with print-friendly pages. Click here to learn more. (Already a member? Click here.) Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 - January 24, 1993) was a prominent civil-rights lawyer and the first African-American justice of the US Supreme Court.

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Biography

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This is a full biography of Thurgood Marshall.

Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall was born on July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland. He became interested in the U.S. Constitution at an early age when he was forced to read it after being punished by his second grade teacher. He graduated from Pennsylvania's Lincoln College in 1930, but was denied admission from the University of Maryland Law School because he was Black. Instead, he graduated from Howard University Law School in Washington, D.C. in 1933. Soon after graduation, he set up his own law practice in Baltimore.

In 1934, Marshall won his first major case. He argued for a Black Amherst College graduate who was denied admission to the University of Maryland Law School under its "Separate but Equal" rule. The graduate's name was Donald Gaines Murray. Murray, and all Black applicants, were forced to attend one of three "other" schools affiliated with the university. Marshall argued that the "other" schools did not offer law classes and were certainly not "equal" to the University of Maryland. In a surprise verdict, the judge agreed with Marshall and ruled that the university had no right to interpret the Constitution in a biased manner.

In 1940, Marshall was named Chief Counsel for the NAACP (National Associated for the Advancement of Colored People). He would continue to win major civil rights cases, including the landmark Brown vs The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954). At the time, Black students could not attend the same schools as White students. Instead, they atteneded schools that were deemed "separate but equal". In this case, Brown argued before the Supreme Court of the United States of America that "separate but equal" education could never truly be equal. Schools attended by Black students were poorly funded, had few resources, and were often in terrible condition. The Supreme Court sided with Marshall, and all American public schools were eventually integrated. From that point on, Black students were entitled to the same education, in the same facilities, as all other students.

In 1967, president Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Thurgood to the United States Supreme Court. He was the first Black person in history to sit on the Supreme Court. Marshall served on the Supreme Court for 24 years and became known as a crusader for civil rights and constitutional protection for all individuals. He was also known as a strong opponent of the death penalty. Thurgood retired from the Supreme Court in 1991. He died two years later in 1993.

Today, schools, highways, and public institutions are named for Thurgood Marshall. The same University of Maryland that denied him admission because of their "separate but equal" policy recently renamed their law library after him. In 2005, Baltimore/Washington International Airport was renamed Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

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This is a full biography of Thurgood Marshall. Thurgood Marshall was born on July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland. He became interested in the U.S. Constitution at an early age when he was forced to read it after being punished by his second grade teacher.

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Welcome to Britannica Library , a safe, up-to-date, and age-appropriate information resource for Children, Young Adults, and Adults.

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Born: October 29, 1938 in Monrovia, Liberia

Full Text: The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia COPYRIGHT 2008 Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

Sirleaf, Ellen Johnson (sĭrlēfʹ), 1938-, Liberian economist and political leader. Educated in the United States (M.P.A. Harvard, 1971), she worked in the Liberian government (1964-67, 1977-80), at the World Bank (1972-77, 1980-81), and in private banking (1980, 1986-92) before before joining (1992-97) the African bureau at the United Nations Development Program. Also active in Liberian politics, she was jailed in the 1980s by Samuel Doe 's regime, charged with treason by Charles Taylor 's regime, and twice went into exile. She ran for Liberian president in 1997 as the Unity party's candidate but lost to Taylor, whom she had supported when Doe was in power, and returned to the private sector as a financial consultant. Running again in 2005, she defeated former soccer star George Weah after a runoff, becoming the first woman to be elected president of an African nation. She was reelected in 2011 after her runoff opponent, Winston Tubman, boycotted the contest. Her terms as president were marked by an increase in foreign investment and solidification of the rule of law in Liberia, but she was widely criticized for appointing her sons to key government posts. She shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize with two other activist women, Leymah Gbowee of Liberia and Tawakul Karman of Yemen. Gbowee, a political ally of Sirleaf, broke with her in 2012, accusing her of nepotism and not doing enough to fight corruption and poverty and bring about national reconciliation. Charged by Unity party leaders of not supporting party candidates and meddling in the 2017 presidential election, which Unity lost, Sirleaf was expelled from the party in 2018.

See her memoir, This Child Will Be Great (2009); biography by H. Cooper (2017).

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Kids InfoBits - Document - Sirleaf, Ellen Johnson

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Born: October 29, 1938 in Monrovia, Liberia Full Text: The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia COPYRIGHT 2008 Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. Sirleaf, Ellen Johnson (sĭrlēfʹ), 1938-, Liberian economist and political leader. Educated in the United States (M.P.A.

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I nternationally known as Africa's "Iron Lady," President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a leading promoter of peace, justice and democratic rule. She grew up in Liberian capital of Monrovia, where she married and had four sons.

President Johnson Sirleaf later moved to the United States where she earned an accounting degree from the Madison College of Business and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

In her efforts to bring justice to her people in Liberia, she has spent more than a year in jail at the hands of the military dictatorship of General Samuel Doe and had her life threatened by former President Charles Taylor. She campaigned relentlessly for Taylor's removal from office and played an active and supportive role in the Transitional Government of Liberia as the country prepared for elections in October of 2005.

President Johnson Sirleaf was a presidential candidate in the 1997 Liberia general election where she finished second in the field of 13. Before that, she served for five years as Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa of the United Nations Development Program as Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and was the first woman to lead the United Nations Development Project for Africa.

She served as the Chairperson of the Governance Reform Commission of the National Transitional Government of Liberia until she resigned in March 2004 to accept the nomination of the Unity Party of Liberia as the party's leader.

In November 2005, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected President of Liberia and became the first woman to lead an African nation. In the elections she defeated popular world-class soccer star George Weah with an impressive 59.4 percent of the vote.

In October 2007, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civil award, for her personal courage and unwavering commitment to expanding freedom and improving the lives of people in Liberia and across Africa. And in 2010, as the only female and African Head of State, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was named by Newsweek Magazine as one of the World Top Ten Leaders.

To cite this section
MLA style: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf - Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2020. Mon. 14 Dec 2020. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2011/johnson_sirleaf/biographical/>

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I nternationally known as Africa's "Iron Lady," President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a leading promoter of peace, justice and democratic rule. She grew up in Liberian capital of Monrovia, where she married and had four sons.

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Welcome to Britannica Library , a safe, up-to-date, and age-appropriate information resource for Children, Young Adults, and Adults.

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Frederick Douglass | Orator, Editor, and Abolitionist Video | PBS LearningMedia

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After escaping from slavery in 1838, Frederick Douglass went on to become a prominent writer, orator, and abolitionist in the years leading up to the Civil War. This video is a part of a lesson plan including two primary source activities and a short video: understand how Douglass stood firm in his beliefs and rose to prominence, and explore the importance of literacy in his life.

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Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey Douglass (Feb. 7, 1817-Feb. 20, 1895) was an abolitionist, orator and writer who fought against slavery and for women's rights. Douglass was the first African-American citizen appointed to offices of high rank in the U.S. government.
Douglass was born into slavery and was originally named Frederick Washington Bailey. His mother was a slave and his father was white. He never knew his father and left his mother at an early age. He was raised by his grandmother and was taught to read by the wife of the man he worked for.

In 1838, Douglass escaped slavery in Maryland and moved to New York and then to Massachusetts, where he soon became an international figure in the fight against slavery. Douglass lectured extensively against slavery in the US and in Great Britain. During the Civil War, Douglass met with U.S. President Abraham Lincoln many times, discussing Lincoln's efforts to abolish slavery and the arming of former slaves to fight the Confederacy.

In 1847, Douglass started an anti-slavery newspaper called the North Star (it was later called Frederick Douglass's Paper); it was published until 1860. Douglass served as the assistant secretary of the Santo Domingo Commission (1871). He was later appointed marshal (1877-81) and recorder of deeds (1881-86) of Washington, D.C. His last government appointment was as the U.S. minister and consul general to Haiti (1889-91). Douglass' autobiography, "Life and Times of Frederick Douglass," was published in 1882.

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Advertisement. EnchantedLearning.com is a user-supported site. As a bonus, site members have access to a banner-ad-free version of the site, with print-friendly pages. Click here to learn more. (Already a member? Click here.) Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey Douglass (Feb. 7, 1817-Feb. 20, 1895) was an abolitionist, orator and writer who fought against slavery and for women's rights.

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Frederick Douglass once told a group of African American students from a school in Talbot County, Maryland, “What was possible for me is possible for you. Do not think because you are colored you cannot accomplish anything. Strive earnestly to add to your knowledge. So long as you remain in ignoranc…

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Frederick Douglass became a famous abolitionist. He fought hard to end slavery. He knew what it felt like to be a slave. Frederick Douglass's mother was a slave. His father was a white man, possibly the owner of the plantation where his mother worked. Douglass believed that learning to read changed his life.
Fun Facts

Frederick Douglas was born in Maryland around 1818. He was named Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey.

He lived with his grandparents and only saw his mother a few times before her death.

When he was 8-years-old, Frederick went to live with a carpenter in Baltimore. Although it was against the law, the carpenter's wife taught Frederick to read. He learned about abolition there.

A few years later, he was sent back to the country to live with a brutal slave owner, Edward Covey. Frederick was whipped almost daily and given little to eat. He said he was "broken in body, soul, and spirit."

Frederick was jailed because he planned to escape from Covey. Two years later, he escaped from Baltimore and fled to New York. He changed his name to Frederick Douglass and settled in Massachusetts with his wife.

He joined a church, as well as several abolitionist organizations. When he was only 23-years-old, he gave his first speech about abolition. He was nervous, but his speech was powerful. Most abolitionists were white and couldn't give a firsthand account of the evils of slavery.

In 1845, Douglass published his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself.

Douglass became a well-known author and speaker and spent the rest of his life working for the rights of African American people and women.

Vocabulary

Abolition: a movement to end slavery

Brutal: cruel, savage, violent

Firsthand: based on personal experience

Questions and Answers
Question: Why was it against the law to teach slaves to read?

Answer: Slave owners feared that if slaves could read, they were more likely to rebel or try to gain freedom. Slaves could read powerful messages about abolition and write and share their own ideas.
Learn More
Visit Scholastic to learn more interesting facts about Frederick Douglass.

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Fun Facts about Frederick Douglass for Kids

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Frederick Douglass became a famous abolitionist. He fought hard to end slavery. He knew what it felt like to be a slave. Frederick Douglass's mother was a slave. His father was a white man, possibly the owner of the plantation where his mother worked. Douglass believed that learning to read changed his life.

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Frederick Douglass was born a slave. He spent his entire life fighting slavery by giving speeches, writing articles, and working with other abolitionists. Abolitionists were people who were against slavery.

Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born a slave in Maryland in 1817. His mother died when he was seven. He never knew anything about his father except that he was white. Frederick was sent to work on a farm when he was eight years old. Those years were spent getting whipped and starved. He escaped slavery in 1838 when he fled from Baltimore for New York. He eventually settled in Massachusetts. He changed his last name to Douglass.

Douglass never went to school. Slaves were not allowed at school. But he taught himself to read and write. He read whenever he could. This was how he learned about the world around him.

Douglass was a powerful public speaker. He was also a good writer. He wrote newspaper and magazine articles, asking people to join in the abolitionist movement. Douglass even worked with President Abraham Lincoln during the United States Civil War (1861-65). That was the war in which the North fought the South over slavery. Douglass helped recruit African American soldiers to fight for the North. The North won the war, and slavery soon came to an end.

After the Civil War, Douglass continued to fight for equal right for African Americans. He also began to fight for women's rights. Douglass died on February 20, 1895. He was 78 years old.

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

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Kids InfoBits - Document - Frederick Douglass

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Frederick Douglass was born a slave. He spent his entire life fighting slavery by giving speeches, writing articles, and working with other abolitionists. Abolitionists were people who were against slavery. Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born a slave in Maryland in 1817. His mother died when he was seven.

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Biography

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This is a biography on abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass.

Frederick Douglass

Early Years
Frederick Douglass was one of the most famous abolitionists in American history. He was born near Hillsboro, Maryland, in February of 1818. He was born into slavery and was separated from his mother when he was a baby. Douglass never knew his father and was moved to different residences throughout Maryland during his childhood.
Eyes Open
At the age of 12, Frederick began receiving reading lessons from the wife of his "master," even though it was illegal to teach slaves to read. Frederick proved to be a quick study and was soon reading newspapers, magazines, and books. Through his reading of political journals, Frederick realized the horrors of slavery. Indeed, many slaveholders endeavored to keep slaves illiterate so that they would not question their position and desire a better life.
Freedom

Douglass was soon sent away to another slave owner named Mr. Freeman. Mr. Freeman allowed Frederick to teach other slaves to read. Frederick taught over 40 slaves how to read passages from the New Testament. Other slave owners, however, became angry and destroyed the "congregation" in which Frederick taught. Four years later, in 1837, Frederick married a free black woman named Anne Murray. They would have five children. He gained his own freedom by escaping from captivity by dressing as a sailor and boarding a train at Havre de Grace, Maryland, near Baltimore. By the time he reached New York City he was a free man (though not officially a free man). The trip took less than a day.

Douglass Becomes a Prominent Abolitionist Voice
Douglass continued to Massachusetts and soon joined the abolitionist cause. Inspired by the famous abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, Douglass became an anti-slavery speaker and writer. At only 23 years of age, Douglass became a leading speaker for the cause and joined several movements including the American Anti-Slavery Society. He also supported the feminist cause and participated in the Seneca Falls Convention, a women's rights convention in 1848.
Courtesy of the People of Great Britain

In 1845, Douglass authored Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, an autobiography. The book was a critical success and became an instant best seller. The book was translated into three languages, and Douglass was invited to tour Ireland and Great Britain. Douglass spent two years in Europe lecturing on the horrors of slavery. Douglass became a popular figure in Great Britain, where his lectures were "standing room only." The people of Great Britain, roused by Douglass's speeches, raised money on his behalf to pay his "owner," Hugh Auld, for his official freedom. Auld was paid 700 pounds by the people of Great Britain and Douglass was officially a free man in America.

The North Star

When he returned to America, Douglass published The North Star and four other abolitionist newspapers under the motto "Right is of no Sex - Truth is of no Color - God is the Father of us all, and we are all brethren." He advocated equal education for black children, who received virtually no funding for education. As his reputation grew, Douglass became an advisor to Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. Douglass led a growing movement that caused a split in the Abolitionist movement. Douglass and others believed the US Constitution was an anti-slavery document, while William Lloyd Garrison believed it was a pro-slavery document. In addition, Garrison believed that The North Star was competing for readers with his own newspaper, the National Anti-Slavery Standard.

An 1848 Edition of the North Star

Douglass Honors Lincoln

By the time of the start of the Civil War, Douglass was one of the nation's most prominent black men. Later, The North Star was merged with other newspapers and was called the Frederick Douglass Paper. Douglass believed the primary cause of the Civil War was to liberate the slaves. After Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, Douglass continued in the fight for the rights of the freed slaves. After the assassination of President Lincoln, Douglass gave an impromptu speech at his memorial service. While Douglass's speech mentioned Lincoln's shortcomings in the fight against slavery, he gave Lincoln much credit for the liberation of the slaves, "Can any colored man, or any white man friendly to the freedom of all men, ever forget the night which followed the first day of January 1863, when the world was to see if Abraham Lincoln would prove to be as good as his word?" The speech was followed by a rousing standing ovation. It is said that Mary Lincoln was so moved by the speech that she gave Douglass Lincoln's favorite walking stick.

After the Civil War

After the war, Douglass was made president of the Freedmen's Bureau Savings Bank and several other diplomatic positions. During reconstruction, Douglass frequently gave speaking tours, particularly at colleges and universities in New England. In 1877, he purchased his final home, which he named Cedar Hill, in the Anacostia section of Washington, DC. Today, the estate is known as the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site. Frederick's wife, Anne Murray, died in 1881, but he remarried Helen Pitts, a white abolitionist, in 1884. Despite the controversy that their marriage created (she was white and twenty years younger than he), the pair toured Europe in 1886 and 1887. In 1895, Douglass died of a heart attack at his home in Washington.

Frederick Douglass Activities

Frederick Douglass Printable Reading Comprehension - This resource includes a historical passage and seven multiple choice questions.

Frederick Douglass Online Reading Comprehension - This resource includes a historical passage and seven multiple choice questions. It gives immediate feedback and a score report.

Frederick Douglass Cloze Reading - This online cloze reading exercise requires students to type the words from the word bank into the correct fields in the paragraph. It gives immediate feedback.

Frederick Douglass Online Correct-me Passage - This fun activity requires students to correct a passage about the life of Frederick Douglass that has eight factual errors. Students first must discover the errors, then click on them and select the correct answer from the drop down menu.

Frederick Douglass Online Fact or Fiction - This fun activity requires students to read a Frederick Douglass passage and then, to sort 11 statements into those that are facts and those that are fiction. The program gives immediate feedback.

Frederick Douglass Fact or Fiction - Printable - This fun activity requires students to read a Frederick Douglass passage and then, to sort 11 statements into those that are facts and those that are fiction.

Frederick Douglass Text Elements (Headings) - This printable activity requires students to match the five different headings to their correct paragraphs.

Frederick Douglass Text Elements (Topic Sentence and Supporting Details) - This printable activity requires students to select three sentences which belong under a topic sentence from a group of even sentences. Students then must build the correct paragraph by putting the sentences in the correct order.

Frederick Douglass Text Structure (Conflict and Inferencing) - This printable activity requires students to make inferences to why various conflicts occurred in the life of Frederick Douglass.

Frederick Douglass Text Structure (Problem and Solution) - This printable activity requires students to fill in the problem or the solution in several statements involving Frederick Douglass.

The Abolitionist Hall-of-Fame Pretend you have been chosen to induct Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe into the fictional abolitionist hall-of-fame. Your first job, however, is to design a "flyer" that advertises the inductees and the reasons for their inductions. In the spaces provided continue the narratives that highlight each inductee's accomplishments. Secondly, design an abolitionist hall-of-fame medal each would receive upon their entry. Medals can include icons, symbols, color, and their names.

Frederick Douglass: Virtual History Teacher - Students play the role of a virtual history teacher and must grade responses to three questions about the life of Frederick Douglass. Each response is incomplete, and students must fill in the missing information in the "response" section. It's designed to reinforce the importance of elaboration. Students can use the Frederick Douglass biography for reference.

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This is a biography on abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass was one of the most famous abolitionists in American history. He was born near Hillsboro, Maryland, in February of 1818. He was born into slavery and was separated from his mother when he was a baby.

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This is a short biography on Elizabeth Blackwell for younger grades.

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1889
Settles into a program of self-education at age 10 and begins reading as much about science as he can.

1894
Stays on in Munich to finish the school year after his parents move to Pavia, Italy. Lasts only one term on his own and then follows his family to Italy.

1895
Attempts to skip high school by taking an entrance exam to the Swiss Polytechnic, a top technical university, but fails the arts portion. His family sends him to the Swiss town of Aarau to finish high school.

1896
Graduates from high school at age 17 and enrolls at the ETH (the Federal Polytechnic School) in Zurich.

1900
Graduates from the ETH.

1901
Becomes a Swiss citizen and, unemployed, searches for work. Meets Maric in northern Italy for a tryst, and she becomes pregnant. In the fall, he finds work in Schaffhausen, Switzerland as a tutor. Maric, visibly pregnant, moves to Stein am Rhein, three miles upriver. She then returns to her parents' home to give birth to her child. Einstein moves to Bern.

1903
Marries Maric in January.

1904
Maric gives birth to their first son, Hans Albert.

1905
Publishes, at age 26, five groundbreaking papers, making this his "annus mirabilis," or miracle year. One of the papers introduces his special theory of relativity and another E = mc2.

1906
Continues working as an examiner at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern.

1907
Begins applying the laws of gravity to his special theory of relativity.

1910
Son Eduard is born.

1911
Moves with his family to Prague, where he is given a full professorship at the German University there. Attends the invitation-only Solvay Conference in Brussels, the first world physics conference; he is the youngest physicist there.

1912
Moves with his family to Zurich, where he becomes a professor of theoretical physics at the ETH.

1913
Works on his new theory of gravity.

1917
Collapses from exhaustion and falls seriously ill. Nursed back to health by his cousin Elsa Löwenthal. Publishes his first paper on cosmology.

1927
Attends fifth Solvay Conference and begins developing the foundation of quantum mechanics with Niels Bohr.

1928
Begins pursuing his idea of a unified field theory.

1932
As a Jew, begins to feel the heat of Nazi Germany. Now, at 53, at the height of his fame.

1936
Löwenthal dies after a brief illness.

1940
Becomes an American citizen (retains his Swiss citizenship).

1949
Ex-wife Maric dies.

1955
Dies of heart failure on April 18.

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1889 Settles into a program of self-education at age 10 and begins reading as much about science as he can. 1894 Stays on in Munich to finish the school year after his parents move to Pavia, Italy. Lasts only one term on his own and then follows his family to Italy.

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Anand Bhavan is the ancestral home of the Nehru family, in Allahabad. At midnight on August 14/15th, 1947, India and Pakistan became independent states. With Jawaharlal Nehru as prime minister of the new democracy in India, the Indian National Congress-the country's strongest advocate for self-rule-became the dominant political party. Pakistan's emergence as an independent nation realized the ambitions of the Muslim League led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Along with the pressure exerted by Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and Jinnah, and public outrage at events like the Amritsar Massacre, independence for India and Pakistan came as the result of developments in the region during World War II. After Britain declared itself and India at war with Germany, without consulting Indian legislatures, the Indian National Congress leaders demanded independence in return for wartime cooperation. Britain, desperate for India's support, agreed to negotiate after the war, stipulating that no regions would be forced to join the independent state.

In 1946, after negotiations between Britain, the Indian National Congress, and the Muslim League failed, a plan was adopted for partition of the subcontinent into the separate nations of India and Pakistan, which at the time also included what is now Bangladesh. Partition led to mass migrations of Muslims to Pakistan and Hindus and Sikhs to India, and violence in both countries that resulted in more than a half million deaths. For decades, territorial and religious disputes would characterize the relationship between the two countries. Indeed, in 2009, Indian and Pakistani troops still face each other across a ceasefire line in Kashmir, now divided between the two countries.

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Along with the pressure exerted by Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and Jinnah, and public outrage at events like the Amritsar Massacre, independence for India and Pakistan came as the result of developments in the region during World War II.

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This is a brief biography on Susan B. Anthony

Early Years

Susan B. Anthony was an American civil rights leader who was instrumental in the quest to grant women the right to vote (suffrage). Susan Brownell Anthony was born the daughter of Quaker parents on February 15, 1820, in Adams, Massachusetts. The family moved to New York State, where Susan received her education at a school her father ran. At school, she developed political inclinations and took a strong stance against slavery.

Fighting for Women's Rights

In 1854, Anthony devoted herself to the rights of women and advocated complete equality between men and women. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton published the weekly paper The Revolution, which contained equality literature and other political messages. She became vice president at large of the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) from 1869 until 1892, when she became president. On November 5, 1872, Anthony asserted her 14th Amendment right (to vote) and voted for Ulysses S. Grant in the presidential election. At the time, it was illegal for women to vote and Anthony was arrested. In 1878, women's suffrage was introduced to Congress, but the idea floundered for many years. Anthonym however, worked hard to promote women's rights. She traveled far and wide and gave anywhere from 75 to 100 speeches each year. In the meantime, Anthony and several other women published The History of Woman Suffrage in 1884. It wasn't until 1920 that the 19th Amendment (allowing women to vote) was ratified in Congress - 14 years after her death. Susan B. Anthony was honored on the US dollar coin minted in 1979. She was the first woman to be honored on a united States coin.

Susan B. Anthony $1 Coin

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This is a brief biography on Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony was an American civil rights leader who was instrumental in the quest to grant women the right to vote (suffrage). Susan Brownell Anthony was born the daughter of Quaker parents on February 15, 1820, in Adams, Massachusetts.

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Susan B. Anthony's Genius | Not for Ourselves Alone | PBS LearningMedia

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Raised in a family of reformers, Susan B. Anthony worked on the interlinked causes of abolition, temperance, and women's rights. She garnered tactics from all the movements as she went on the road, often under threat of violence, to convert others to her causes.

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Born: February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts, United States

Died: March 13, 1906 in Rochester, New York, United States

Other Names: Anthony, Susan Brownell

Susan B. Anthony was raised in the Quaker religion. Quakers believed in the equality of all people. They opposed slavery and believed in equal rights for women. At that time in the United States and in much of the world, women did not have the same rights as men. Anthony fought to change that.

Champion of Many Causes

Susan B. Anthony was born in Massachusetts in 1820. She was raised to stand up for what she believed. Like her parents, she was an abolitionist, a person who is against slavery. As a young teacher, she pushed for equal pay for women teachers and for college education for women. She later formed the Daughters of Temperance, a group of women who warned against the dangers of drinking alcohol. She is perhaps best known as a leader for women's rights.

Women's Rights

In 1848 Anthony and other women held a meeting in Seneca Falls, New York. They discussed the unfair treatment of women. They organized their fight for women's rights. They wanted the right to own property, to keep their own money, and to vote in elections. Anthony and her friend Elizabeth Cady Stanton worked hard to spread these ideas. They gave speeches, held meetings, and got people to sign petitions in favor of women's rights. In 1860 their hard work paid off. New York State passed a law that allowed women to own property. It was a start.

Woman Suffrage

When the American Civil War started in 1861, Anthony supported President Abraham Lincoln and worked to end slavery. After the war, voting rights were given to freed male slaves, but women still were not allowed to vote. Anthony was angry. She lectured all over the country and in Europe about woman suffrage. Suffrage means the right to vote.

In 1869 Anthony and Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association. They wanted to change the U.S. Constitution to allow women the right to vote. In 1872, Anthony was arrested for trying to vote in an election. Although it drew attention to her cause, it did not change the law. Women still could not vote.

Accomplishments

Anthony continued to work for women's rights until her death in 1906, at the age of eighty‐six. At that time only four states-Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Idaho-had given women the right to vote. The woman suffrage movement continued to grow. Finally, in 1920, all women in the United States were given the right to vote, thanks to the hard work of Anthony and others like her.

In Anthony's Day

1848: Women meet at Seneca Falls, New York, to demand equal rights with men.

1860: New York State passes the Married Women's Property Act, allowing women to own property.

1861: American Civil War between the North and South begins.

1865: Civil War ends and President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated.

1870: Congress adopts the Fifteenth Amendment, which gives freed male slaves the right to vote. Women are not included.

1890: National American Woman Suffrage Association is formed.

1920: Congress adopts the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the right to vote.

Source Citation

Gale Document Number: GALE|RRPISG875540028

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Document controls Citation metadata Born: February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts, United States Died: March 13, 1906 in Rochester, New York, United States Other Names: Anthony, Susan Brownell Susan B. Anthony was raised in the Quaker religion. Quakers believed in the equality of all people. They opposed slavery and believed in equal rights for women.

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Welcome to Britannica Library , it provides your patrons with access to three sites in one, with age appropriate material from the child-friendly collection through to the adult general reference collection.

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Born: February 12, 1809 in Hardin County, Kentucky
Died: April 15, 1865, assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Known for leading the country through the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. His eloquence is evident in many speeches including his most famous one, the Gettysburg Address. His second inaugural address, which includes the phrase, "With malice toward none; with charity for all..." is inscribed on one wall of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

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Born: February 12, 1809 in Hardin County, Kentucky Died: April 15, 1865, assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Known for leading the country through the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. His eloquence is evident in many speeches including his most famous one, the Gettysburg Address.

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Welcome to Britannica Library , it provides your patrons with access to three sites in one, with age appropriate material from the child-friendly collection through to the adult general reference collection.

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Welcome to Britannica Library , a safe, up-to-date, and age-appropriate information resource for Children, Young Adults, and Adults.

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Words to Know

In November 2008, Barack Obama made history. He was elected the first African American president of the United States. He is also the fifth African American to serve in the US Senate. He began his career as a civil rights lawyer. Some say Barack Obama's life symbolizes the American dream.

Two Races, One Goal

Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father was an African student from Kenya. His mother was white and from Kansas. The two met when Obama's father was attending school in the United States. But they divorced when Obama was young.

The family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, when Obama was six years old. He received his early education there. Four years later, they returned to Hawaii. Obama was raised by his white grandparents there.

Wants to Make a Difference

Obama saw how racism hurt people when he lived in New York. He understood that this could make young people turn to drugs. This led them to become poor and sad.

Obama wanted to change this. He moved to Chicago, Illinois. He became a community organizer there. This is someone who works with the people in a neighborhood to help them.

Obama left Chicago to attend Harvard Law School. There he became the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. This is the school's law journal.

Obama graduated with honors. He returned to Chicago to work as a lawyer. A few years later, he decided to run for the Illinois state senate. State senators work in the government. They represent an area of the state. Obama won. He served from 1997 to 2004.

As a senator, Obama worked hard for the people of Illinois. He helped create new programs. One of these was the Earned Income Tax Credit. This provided more than $100 million in tax cuts to Illinois families over three years.

Obama also helped pass laws to expand early childhood education programs. This meant more money for young children to go to school.

Bigger Dreams

Obama did a good job as state senator. But he wanted to help even more people. He ran for the US Senate in 2004. Now he would represent all the people in Illinois.

He won the election with 70 percent of the vote. Some people say he is successful because he can relate to both whites and African Americans. He is also a great speaker.

Obama is a Democrat. He believes the government should help poor people and those unable to make a living on their own. He believes money should be spent on improving public education.

Runs for President

In 2007 Obama announced that he would run for president of the United States. Obama first ran in the primary election. In these elections, Democrats choose their candidate. Republicans also choose their candidate. Then the two candidates run against each other.

There were several other candidates at first. But it soon became a race between Obama and New York senator Hillary Clinton. Obama won his party's nomination. Then he began his campaign against the Republican candidate, John McCain.

Obama's youthful energy and culturally diverse background attracted many younger voters. On November 4, 2008, Obama made history. He was elected the forty-fourth president of the United States. He was the first African American to win the nation's highest office.

Presidency

Obama became president during a difficult time. The country was in a severe economic recession. Millions of Americans lost their jobs.

He worked very hard to try to get people new jobs. He passed laws to give more people health care. He helped support the automobile industry so it would not collapse. He did not want more Americans to lose their jobs.

In 2009 Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He oversaw the final withdrawal of US troops from Iraq in December 2011. He announced plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

In 2011 he ordered a team of Navy SEALs to carry out a secret attack in Pakistan. There the team found and killed Osama bin Laden. He was the man who ordered the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

Obama was reelected as president in 2012. He served until 2016, the end of his second term.

Family

Obama has written two books for adults: Dreams of My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance and The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. He has also written a book for children. It is Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters.

Obama's African name means "blessed." He is married to Michelle, who is also a lawyer. They have two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

In Obama's Day

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

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In November 2008, Barack Obama made history. He was elected the first African American president of the United States. He is also the fifth African American to serve in the US Senate. He began his career as a civil rights lawyer. Some say Barack Obama's life symbolizes the American dream.

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Barack Obama (born August 4, 1961) was the 44th President of the United States of America. He was elected President on November 4, 2008 (as a Democrat), and was re-elected on November 6, 2012. His Vice-Presidential running mate both times was Joseph Biden. Barack Obama is the first African-American president of the USA.
Obama was born in Hawaii. His father, also called Barack Obama, was a college student from Kogelo, a village in western Kenya, a country in Africa. His mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. They met when they were both students at the University of Hawaii. His parents divorced in 1964, and his mother and maternal grandparents raised Barack. In 1967, Obama's mother married Lolo Soetoro, and moved the family to Indonesia. His half sister, Maya Soetoro, was born on Aug. 15, 1970. In 1971, Obama moved back to Hawaii to go to school, living with his grandparents. That year, Obama's father visited him in Hawaii; Barack would never see his father again.

After graduating high school in 1979, Obama attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. After two years, Obama transferred to Columbia University (in New York, New York), graduating in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in Political Science. His father had died the previous year (1982) in a car accident in Nairobi, Kenya.

In 1985, Obama moved to Chicago, Illinois, and worked as a community organizer, helping people improve their lives and become voters. In 1987, Obama travelled to Kenya, visiting his father's home town and meeting many of his relatives.

The next year, 1988, Obama enrolled at Harvard Law school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was elected the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review (a very prestigious magazine about law, edited by Harvard law students) in 1990, and graduated in 1991.

After graduating from law school, Obama moved back to Chicago, got married and entered politics. Michelle Robinson (an attorney) and Obama married in 1992; they have two daughters, Malia and Sasha. Obama's mother died of cancer in 1995. Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago from 1992 until 2004. He was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996, 1998, and 2002 (he lost a primary election for Congress in 2000). Obama was elected to the US Senate in 2004 (Dem-IL). Obama has written two books, Dreams from My Father (1995) and The Audacity of Hope (2006).

In the summer of 2008, Obama became the first African-American to be the presidential candidate of a major political party (the Democrats). On November 4, 2008, Obama won the general election, defeating John McCain (a Republican) to become the 44th President of the United States. His presidential inauguration was on January 20, 2009. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in October, 2009. Obama was elected for a second presidential term in 2012, defeating the Republican Mitt Romney.

A printable book about the 44th President of the USA, Barack Obama, to print (for early readers). Pages on Obama's early life, education, marriage, community organizing, politics, and the White House.

A printable book about the 44th President of the USA, Barack Obama, to print (for fluent readers). Pages on Obama's early life, education, marriage, community organizing, politics, and a timeline.

A printable worksheet on President Barack Obama, with a short biography, a picture to color, and questions to answer. Answers: 1. August 4, 1961, 2. Hawaii, 3. Kogelo, Kenya, Africa, 4. Illinois, 5. Joseph Biden.

Barack Obama
Write about Barack Obama. The picture shows Barack Obama and the seal of the President of the USA.

A short, printable worksheet quiz about Barack Obama. Use a word bank to fill in the missing words in statements about Barack Obama, for example, "Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, ________." Or go to the answers.

Put 10 Barack Obama-related words in alphabetical order. The words are: president, leader, election, attorney, lawyer, senator, congress, community, organizer, electorate. Go to the answers.

How many words can you make using the letters from "President Obama"? Sample answers: oboe, stride, orate, ...Go to worksheet with 30 blanks or a worksheet with 50 blanks.

How many words can you make using the letters from "Barack Obama"? Sample answers: cobra, rock, orb,...Go to worksheet with 30 blanks or a worksheet with 50 blanks.

If I Were the President
Essay Topic

Write a short essay using the prompt, "Write about what you'd do if you were the President. How would you change the world?"

Presidential Qualities
Essay Topic

Write a short essay using the prompt, "What do you think are the most important qualities a president should have (and why)?"

The White House

Read about the White House, who was the first President to live in it, when it burned down, and other historical events. Or color a printout on the White House. Or go to a quiz printout on the White House.

The Seal of the President of the USAThe seal of the President of the United States of America is based upon the Great Seal of the USA. The Presidential seal pictures an American bald eagle holding a ribbon in its beak; the ribbon has the motto of the USA, "E PLURIBUS UNUM," meaning "Out of many, one." The eagle is clutching an olive branch (with 13 olives and 13 leaves) in one foot (symbolizing peace) and 13 arrows in the other (the 13 stands for the original 13 colonies and the arrows symbolize the acceptance of the need to go to war to protect the country). Read about the US President's seal and color it.

US Flag Printout

Color the US flag.

Kenya
(Africa)
A page on the flag plus a quiz and coloring printout. Or go to a blackline master (printout) of the flag of Kenya.

A printable worksheet on the Portuguese Water Dog, with a short text to read, a picture to label, and questions to answer. Or go to the answers.

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barack obama coloring printout african american president usa us united states of america first

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President Barack Obama - EnchantedLearning.com

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President Barack Obama. Barack Obama was the 44th President of the USA. He was elected President on November 4, 2008, and was re-elected on November 6, 2012. His Vice-Presidential running mate both times was Joseph Biden. Barack Obama is the first African-American president of the USA.

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Grades 4 +

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Barack Obama | 60-Second Presidents | PBS LearningMedia

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Barack Obama was the first black president to ever be elected into office. Though he came in with two foreign wars and a housing crisis on his plate, check out what he did to define how Americans live today.

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Biography

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Barack's Parents

Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on August 4, 1961. His mother was Stanley Ann Dunham, called Ann. She met Barack Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr., while she was taking a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii. Barack Sr. was of Luo ancestry. He had grown up herding goats in Kenya, but he earned a scholarship to the University of Hawaii. They married in 1961. Interracial marriage was illegal in most states in 1961.

Barack's Mom

Ann dropped out of college to care for Barack Jr. His father was accepted to a PhD program at Harvard University. His father studied economics because he dreamed of helping Kenya's economy. Baracks parents divorced in 1964, and Ann returned to the university. As a single parent, she needed food stamps and help from her family to do it, but she finished her degree in anthropology. She spent the next 20 years completing her PhD in anthropology. Her thesis was about blacksmithing in Indonesia.

Education and Early Job Experience

Barack moved to Indonesia when he was six. His mother had met Lolo Soetoro after she returned to college. He was from Java, an island that is part of Indonesia. He studied geography. Ann and Lolo were married in Hawaii. They moved to Indonesia in 1966 and had a daughter, Maya. Barack went to Indonesian and English-speaking schools there until he was 10. Then, he moved back to Hawaii to live with his grandparents. For grades 5-12, he went to Punahou School and graduated with honors in 1979. He was an excellent basketball player. Obama wrote about growing up in Hawaii: The opportunity that Hawaii offered - to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect - became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear. With the help of scholarships and student loans, he went to Occidental College in Los Angeles from 1979-1981, and then Columbia University in New York. He decided to major in political science, specializing in international relations.

After school, Barack moved to Chicago. From 1985-1988, he worked as a community organizer for the Developing Communities Project (DCP). DCP was founded by a group of churches to help people who lost their jobs when local steel plants were closed. Barack helped set up a job training program, a tutoring program for people who wanted to go to college, and a tenants' rights organization. After school, Barack moved to Chicago. From 1985-1988, he worked as a community organizer for the Developing Communities Project (DCP). DCP was founded by a group of churches to help people who lost their jobs when local steel plants were closed. Barack helped set up a job training program, a tutoring program for people who wanted to go to college, and a tenants' rights organization.Barack became interested in law and was accepted to Harvard Law School. He was the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. When he finished law school, he went back to Chicago where he was an attorney for victims of housing and employment discrimination. He also worked on voting rights legislation.

Marriage and Children

He taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School and married Michelle Robinson. They had met while he had a summer internship at a law firm. She was an attorney there who was asked to be his adviser. They were married in 1992 and had two daughters: Malia (born 1998) and Sasha (born 2001). Barack published his autobiography, Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, in 1995. It has since been printed in 10 languages. An audiobook version, which he narrated, received a Grammy Award for best spoken-word album.

First Political Roles

In 1996, he was elected to the Illinois State Senate. His district included both the area around the University of Chicago (Hyde Park) and some of the poorest ghettos on the South Side of Chicago. He helped pass ethics reform, cut taxes for working families, expanded health care services, and increased funding for early childhood education programs for the poor.

In 2004, he became known nationally when he gave a speech in support of John Kerry at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. That same year, Obama became the third African-American elected to the US Senate since Reconstruction. He created a website to track federal spending, helped pass lobbying reform, provided funding to lock up and destroy weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union, and pushed for alternative energy development and for improved benefits for veterans.

President

In 2008, he defeated Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic candidate for president and defeated the Republican candidate, John McCain, to become the 44th President of the United States. He was the first African-American president. The next year, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2010, he signed the Affordable Care Act into law, which gave millions of people access to health care who otherwise would not qualify. The Act actually required individuals to enroll in a health care program, or, pay a stiff penalty. The controversial act, which became known as "Obamacare", survived challenges in Congress that it inflated the nation's ballooning debt and violated the Constitution.

In 2011, United States Navy Seals killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. Bin Laden was considered one of the most dangerous terrorists in American history and was thought to be the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks. Obama also signed legislation to improve diplomatic relations with Cuba and Iran. On November 6, 2012, Barack Obama was elected to a second term as president after defeating the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney.

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President 44 - Barack Obama Biography - Presidents Series

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Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on August 4, 1961. His mother was Stanley Ann Dunham, called Ann. She met Barack Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr., while she was taking a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii

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B arack H. Obama is the 44th President of the United States.

His story is the American story - values from the heartland, a middle-class upbringing in a strong family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead, and the conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others.

With a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, President Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. He was raised with help from his grandfather, who served in Patton's army, and his grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle management at a bank.

After working his way through college with the help of scholarships and student loans, President Obama moved to Chicago, where he worked with a group of churches to help rebuild communities devastated by the closure of local steel plants.

He went on to attend law school, where he became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. Upon graduation, he returned to Chicago to help lead a voter registration drive, teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago, and remain active in his community.

President Obama's years of public service are based around his unwavering belief in the ability to unite people around a politics of purpose. In the Illinois State Senate, he passed the first major ethics reform in 25 years, cut taxes for working families, and expanded health care for children and their parents. As a United States Senator, he reached across the aisle to pass groundbreaking lobbying reform, lock up the world's most dangerous weapons, and bring transparency to government by putting federal spending online.

He was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008, and sworn in on January 20, 2009. He and his wife, Michelle, are the proud parents of two daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7.

This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and later published in the book series Les Prix Nobel/ Nobel Lectures/The Nobel Prizes. The information is sometimes updated with an addendum submitted by the Laureate.

To cite this section
MLA style: Barack H. Obama - Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2020. Wed. 26 Feb 2020. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2009/obama/biographical/>

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B arack H. Obama is the 44th President of the United States. His story is the American story - values from the heartland, a middle-class upbringing in a strong family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead, and the conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others.

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Welcome to Britannica Library , a safe, up-to-date, and age-appropriate information resource for Children, Young Adults, and Adults.

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Ruby Bridges was a child who played an important part in the civil rights movement. She was one of several African American children chosen to attend formerly all-white schools in New Orleans in 1960.

Ruby Nell Bridges was born on September 8, 1954, in Tylertown, Mississippi. She was the oldest of Abon and Lucille Bridges' eight children. When she was 4, her family moved to New Orleans so her parents could find better jobs.

When Ruby was in kindergarten, a federal court ruled that New Orleans schools needed to become integrated, or to allow both black and white students to attend. The school district chose several African American children to start the next school year at all-white schools. Ruby was chosen to attend the William Frantz Elementary School.

Ruby was the only African American child attending Frantz School. She was taken to and from school by four federal marshals, policemen assigned to protect her. White parents who did not want their children taught in the same school as black children yelled at Ruby and threatened her. Most white parents also would not let their children attend the Frantz School anymore, so Ruby was the only student in her first grade class for most of the year. She and her teacher, Barbara Henry, became close friends as they worked together.

Slowly, parents became less angry and afraid and began allowing their children to return to Frantz School. The next year, all the students had returned and the school was fully integrated.

Ruby went on to marry and have four children. In 1999 she created a charity, the Ruby Bridges Foundation, that promoted understanding and unity among schoolchildren. She also wrote a book in 1999 called Through My Eyes that tells about her experiences. Other books about her include The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles.

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Kids InfoBits - Document - Bridges, Ruby

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Ruby Bridges was a child who played an important part in the civil rights movement. She was one of several African American children chosen to attend formerly all-white schools in New Orleans in 1960. Ruby Nell Bridges was born on September 8, 1954, in Tylertown, Mississippi.

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Students learn about Ruby Bridges integrating a school and read a short article about Ruby Bridges as an adult.

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Biography

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This is a complete biography on Ruby Bridges.

Ruby Bridges

Ruby Bridges became a symbol and pioneer for the American civil rights movement at just six years old. She was born on September 8, 1954, as the oldest of five children. At two years old, her family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, in search of better work opportunities. Bridges was born during the same year as Brown v. Board of Education, a famous Supreme Court case that made racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. However, despite this court ruling, many schools continued to separate students based on race, forcing Black students to attend inferior institutions and giving them fewer opportunities for success.

Bridges attended segregated kindergarten in New Orleans. A year later, federal courts ordered New Orleans' schools to desegregate. To circumvent these laws, schools wrote challenging entrance exams that Black students had to pass to prove they were at the same academic level as white students. Ruby Bridges passed the exam along with five other students, gaining admission to the all-white William Franz Elementary School. Bridges, however, was the only one who ended up going to William Franz; two students decided to stay at their old school, and the other three were sent to another all-white school.

Bridges' first day of school was like no other. Ruby and her mother were escorted to school by four federal marshals every day, fighting through crowds of people screaming racial slurs and protesting her admission. Bridges later commented that the only moment that scared her throughout the protests was the sight of a woman holding a Black baby doll in a coffin. Her first day at school was spent solely in the principal's office due to the commotion caused by white parents pulling their children out of the school. She sat in a class of one with Barbara Henry, the only teacher who accepted her into the classroom; she ate lunch alone and played with her teacher at recess. Bridges' family suffered, too; her father lost his job and grocery stores refused to sell to her mother. Despite the oppression the Bridges family faced for nothing more than getting their daughter an education, Ruby Bridges never missed a day of school.

Over time, other Black students enrolled at the school, including Bridges' four nieces. Ruby Bridges helped pave the way for racial integration in schools, dealing with severe racism and continuing to push for her right to learn. She wrote about her experiences in two books and won the Carter G. Woodson Award; she also established the Ruby Bridges Foundation in 1999 to promote tolerance and push for change via education.

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This is a complete biography on Ruby Bridges. Ruby Bridges became a symbol and pioneer for the American civil rights movement at just six years old. She was born on September 8, 1954, as the oldest of five children. At two years old, her family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, in search of better work opportunities.

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Welcome to Britannica Library , a safe, up-to-date, and age-appropriate information resource for Children, Young Adults, and Adults.

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Malcolm X | Minister and Civil Rights Activist Video | PBS LearningMedia

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During the struggle for civil rights, several leaders rose to prominence, seeking the best solution to the longstanding marginalization and disenfranchisement of the black population in the United States. Malcolm X became a powerful voice in this movement, especially for the poor and victims of racial violence, bringing pride and power to his people.

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Malcolm X was a civil rights activist. A civil rights activist is someone who fights for equal rights for all people no matter their color, gender, or religion. He inspired many people through his words and actions. He believed in the use of violence as a means of self‐defense and often found himself the target of violence.

Malcolm Little was born the seventh of eight children to Earl and Louise Little in 1925. The Nebraska family lived in a world of racism and poverty. While Malcolm was still young, the white racist group known as the Ku Klux Klan attacked the Littles' home. As a result, the family moved to Michigan, but was attacked again, this time by the Black Legion. They burned the Littles' home to the ground. In 1931 Earl Little's body was found lying across railroad tracks. Many believe he was killed by the Black Legion.

Louise Little tried to raise her eight children herself. But the family was extremely poor. That, combined with the violence she had suffered for many years and the death of her husband, was more than Louise could handle. She entered a mental hospital. Her children were split up among foster homes and relatives. Malcolm Little never attended to school past the eighth grade.

Little became involved in crime. He sold illegal liquor and robbed stores and homes. He was arrested in 1946 and sentenced to 10 years in jail. Prison changed Little when fellow inmates introduced him to the Nation of Islam. This group was made up of followers of the religion of Islam. They believe that African Americans are superior to all other races and must completely separate themselves from the white race.

Little was released from prison in 1952 and joined the Black Muslims. He became known as Malcolm X. He was an energetic speaker who could inspire listeners to action. Malcolm X founded temples and was appointed minister of three of them. In 1958 he married Betty Shabazz, also a Black Muslim. The couple had six daughters together, including twins born seven months after Malcolm X's death.

Another belief of the Black Muslims was that they should play no role in politics. Malcolm X was becoming increasingly popular due to his fiery speeches. He began to disagree with the Black Muslim practice of staying out of politics. Malcolm X was watching the civil rights movement in the South. He believed political action might be necessary if African Americans were to achieve the same rights that white people had.

In 1963 Malcolm X learned that the Black Muslims were planning to kill him. Leaders of the Black Muslims were worried about Malcolm X's growing popularity. They thought he was becoming too powerful. Malcolm X split from the group and founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc. in 1964. He declared that his new movement would take an active role in the civil rights movement.

That same year Malcolm X made a religious journey to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This journey is a trip that every Muslim should try to make in their lifetime. While there, Malcolm X was accepted into the traditional Islamic faith. It was during this trip that Malcolm X experienced a change. He came to believe that people of all races could live together, and he left behind his previous belief that African Americans and white people must be separated.

During this trip, Malcolm X went on to visit several African nations. When he returned home he formed the Organization of Afro‐American Unity. This was a nonreligious group aimed at bringing together people of African descent to share ideas and gain equal rights.

Although Malcolm X's support for civil rights and his outspokenness resulted in threats of violence against him and his family, everyone had survived the threats and attempts without harm. Then, in 1965, Malcolm X was in the midst of giving a speech in New York. His pregnant wife and four daughters were in the audience. Three men stood up from the audience and shot Malcolm X 16 times. Two of the men were Black Muslims. Although no evidence has ever been found, many people believe other political or religious groups were also involved in the assassination.

1939: World War II begins.

1945: President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies.

1951: Color TV is introduced.

1963: African American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

1964: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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Malcolm X was a civil rights activist. A civil rights activist is someone who fights for equal rights for all people no matter their color, gender, or religion. He inspired many people through his words and actions. He believed in the use of violence as a means of self‐defense and often found himself the target of violence.

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Looking for Lincoln | Abraham Lincoln, Attorney at Law | PBS LearningMedia

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In this video segment, from the PBS documentay Looking for Lincoln, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin examine Lincoln's years as a "prairie" lawyer on the Illinois circuit, and discuss how they honed and polished Lincoln's confidence, sense of fairness, and social skills.

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This biography describes the entire life of Abraham Lincoln in seven easy-to-read, captivating pages!

Lincoln Birthplace

Early Childhood

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky, to Thomas and Nancy Lincoln in their one room log cabin on their farm known as Sinking Spring (near modern-day Hodgenville, Kentucky). Although Thomas lacked formal education, he was an excellent farmer and carpenter, and often times served as a member of the jury. Thomas and Nancy joined a small Baptist church in the area that had broken away from the larger church over the issue of slavery.

Tragedy in Pigeon Creek

When Abe was two, the family moved to nearby Knob Creek Farm, where Abe's first memories of his childhood were formed. Because of difficulties his father had with the title to the farm, Thomas Lincoln moved his family to Pigeon Creek, Indiana in 1816 where the seven year-old Abraham helped him build a log cabin in the woods. Two years later, Nancy died of "milk sickness." Milk sickness is a rare disease caused by drinking the milk or consuming the meat of a cow that had fed on poisonous roots. In 1819, however, Thomas married Sarah Bush Johnston, whom Abraham would call "mother." Sarah was a kind and warm woman who brought her three children, Matilda, Elizabeth, and John to the Lincoln homestead to live with Abraham and his sister.

Motivated to Learn

From an early age, Sarah recognized Abraham's quick wit and intellect and encouraged him to read. Abraham became an avid reader, gobbling up any book he could get his hands on from neighbors, clergymen, and traveling teachers. Abraham attended school on an inconsistent basis. At times, traveling teachers may have taught at a nearby rudimentary schoolhouse, and at other times Abraham walked several miles to the nearest school. Lincoln himself admitted that the total amount of schooling he received in his childhood was no more than twelve months; nevertheless, he became an excellent reader, learned to write, measure, and make division and multiplication calculations. Abraham took his studies very seriously. Without paper in the house to practice his writing and math, he often did arithmetic on the back of a wooden spoon using charcoal as a makeshift pencil. Lincoln described where he grew up and the opportunities for education in the following quote:
"It was," he once wrote, "a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up. There were some schools, so-called, but no qualification was ever required of a teacher beyond "readin', writin', and cipherin'" to the Rule of Three. If a straggler supposed to understand Latin happened to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a wizard."
Abe's Physical Gifts

Abe's growing desire to attend school conflicted with his father's demands on him, which often made him appear lazy to his neighbors. His father often rented him out to perform manual labor tasks such as shucking corn, hoeing, gathering, and plowing. During the early 1800's, Abe's father was entitled to all of the money earned as a result of his son's labor. Abe's considerable strength was evident with his unusual skill and power with an axe. Abe was said to be able to chop more wood and split more rails than anyone around. Far larger and stronger than the other boys in the region, Abe could outrun and outwrestle all of them. Unlike most boys of his time, however, Abe avoided hunting because he took no pleasure in killing animals.

A Lifelong Lesson

Although Abe gained a reputation as a prankster, and for his storytelling abilities, he also gained a reputation for honesty. When he was nineteen years old, he was hired to co-steer a flatboat down the Mississippi River to unload produce to be sold at the plantations in the South and to return with the money earned. For these services, Abe was paid eight dollars a month. More importantly, these forays into the South opened Abe's eyes to the world beyond the Indiana frontier and likely begun to shape his views toward the horrors of slavery as he witnessed the auctions and treatment of slaves firsthand.

Abraham Lincoln Articles

Abraham Lincoln Reading Comprehension (Grades 5 and up). These Include Between 7-10 Critical-Thought, Multiple Choice Qustions. Online Versions Give Immediate Feedback and Score Reports

Abraham Lincoln Activities

Important Places in the Life of Abraham Lincoln Interactive Map - This interactive map allows students to explore the important places in Abraham Lincoln's life such as New Salem, Springfield, New York City, and many others.

Mr. Polk's War - This captivating printable requires students to understand the concept of manifest destiny and to conduct a mock interview in which they answer tough questions in the role of Abraham Lincoln (against the Mexican-American War) and in the role of President James K. Polk (in support of the war).

Futility Versus Immortality - This activity requires students to analyze the qualities of poor leaders such as Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan and contrast them with a leader such as Abraham Lincoln.

I'll Always Remember Where I Was - This historical prompts requires students to imagine the earth-shaking effect the news of the Emancipation Proclamation had on Americans in 1862. In the spirit of the Emancipation Proclamation, students must write about the biggest news event of their lives and describe its impact.

The Power of Dreams - This printout describes Abraham Lincoln's famous dream about his own assassination and then requires students to describe and draw a scene from a powerful dream they've had.

Oh Captain! My Captain! - This printout describes Walt Whitman's famous Oh Captain! My Captain! elegy to President Lincoln and then asks students to think of their own hero and to write a similar poem.

Primary Source Analysis - Lincoln's Letter to Fanny McCollough This printable activity requires students to analyze a famous condolence letter written by Abraham Lincoln to a teenage girl after her father was killed in the Civil War.

With Malice for None, With Charity for All Decoding Puzzle - This activity requires students to decode and interpret the famous presidential quote uttered by Abraham Lincoln.

Dr. Samuel Mudd - Critical Thought Questions The printable narrative that describes the role Dr. Mudd played after Lincoln's assassination. It includes three short-answer questions regarding the main ideas of the article content, critical thought about the content, and vocabulary from the passage.

Ms. Laura Keene - Critical Thought Questions This printable narrative that describes the role Ms. Laura Keene played after Lincoln's assassination. It includes three short-answer questions regarding the main ideas of the article content, critical thought about the content, and vocabulary from the passage.

The Execution of Mary Surratt - Critical Thought Questions - This printable narrative describes the circumstances in the Mary Surratt execution . It includes four short-answer questions regarding the main ideas of the article content, critical thought about the content, and vocabulary from the passage.

Abraham Lincoln Paragraph Paramedics - Find and correct the spelling, punctuation, and usage errors in the paragraph. Click on the error and then type in the correction. Immediate feedback is given.

Presidential Quotes - This activity first requires students to match the famous quote with the president. Next, students must choose their favorite quote and attempt to explain it in detail.

Presidential Heights - Did you know James Madison was the shortest president? Did you know Abraham Lincoln was the tallest president? This fun math activity requires students to answer questions about the heights of presidents by viewing the bar graph and making conversions from feet to inches and inches to feet.

Printable Presidents Word Search

Illinois State Quarter (Featuring Lincoln) Coloring

Lincoln Memorial Coloring

Lincoln Home National Historic Site Video

Online Games Involving Lincoln

Presidential Mismatch - Students must rearrange the presidential chart so that the presidents are in the correct order in which they served. The number of presidents used in the game is customizable. The timer allows for friendly competitions. Students who enjoy history will love this game!

Currency Mismatch - This is a wildly fun game that requires students to drag and drop the correct presidential faces to their correct dollar bills. The game is timed and makes for awesome friendly competitions within a classroom.

Glamour Legends - This fun game allows students to dress up George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Harriet Tubman, or Christopher Columbus in more modern, or more primitive clothes.

Presidents Word Search - This is an online word search with the 45 presidents. Choose with or without a timer.

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Abraham Lincoln Biography in Seven Pages

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This biography describes the entire life of Abraham Lincoln in seven easy-to-read, captivating pages! Lincoln Birthplace Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky, to Thomas and Nancy Lincoln in their one room log cabin on their farm known as Sinking Spring (near modern-day Hodgenville, Kentucky).

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Words to Know

Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States. He served from 1861 to 1865. Lincoln is remembered for ending slavery.

Childhood

Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky. His family was very poor. He had one sister and one brother. His brother died as a baby.

Then the family moved to Indiana. Lincoln grew up on the wild frontier. He did not go to school every day. In fact, he stayed home most days.

Lincoln's mother died when he was 10 years old. Then his father married a woman named Sarah. Lincoln loved his stepmother. She brought three children of her own into the family.

Honest Abe

Lincoln moved to Illinois in 1831. He worked many jobs. He worked as a postmaster and store manager. He was always honest to his customers. People called him "Honest Abe."

Lincoln ran for the Illinois state government five times and won four times. He studied law in his spare time. He became a lawyer in 1836. He was successful at this job. He married Mary Todd in 1842.

Lincoln was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1846. Lincoln spoke out against slavery as a representative.

Lincoln returned to Illinois when his term ended. He went back to being a lawyer. Lincoln began speaking about important issues. He was a good speaker and people liked him.

President and the Civil War

Lincoln was elected president in 1860. This was a difficult time to be president. Many southern states were afraid of the president. They did not want him to end slavery.

Slavery was important to the states in the South. But many people in the North wanted slavery to end. Soon, the North and South were fighting each other. This was called the Civil War. It lasted from 1861 until 1865.

The North won the war, but many lives were lost on both sides. Slavery had finally come to an end.

Many people loved the president. But people who supported slavery disliked him very much. One night in 1865, Lincoln was at a theater. A man named John Wilkes Booth shot and killed Lincoln.

Booth was angry that the South had lost the Civil War. He was angry that slavery had ended.

Many people think that Lincoln was one of the greatest US presidents.

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

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Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States. He served from 1861 to 1865. Lincoln is remembered for ending slavery. Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky. His family was very poor. He had one sister and one brother. His brother died as a baby. Then the family moved to Indiana.

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Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809- April 15, 1865) was the 16th President of the United States of America. He served as President from March 4, 1861, until April 15, 1865 (he was re-elected in 1864). Lincoln's Vice-President was Andrew Johnson (1808-1875).
Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky. He had very little formal schooling and was mostly self-educated. He eventually became a lawyer and a Republican politician; he earned the nickname "Honest Abe." Lincoln married Mary Todd in 1842; they had four sons, but only one (Robert) survived childhood.

Lincoln was elected President in 1860. During Lincoln's presidency, the Southern states seceded from (left) the Union because Lincoln and the Northern states were against slavery. Six weeks after becoming President, the Civil War began. In this war, the Northern states (which stayed in the Union) fought the Southern states (called the Confederacy). The Civil War lasted from 1861 until 1865.

The Gettysburg Address

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met here on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But in a larger sense we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled, here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they have, thus far, so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

On Jan. 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which eventually led to the freeing of all slaves in the USA. During the Civil War, Lincoln gave many speeches, including the Gettysburg Address (Nov. 1863), a short speech in which he stated how a country must be dedicated to human freedom in order to survive.

Lincoln was re-elected President in 1864 (defeating Democrat George B. McClellan).

General Robert E. Lee (from the Confederacy) surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant (from the Union) on April 9, 1865, effectively ending the Civil War.

President Lincoln was shot on April 14, 1865, by John Wilkes Booth (an actor). Lincoln had been attending a play at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. Lincoln died the next morning. He was the first US president ever assassinated. Andrew Johnson (Lincoln's Vice-President) became the next US President.

Related Pages:

A printable book for early readers about Abraham Lincoln. The book has pages on when he was born, where he was born, early life, being the 16th President of the USA, the Civil War, the Lincoln Memorial, and Lincoln's images on money.

Abraham Lincoln:
A Book for Fluent Readers
A printable book for fluent readers about Abraham Lincoln. The book has pages on when his early life, early career, Congress, Lincoln's Presidency, the Civil War, Lincoln's legacy, and a timeline.

A fill in the blanks activity on the 16th President of the United States. Or go to the answers.

Abraham Lincoln Printout/Quiz
Read about Lincoln, color his picture and take a quiz on his life using this worksheet. Or go to the quiz Answers

Put 10 Abraham Lincoln-related words in alphabetical order. The words are: Abe, cabin, Civil War, honest, Illinois, Kentucky, log, Mary, president, slavery. Go to the answers.

Abraham Lincoln Timeline

Abraham Lincoln Timeline Quiz Printout

Take a quiz on a timeline of Lincoln's life. Or go to the Timeline Quiz Answers

The Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial commemorates the life of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. It is located in Potomac Park, Washington, D.C.

Mt. Rushmore National MemorialRead about Mt. Rushmore and how it was built by Gutzon Borglum. Or go to a printout on Mt. Rushmore.

Use the alphabet to find the secret message about Abraham Lincoln. Answer: "Abraham Lincoln was a great US President."

Find the words in the wordsearch puzzle, then use the extra letters to find the secret message. Secret Message: "Honest Abe Lincoln." Or go to the answers.

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Advertisement. EnchantedLearning.com is a user-supported site. As a bonus, site members have access to a banner-ad-free version of the site, with print-friendly pages. Click here to learn more. (Already a member? Click here.) Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809- April 15, 1865) was the 16th President of the United States of America.

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Welcome to Britannica Library , it provides your patrons with access to three sites in one, with age appropriate material from the child-friendly collection through to the adult general reference collection.

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How Jane Goodall Changed the Study of Animal Behavior | PBS LearningMedia

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Find out how Jane Goodall pioneered contemporary field biology and the criticism her work received in this video from NATURE: Animal Reunions. The accompanying video also raises the question whether wild creatures can really experience and communicate emotions like joy, devotion, and love.

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This is a complete biography on Jane Goodall. Chimpanzees Jane Goodall was born April 3, 1934, in England. Her parents divorced when she was eight years old and she moved with her mother to Bournemouth, England. In Bournemouth, Jane met the legendary wildlife expert, Sir Richard Attleborough, who taught Jane about the wonders of primates and the importance of preserving their fragile habitats.

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Document controls

Citation metadata

Main content

Born: April 03, 1934 in London, United Kingdom

Occupation: Primatologist

Other Names: Morris-Goodall, Valerie Jane; Goodall, Valerie Jane; Lawick-Goodall, Jane van; Bryceson, Jane Goodall

Sidebar: Hide Show

Words to Know

ancient

from very long ago

reserve

a safe place for wildlife

protect

to keep safe

documentaries

programs about real people and events

Jane Goodall is an animal behaviorist. This means she is a scientist who studies animal behavior. Goodall is known for her research on chimpanzees in Africa.

Goodall was born on April 3, 1934. She loved animals as a child and wanted to find out more about them.

By 1960 Goodall was working for Dr. Louis Leakey in Africa. Leakey was studying the fossil remains of ancient humans. Fossils are the remains of plants or animals that lived many years ago.

But Goodall really wanted to learn more about living animals. Leakey suggested she study chimpanzees.

Gombe Stream Reserve

Goodall set up camp near the Gombe Stream Reserve in Tanzania, Africa. There, she studied chimpanzees in the wild for many years. She gave the chimpanzees names and watched how they behaved. She kept careful notes of their behavior and relationships.

Goodall learned many new things about chimpanzees. She found that they make and use tools. She watched chimpanzees using twigs to scoop up and eat termites. Before her studies, scientists had thought that only humans used tools.

Goodall also wrote about chimpanzees' family and social relationships. She saw them comfort each other using touch.

Goodall wrote several books about her experiences. These include My Life with Chimpanzees and Jane Goodall: Forty Years at Gombe.

In 1991 Goodall started Roots & Shoots. The program teaches children to care for animals and the environment.

Later Life

Goodall continues to be active in her organization, the Jane Goodall Institute. She travels 300 days a year to speak for the organization and its mission, to protect wildlife.

In 2010 Goodall celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of her original trip to the Gombe Stream Reserve. This was the place where Goodall did most of her research on chimpanzees.

Goodall also participates in many television shows that feature chimps, including documentaries for Animal Planet, PBS, and HBO.

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Family: Married Baron Hugo van Lawick, 1964 (divorced, 1974), children: Hugo Eric Louis (Grub); married Derek Bryceson, 1975 (died, 1980). Education: Cambridge University, Ph.D. in ethology, 1965.

Source Citation

Gale Document Number: GALE|INSNHD934727642

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Document controls Citation metadata Born: April 03, 1934 in London, United Kingdom Occupation: Primatologist Other Names: Morris-Goodall, Valerie Jane; Goodall, Valerie Jane; Lawick-Goodall, Jane van; Bryceson, Jane Goodall Sidebar: Hide Show ancient from very long ago reserve a safe place for wildlife protect to keep safe documentaries programs about real people and events Jane Goodall is an animal behaviorist.

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Welcome to Britannica Library , it provides your patrons with access to three sites in one, with age appropriate material from the child-friendly collection through to the adult general reference collection.

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Welcome to Britannica Library , a safe, up-to-date, and age-appropriate information resource for Children, Young Adults, and Adults.

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Maya Angelou is an American author and poet. She is best known for her book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. She had an older brother. He gave her the nickname of Maya.

In 1931 Angelou's parents separated. They sent Angelou and her brother to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. Angelou was three years old.

Angelou later returned to St. Louis to live with her mother. She was seven years old. One year later she was attacked by a man her mother knew.

Angelou then did not speak for almost five years. She read many books. A teacher encouraged her to read aloud. This helped Angelou to speak again.

In 1941 Angelou and her brother moved to San Francisco, California, with their mother. Angelou won a scholarship to study dance and drama at a special high school.

Soon after she graduated from high school, Angelou gave birth to her son, Guy. She worked many jobs to support herself and her son.

In 1949 Angelou married Anastasios Angelopulos, also known as Tosh Angelos. After three years, they divorced.

Angelou then began a career as a singer and dancer. She toured Europe performing in the opera Porgy and Bess. Angelou soon gained fame as an actress and singer.

In 1957 Angelou recorded her first album. It is called Calypso Lady. That same year she also got a role in a play called The Blacks.

In 1960 Angelou moved to Cairo, Egypt. She got a job as the editor of a newspaper. The next year she moved to the country of Ghana. She continued to write and edit.

In 1965 Angelou returned to the United States. She joined the civil rights movement. This was an effort by many people to make sure that African Americans got the same rights as white people. She worked with and supported the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

One day, one of Angelou 's friends said she should write the story of her early life. She did. Her book was published in 1970 as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. It was very popular.

Angelou went on to write more than 30 books. They include poetry, nonfiction, and fiction. Her first poetry book was published in 1971 as Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die.

In 1993 she wrote the poem, "On the Pulse of Morning" for President Bill Clinton's inauguration ceremony. She read her poem at the ceremony.

Angelou received many honors and awards. They include the Presidential Medal of Arts in 2000, the Lincoln Medal in 2008, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.

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Maya Angelou is an American author and poet. She is best known for her book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. She had an older brother. He gave her the nickname of Maya.

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Greta Thunberg on the Urgency of the Climate Crisis | PBS NewsHour | PBS LearningMedia

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Although more and more Americans are taking the threat of climate change seriously, less than 40 percent expect to make "major sacrifices" to tackle the problem. According to Greta Thunberg, a Swedish teenager and climate activist, drastic action is exactly what needs to happen to address the problem.

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Document controls Citation metadata Born: January 03, 2003 in Stockholm, Sweden Occupation: Environmental activist Sidebar: Hide Show Greta Thunberg is an environmental activist. She fights for climate change. She organized "School Strike for Climate." Students who join her walk out of school on Fridays to protest climate change.