Unsung Heroes Of US History

Unsung Heroes Of US History — page 1 — James Armistead Helps at the Battle of Yorktown Many black soldiers fought in the American Revolution Some of them were free and some were enslaved Both the American and British sides also used slaves as spies James Armistead was one of these spies The British thought he was working for them But Armistead was really working for the Americans He gave the British all the wrong information Armistead was born into slavery in 1760 When the revolution came Armistead holds the reins of Lafayette's horse he joined the American side He had to get his owner's permission to serve He was assigned to the Marquis de Lafayette Lafayette was a French military But he soon saw Armistead's ability officer on the American side of to be a convincing spy the war Lafayette first used Armistead posed as a runaway Armistead as a messenger slave He knew the Virginia

Unsung Heroes Of US History — page 2 — 40 Amount that Armistead was awarded per year for his services during the war Armistead was a slave who served the American side of the American Revolution Posing as a runaway slave he gathered important strategy from the British side The information Armistead gathered was used to win the Battle of Armistead's Yorktown Armistead helped help was American forces critical in win the Battle of countryside well The British winning this Yorktown needed guidance there The British important officers suspected nothing and battle Despite freely discussed strategy in front of his role in helping the Armistead Armistead reported all of American troops he was not freed this back to Lafayette from slavery until 1787 Armistead In July 1781 Armistead learned that was grateful to Lafayette and added 10 000 British troops were heading that name onto his He went by to Yorktown Virginia Lafayette told James Armistead Lafayette for the George Washington Washington rest of his life He farmed in Virginia concentrated his forces on the town until he passed away at the age The Americans were able to halt the of 72 British forces and win the Battle of Yorktown By October the British surrendered

Unsung Heroes Of US History — page 3 — Shirley Chisholm Gets Elected to Congress In 1964 Chisholm won a seat in The Voting Rights Act of 1965 forever changed the politics of the New York State Senate She the United States The act made stood up for what she believed in She tried to make people's lives better For this she was known it illegal to prevent people from voting because of their race Black people could now fully participate in democracy Shirley Chisholm would help give them a voice as Fighting Shirley Then in 1968 she jumped into national politics She ran for a seat in the US House of Representatives She had already been an activist in her neighborhood Now she promised to keep representing those interests on the national stage Chisholm won the election She became the first black woman ever elected to Congress Chisholm wanted to bring attention to her causes She believed people should get help from the government to pay for education She thought parents should have easier access to child care In 1969 she used her first speech to Congress to Chisholm wanted to help people denounce the Vietnam

Unsung Heroes Of US History — page 4 — Chisholm was the first black woman to run for president BRING US TOGETHER Like many Americans she didn't think the United States should be involved in the war She also served on several committees including the Rules Committee This important committee determines how bills are debated in the House It previously had only one female member I VOTE CHISHOLM 1972 UNBOUGHT AND UNBOSSED But Chisholm had bigger ideas She decided to run for president in 1972 She was the first black woman ever Chisholm retired from Congress in to do so Chisholm got her name on 1983 When asked why she ran for the primary ballot in 12 states At president the reason was simple the party convention she received Somebody had to do it first 152 votes about 10 percent of the total It wasn't much but it represented huge progress CHISHOLM's LATER LIFE Number of terms Chisholm served in the US House of Representatives In 1993 President Bill Clinton nominated Chisholm to serve as Chisholm was first elected to the New York State Senate in 1964 the US ambassador to Jamaica Because of poor health she was unable to accept Chisholm had Caribbean roots having lived in Barbados when she was young She passed away in 2005 She was the first black woman elected to the US Congress Chisholm ran for president in

3

PAGE 3 OF 28

›

The only kids' eBook subscription service that offers thousands of high-quality books from well known publishers like HarperCollins, National Geographic and others.

JavaScript Required

Whoops! We're sorry but Epic doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. Check your web browser's settings to make sure it's enabled.