Advanced Placement (AP)

Moses and Susan Carver owned a small farm in Diamond Grove, Missouri. They owned one slave,Mary. She had two small children,James and George.One day a neighbor came to warn the Carvers. Slave raiders were in the area. Slave raiders stole slaves and sold them again.The raiders came late that night.They stole Mary and baby George, and rode away. Moses Carver went after them. They found baby George by the side of the road. They never found Mary.The Carvers had no children. So they raised James and George as their own. The boys called the Carvers Aunt Susan and Uncle Moses.1. Write response notes.2. What happened to his mom?3. Why wasn't George raised by his mother?(continued) George was a sickly boy. His voice was thin and weak. He stuttered sometimes when he spoke in a hurry. But he was a happy child who loved plants and animals.Aunt Susan taught him to read and write. She gave him a Bible. He loved his Bible very much. The boy was always full of questions. He wanted to learn about everything. But the only school for black children was miles away. It was too far for a little boy to walk each day. George had to wait. When George was about twelve years old, he left the Carvers. He wanted to go to school. He walked to Neosho, Missouri. A family found George sleeping in their barn. They let the boy live with them. George worked and went to Lincoln School.1. Write response notes.2. Why did George leave the Carvers?(continued) A few years passed. George learned all he could at Lincoln. He heard about a school in Fort Scott, Kansas. So he moved there. Another family let George live with them.Soon, young Carver was old enough to live on his own. For a while he moved from place to place. Then he came to a small Kansas town. Another George Carver lived there too. So George added a "W" to his name. "It is for Washington," he told his friends. George Washington Carver--he liked the sound of his new name. George wanted to go to college.Not many black men went to college in the 1890s. But George Carver was sure that he would go. He worked hard and saved his money. At last Carver went to college inIowa. There he studied what he liked best--plants and farming.1. Write response notes2. What things did George do so he could go to College? 3. How are strangers kind to him?4. How do they help him along the way?5. What part of George Washington Carver's life did you most enjoy reading about?