Antebellum Slavery: In Their Own Words

Standards

• Examine the culture and social structure that developed in Mississippi during
  
  the antebellum period. (MS CCRS: Social Studies, MS.5.3)
• Interpret patterns of behavior reflecting values and attitudes that contribute or pose obstacles to cross-cultural understanding. (NCSS-Social Studies, 1h)
• Explain how the perspectives of people in the present shape interpretations of the past. (NCSS C3 Framework, D2.His.7.9-12)

 Objectives

After completing this WebQuest module, you will have accomplished the following:

• The student will explain the content and importance of African American perspectives on slavery with at least three specific examples.
• The student will evaluate the effects of slavery on African American populations with 70% accuracy.

 Introduction

The history of slavery in the United States and its impact on enslaved people is a difficult and dark subject with an enduring legacy of inequality.  Nevertheless, it is important that we understand the legacy of slavery, as well as the memories and perspectives of enslaved people and their contribution and history in our country.  In this module, you will work with one partner and conduct primary source research, where you will analyze the experiences of enslaved people in their own words.

Task Description

In this project, you will conduct research investigating and comparing the experiences of at least two persons who survived antebellum slavery.  Before doing so, you will watch videos and read documents about the importance of understanding diverse cultural perspectives on the issue of slavery.  As you read and watch the materials, make sure to take notes of any questions you may have, or research ideas.  Your most important task is to conduct your own research, so write down anything important to you like information, quotes, names, etc.  Once you have reviewed all the materials, you and your partner will write a two or three-paragraph essay comparing the experiences of two enslaved people using the sources below.

Introduction

First, begin by watching this video about confronting the history of slavery.  Note how the owner of the museum describes the importance of oral history in shaping his museum memorials:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfC8X2Os2z4

Next, read the following:

• Antebellum Slavery
• "There Is no Such Thing as Rest"
• "The Church and Slavery"
• How slave narratives were recorded

And watch these two short videos about slavery and early America:

https://youtu.be/81hRzlIF2E4

https://youtu.be/VzA_PUlfcZU

Research

After you have reviewed the above materials, visit the Voices Remembering Slavery collection.  Select two interviews from the collection.  It is recommended that you listen to one interview while your partner listens to the other. Once you are both ready, discuss the content of the interviews and write down what you took away from each.  Try to give a short biography (1-3 sentences) of the person who was interviewed, and then list some major takeaways or important moments they described.  Finally, work together and write a short essay (2-3 paragraphs) explaining your takeaways from the interviews.  Be sure to cite at least three specific quotes or evidence from the interviews.

Supplementary Sources

These sources are not required for completing the assignment, but they are included for your own reading or investigation.  If you wish to cite them in your results you are more than welcome to:

• https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/maai/enslavement/text1/photosenslaved.pdf
• https://constitutioncenter.org/education/classroom-resource-library/classroom/12.3-primary-source-frederick-douglass-what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july-1852
• https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/

Offline resources:

• Stowe, Harriet Beecher - Uncle Tom's Cabin
• Douglass, Frederick - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Written by Himself
• Keckley, Elizabeth - Behind the Scenes; or, Thirty years a slave, and Four Years in the White House

(note: these books are also available online in the North American Slave Narratives collection above)

Once you have finished your essay, reflect on what you have learned in this module.  Did researching the experiences of individuals help you come to a better understanding of how they remembered this painful part of our history?  How can understanding the experiences of others help us understand our own?  How can primary sources about these experiences be used to teach others?

In addition to thinking about these questions, you have also learned what it is like to conduct historical inquiry.  Historians record or survey sources about our past and use evidences from those sources to draw conclusions about the past and present.  Conducting historical research is a way to bring life to the past and see past figures as human beings.

MS CCRS

NCSS

Library of Congress

PBS Slavery series

Project Gutenberg

This module is designed for use in a 9th grade Mississippi Studies classroom.  The author has verified to the best of his ability that it confirms to current standards and implements inquiry-based learning.

Guide for teachers on teaching evaluating primary sources: https://www.loc.gov/programs/teachers/getting-started-with-primary-sources/