1. J.A. Turner, The Cotton Planter's Manual, New York, 1857

http://name.umdl.umich.edu/aeb6104.0001.001

This manual was written by Joseph Addison Turner as a collection of research about cotton. Within the book is a description of the types of cotton, growing methods, and historical innovations including the cotton gin. The author in his preface admits that this work is a compilation of previously published information about the history of cotton and does not contain much original information. I would use the title page as an introduction to the lesson on cotton growing in the south and its importance to the nation’s economy. I would show them the cover and ask them to brainstorm what types of information would be contained inside the book. Through guided questioning I would try to get them to think of how cotton was such an important crop for the country as well the south. For more advanced students, I might print out certain pages (all the pages are available through the website) that contain important information relevant to our studies. For instance, on page 279, there is information regarding the amount of cotton that was manufactured prior to the invention of the cotton gin as well as amounts from afterwards. This information could be researched by the advanced students and presented to the class.

-Amy DuBois

Source IDTag: USI.29.001

2. Results of Sever Whipping, 1863

Understanding the horrors of slavery in America is impossible. To even begin to think that anyone presently could accurately comprehend the suffering and humiliation that African-American slaves dealt with on a daily basis would be naïve. In an attempt to allow students to comprehend, as best as possible, the indecencies applied to these men, women and children, I feel it is important to give them as many visuals as possible. The photograph of a whipped and scarred slave is a potent example of what many of these slaves either went through or were threatened with.

http://www.virginiafoundation.org/institutes/civilwar/whipped1.html

William Connolly

Source IDTag: USI.29.002

3. The Narrative of Fountain Hughes, ex slave 1949.

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/wpa/wpahome.html

This is a narrative of an ex-slave who relates his experiences both while a young slave and after obtaining freedom. His story is of added interest because he relates that he was a descendent of a slave owed by Thomas Jefferson. This web site also includes recorded voice of the interviewee that gives a real feel for the language and personality of the subject. Its value therefore is not merely in the words that are spoken but also in the richness of the language of the spoken word which provides an authentic view of such a person and their character and experience. This example and the many others available at this web site can be used in a variety of time periods in American history, anti-bellum South, Civil Wra era, Jim Crow South and Depression era WPA project.

William Monty

Source IDTag: USI.29.003

4. *Woodcut: “Am I not a man, and a brother?”

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/082_slave.html

This picture is from Images of African-American Slavery and Freedom from the Collections of The Library of Congress.  Slavery in the Americas began with the European colonization of the Americas. Approximately 12 million men, women, and children were taken from their homeland, Africa, and put on European ships to be transported to the New World and enslaved.  On slave ships, they were shackled, and had to endure a three-month journey without the basic amenities.  Often, the foul odor from the dead bodies and filth on the ships was so pungent that people could smell the ships before they saw them. The tobacco, sugar and cotton plantations in the South increased the demand for cheap labor.  When the enslavement of Native Americans for this purpose failed, plantation owners found that it was easier to keep Africans on plantations since they were unfamiliar with the land. Plantation life was one of misery, as slaves worked from daylight to dark, being thought of as “chattel.”  The following primary sources deal with the institution of slavery.

This is a woodcut cut image of a male slave in chains which was created or published in 1837. 

SUMMARY:  “The large, bold woodcut image of a supplicant male slave in chains appears on the 1837 broadside publication of John Greenleaf Whittier's antislavery poem, "Our Countrymen in Chains." The design was originally adopted as the seal of the Society for the Abolition of Slavery in England in the 1780s, and was designed by potterer Josiah Wedgwood, who sent copies to Benjamin Franklin.  The broadside is advertised at "Price Two Cents Single; or $1.00 per hundred.” 

-Katherine Silva

5. *Newspaper Ad-Sale of Africans

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/082_slave.html

To be sold, on board the ship Bance Island, ... negroes, just arrived from the Windward & Rice Coast

SUMMARY:  This is a photograph from a newspaper advertisement from the 1780s for the sale of slaves at Ashley Ferry outside of Charleston, South Carolina.

-Katherine Silva

6.  *Illustration of Items Used to Restrict Slaves

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/082_slave.html

This source was created and published by Samuel Wood, 1807. 

TITLE:  [Iron mask, collar, leg shackles and spurs used to restrict slaves] This image depicts the dehumanization and cruelty of slavery in a way that words alone cannot.

-Katherine Silva

7.  *Broadside Ad: Runaway Slave

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?pp/ils:@FIELD(NUMBER(3a39725))

$100 Reward! Ranaway

This is a reproduction from a broadside in 1860.  It is an advertisement for

runaway slaves in Missouri. What can you infer from this document about slavery?

-Katherine Silva

8.  *Illustration of African Being Inspected For Sale

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/082_slave.html

SUMMARY:  An African man being inspected for sale into slavery while a white man talks with African slave traders.  This is another example of the dehumanization of African Americans. This was created in 1854.

*Students will analyze, interpret and evaluate the primary sources addressing slavery and communicate effectively the results of their analysis in discussion and written expression.

-Katherine Silva

9. *Decks of French Slave Ship: Aurore, 1784

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/slavery/slave-ship.htm

The Triangular Trade Route spurred the growth of slavery in the Americas. Tens of millions of Africans were transported from Africa to the Americas, the middle leg of the journey known as The Middle Passage.  This illustration of a French slave ship shows the “tight packing” of slaves, and storage areas as well as body positions of slaves on a ship. Students would view this illustration to gain an understanding of the Middle Passage and the economics of slavery. 

-Katherine Silva

10.  *A Slave Pen in Virginia

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?pp/ils:@FIELD(DOCID(98510275))

This is a photograph of a slave pen in Alexandria, Virginia.  It shows the interior view of a slave pen, showing the doors of cells where the slaves were held before being sold. It was photographed between 1861 and 1865 but printed later.

-Katherine Silva

11. *A Slave auction at Richmond, Virginia

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/082_slave.html

From the Images of African-Americans and Slavery from the Collections of the Library of Congress

“An African-American Woman is being auctioned off in front of a crowd of men.”

This is a wood engraving: The illustrated London news, 1856 Sept. 27

Not only were slaves bought and sold, they were treated as material objects, property, to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Parents on the auction blocks often pleaded to be sold with their children. Families were broken up, many never to be reunited again. At that time, slave sales were legal. Students view the wood engraving to consider slavery from the perspective of a slave. What would be the psychological effect of this event on an African-American Woman? Create a dialogue/caption for this engraving.

-Katherine Silva

12. *Fifty Years in Chains or The Life of An American Slave by Charles Ball published in 1859.

http://docsouth.unc.edu/ball/ball.html#ball150

This is from the collection Documenting the American South, First Person Narratives of the American South, the University Library, The University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill (2004)

Fifty Years in Chains or The Life of An American Slave by Charles Ball published in 1859

As Charles Ball states, “My story is a true one, and I shall tell it in a simple style. It will be merely a recital of my life as a slave in the Southern States of the Union - a description of negro slavery in the "model Republic."  This is a great primary source which depicts the experiences of a slave.

Students will examine these excerpts to draw conclusions about plantation life from the slave’s perspective. 

-Katherine Silva

13. IMAGES OF SLAVERY

The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life In The Americas: A Visual Record (The Virginia Foundation for The Humanities & Digital Media Lab at the University of Virginia Library)

http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/

Image: 1 Advertisement: Broadside advertising the sale of 10 slaves in 1835 New Orleans Slaves are being sold because of the owners departure-gives names and other details about slaves for sale.

Image 2: Slave Auction shows a man and a woman with a child in his arms on the auction block 1861

Image 3 :  Enslaved female being branded by a white man along with other African women waiting to be branded. Columbus, Ohio, 1857

Image 4:

Caption, "African Slave Traffic"; shows European and African slave traders. European on left examining an African; on right, African traders looking at European trade goods; European in background with whip herding purchased Africans toward slave ship. Illustrates the process that slave traders went through after slaves were captured; after examining the slaves, they were chained and stowed

Image 5: Kidnapping

Caption, "Kidnapping" The illustrations in this picture reflect the anti-slavery sentiment. This depicts  the kidnapping of a free person of color to sell him as a slave. "Nothing is more common," the author writes, "than for two of these white partners in kidnapping . . . to start upon the prowl; and if they find a freeman on the road, to demand his certificate, tear it in pieces, or secrete it, tie him to one of their horses, hurry off to some jail, while one whips the citizen along as fast as their horses can travel. There by an understanding with the jailor who shares in the spoil, all possibility of intercourse with his friends is denied the stolen citizen. At the earliest possible period, the captive is sold out to pay the felonious claims of the law . . . and then transferred to some of their accomplices of iniquity . . . who fill every part of the southern states with rapine, crime, and blood"  (1830s)

Image 6: Poster Announcing Sale and Rental of Slaves (United States-South, 1829)

On the poster is the following “To be Sold & Let by Public Auction on Monday the 18th of May, 1829;  then gives some information identifying men and women.

Image 7:  Advertisement for a slave sale in Charleston, South Carolina in the late 18th century.

To be sold on board the ship Bance-Island". Advertisement in Charleston newspaper announcing forthcoming sale of Africans from the Windward Coast; stresses their knowledge of rice culture and freedom from smallpox (1766)

Image 8: Slave Shackles- year unknown

Image 9: Iron and shackles used on slave ships

Clarkson explains (vol. 1, pp. 375-377) that he purchased these items in a shop in Liverpool and that they had been used on slave ships. A, pair of handcuffs for men (right wrist of one person was padlocked to left wrist of another); B, leg shackles for men (right ankle of one is fastened to left ankle of another); C,D,E, the thumbscrew used for punishing slaves ("The thumbs are put into this instrument through the two circular holes at the top of it. By turning a key, a bar rises up by means of a screw from C to D, and the pressure upon them becomes painful. By turning it further you may make the blood start from the ends of them . . ."); F,G,H, speculum oris or mouth opener (used by surgeons aboard slave ships for force feeding, in cases of "locked jaw" or on persons who "for one reason or another refused to eat or could not eat"). (1808?)

-Katherine Silva

14. *PHOTOGRAPH: Slave Auction Building

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/082_slave.html

SUMMARY:  Photograph of the War in the West. These photographs are of Sherman in Atlanta, September-November, 1864. After three and a half months of incessant maneuvering and much hard fighting, Sherman forced Hood to abandon the munitions center of the Confederacy. Sherman remained there, resting his war-worn men and accumulating supplies, for nearly two and a half months.”

-Katherine Silva

15.The History of Slavery in America

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/narrative.html

This is a PBS created site on the history of slavery in America. It is divided into the four main segments of history from the colonial times until the Civil War. There are a vast number of educational resources and curriculum guides.

-Carl Robidoux

16. Dred Scott Decision

http://www.dredscottanniversary.org/

This is a NPS site celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Dred Scott case. This site contains many links and resources for teachers and students. The information from this site is very detailed and a student debate on the case can be created

-Carl Robidoux

17. Iron Mask, Neck Collar, Leg Shackles, and Spurs, 18th cent.

http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/SlaveTrade/collection/large/NW0192.JPG

As Europeans began to explore and colonize the Americas in the 1500s, the demand for cheap labor turned slavery into a colossal enterprise. Due to the difficult and dangerous conditions required by the plantations and farms, as well as the demand for a large number of workers, Atlantic Slave trade thrived and became the basis of Europe’s economy. The Middle Passage, or the middle section of what became known as the triangular trade was often cruel and harrowing experience. Slaves endured beatings and whippings, disease and starvation, and for 10 to 20 percent of each cargo, ultimately, death. After their arrival in the Americas they were either sold in the West Indies or transported north to the colonies. Slaves in America were vital to the survival of the colonies. Slaves were forced to find ways to survive the physical and mental abuse of slave-owners, getting by with just the bare necessities, and separation from family and friends. For most, freedom was something they never experienced, but for many, they found ways to rebel and resist maintaining their pride and self-determination. Many slaves knew that any kind of violent uprising or revolt could have the gravest of consequences. As a result, a more non-violent strain of resistance formed among slaves. One of the most common forms of resistance was to either to attempt to run away to the north to obtain freedom or even to run away for a short period of time to make the plantation less productive during his/her absence. The loss of a day’s labor could be costly to the slave owner as well as lost labor due to punishment when they return. More often than not, the slave would be allowed to return with minimal punishment and the slave owner tried to minimize loss. To prevent such attempts at escape, many slave owners or traders employed a number of devices to limit the slaves’ mobility. There are a number of illustrations and engravings documenting such devices utilized throughout the course of the slave trade. This particular document, “: Iron Mask, Neck Collar, Leg Shackles, and Spurs, 18th cent.” is from an abolitionist pamphlet in 1807. It was printed alongside an essay entitled, “"The Method of Procuring Slaves on the Coast of Africa; with an account of their sufferings on the voyage, and cruel treatment in the West Indies." This document shows a number of torture devices including a mouthpiece and “necklace” which prevents the runaway slave from being able to lie down and rest. Another image shows an iron piece that holds down the tongue preventing swallowing, which is made possible by a hole in the mouth. Because this image is taken from an abolitionist newspaper, it is important to consider the bias of the source. If the title of the essay opposite of the engraving is any indication, this, just like almost all other abolitionist work, is very political in motive and desired effect. So while these devices may have in fact been something used by some slave-owners, it isn’t possible from the information provided to know how widespread their use was, or their practicality. For all we know based on what’s provided, these engravings could be the design of a blacksmith, but something that never came to fruition. Nevertheless, their use in conjunction with a number of other documents on the same site can be valuable in trying to assess slave life and resistance efforts in the South during the 1800s as the standard USI.29 dictates. In using the documents in the classroom, this document would probably be used best in a series of documents depicting resistance efforts and counter efforts by slave owners. Students could individually focus on one or two documents, use the document breakdown sheets used regularly in class, and then split up and teach one another. The students could then be engaged in a number of different activities ranging from creating their own resistance strategies to comparison to common day peaceful resistance strategies of people from around the world.

- Alexandra Friedman

18. Account of goods lost

http://dl.lib.brown.edu/repository2/repoman.php?verb=render&id=1157641285388963

In the late 18th century, the Brown family was one of the leading and most prominent families of not only Rhode Island but in New England. The Brown brothers accumulated wealth through successful business ventures one of which was their integral involvement in the slave trade. Many people incorrectly assume that New England did not play a large role in the slave trade, but it is estimated that New Englanders not only played a vital role in the African slave trade, but Rhode Island merchants controlled nearly half the trade of Africans brought to America.

In 1764, Nicholas Brown, founder of Brown University, commissioned the vessel Sally to make the passage to Africa to trade goods from America for slaves. These voyages proved to be a disaster. Accounts tell how over half of the slaves on board died. In addition to the loss of slaves, other goods were lost as well. Before Sally was sent to Africa, captained by Gideon Manchester, Sally was sent to Jamaica.

The document used here is an account turned in to the Brown brothers documenting the items lost on the voyage due to leakage or spoilage. The list contains a number of items that did not reach their final destination including oysters, axes and flour. These along with other documents from the Brown University Committee on Slavery and Justice can be used in the classroom to familiarize students with the everyday workings of a slave trading business. Additionally, when used in conjunction with other accounts and articles included in the collection, the students can get a feel for the conditions and experience of the voyage.

- Alexandra Friedman

Source IDTag: USI.29.018

19. Underground Railroad: The Journey

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/99/railroad/j8.html

For slaves in America during the 19th century there were numerous forms of resistance used to try to free themselves from bondage. One of the riskiest and least successful forms of resistance was to try to escape the institution altogether by fleeing for their freedom. Escaping was a daunting and dangerous task and was virtually impossible without the assistance from sympathetic whites. The most notable of these support organizations was known as the Underground Railroad. It is estimated that during its existence, the Underground Railroad helped over 100,000 slaves escape to freedom in the North.

The escape could be lengthy and decisions made along the way could be crucial. Slave owners were not going to take the loss of their property lightly and often advertised rewards for runaway slaves. The National Geographic website offers the scenario of the journey of a runaway slave, where the user makes decisions that affect the outcome of the journey. Each different decision has different consequences that allow the user to understand the effects of each decision and some of the issues the runaway slaves had to grapple with.

This website is perfect for classroom use because it is interactive and easy to read. It aligns perfectly with Massachusetts standard USI.29 and would give students detailed accounts of the experiences of runaway slaves.

- Alexandra Friedman

Source IDTag: USI.29.019