Description

What our A History of Slavery lesson plan includes

Lesson Objectives and Overview: A History of Slavery explains the history of enslaved people and how they came to be in the United States. Students will be able to describe the impact slavery had on the US. This lesson is for students in 5th grade and 6th grade.

Classroom Procedure

Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the yellow box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand.

Options for Lesson

In the “Options for Lesson” section of the classroom procedure page, you will see some suggestions for additional activities or ideas to add to the lesson if you want to. Explore geometry by calculating how many squares fit into the quilt layout. Write a short historical fiction story imagining a person escaping slavery who uses the quilt to find freedom. Visit an African American history museum or explore online exhibits related to quilts and the history of resistance.

Teacher Notes

The teacher notes page provides an extra paragraph of information to help guide the lesson. You can use the blank lines to write down any other ideas or thoughts you have about the topic as you prepare.

A HISTORY OF SLAVERY LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES

The A History of Slavery lesson includes four content pages. Slavery, or enslavement, is when people are forced to work against their will, without being paid and without the right to leave or make decisions about their own lives. People who are enslaved are treated like property instead of as human beings. They can be bought, sold, or traded, just like any other object. They are not allowed to say “no” to work, travel where they want, or make choices about their own families. Slavery takes away a person’s freedom, rights, and identity.

How Long Has Slavery Existed?

Slavery has existed for thousands of years, with the earliest records of institutionalized slavery dating back to the earliest civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. One of the oldest-known written references to slavery is found in the Code of Hammurabi from around 1754 BCE. One phrase says, “If anyone take a male or female slave of the court, or a male or female slave of a freed man, outside the city gates, he shall be put to death.” The practice of enslaving people was not uncommon in the ancient world. The victor in a war enslaved the conquered armies and people. Sometimes people were enslaved to complete massive building projects or to work on large farms.

When Did Slavery Come to the Americas?

Many European nations began enslaving people, bringing them to the Americas, or enslaving the local Indigenous populations that explorers found living in the area. Portugal, Spain, Britain, the Netherlands, and France were the primary nations that participated. There were other smaller players, but enslavement was not limited to one continent or a few countries. You may already be familiar with the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and Incas in South America and Mexico led by conquistadors like Cortés and Pizzaro.

In the 1500s, the Spanish traveled over from Mexico and explored what is now Tampa Bay and St. Augustine in Florida. Pedro de Quejo is one notable Spaniard who attempted to enslave the native Indigenous populations in Florida. Over time, the Spanish abandoned using native people and began relying on other forms of labor. The key point to remember is that while early attempts at enslaving native populations in North America were sporadic, they created the emphasis for a much larger enterprise, the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

When Did Slavery Enter the Thirteen Colonies?

Historians often use the year 1619 as the most significant date when slavery became part of the American colonial way of life. The first enslaved people arrived in the English colonies of Virginia. While we associate slavery mostly with the southern colonies, it should be noted that nearly everywhere a major port existed, enslaved people were traded. The major ports in the South—including Charleston, SC; New Orleans, LA; and Savannah, GA—were active participants in the slave trade. In the North, New York City hosted a significant slave market on Wall Street. Boston, MA, and Richmond, VA, were also hubs for the Transatlantic Slave Trade. While some colonies had fewer enslaved people than others, slavery was legal in all of the Thirteen Colonies.

Beginning in the 1600s, Europeans brought enslaved Africans to the Americas through the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Southern farmers depended on crops like cotton, tobacco, sugar, and rice to make money, and they used enslaved people to do the hard, backbreaking work. Slavery became a significant part of life in the South because plantation owners wanted a cheap labor force to grow their crops. Slavery was not as prevalent in the northern colonies, largely due to differences in agricultural economies and labor demands. However, enslaved people there were still forced to work dangerous jobs in shipyards, construction, and other physically demanding roles.

Who Were the Enslaved?

The people who were enslaved were mainly from West and Central Africa. Enslaved Africans were sometimes captured during the wars between African tribes or kidnapped by slave traders. According to the American Battlefield Trust, the 1620 census listed 32 Africans living in Virginia—17 women and 15 men—listed as “in service of the English” and “in ye service of several planters.” The early colonists in Virginia also enslaved Native populations. The same census listed 4 Indians in the service of Virginia Planters. However, the vast majority of slaves came from Africa, the African Coast, or the West Indies.

Enslaved people included people of all ages—babies, children, teens, and adults. Most were captured or kidnapped by force from villages in West Africa, separated from their families, and packed tightly onto ships where they suffered hunger, disease, and abuse during the long journey to America. The transatlantic journey was treacherous. Some estimates of the number of deaths during the voyage place the number at 1.2 million and upwards to 2.4 million. Nearly 12.5 million Africans were transported by ship to the Americas. The death rate of those surviving the journey was high as well.

What Was Life Like for Enslaved People?

The daily lives of enslaved people were full of hard labor and cruelty. On large plantations, they worked from sunrise to sunset, planting, weeding, and harvesting crops. Their work was physically demanding and often performed in harsh weather conditions, with minimal rest and little nourishment. If they worked inside the house, they cooked meals, cleaned, or cared for the children of the slave owners, or enslavers. They were usually given poor-quality food, old clothes, and cramped housing. Enslaved people could be punished for any reason, including trying to rest or speaking up. They lived in constant fear of being physically abused or sold to less compassionate enslavers than the ones they lived with.

Enslaved people were not allowed to legally marry or protect their families. Enslavers could sell members of a family at any time, breaking apart parents from children, brothers from sisters, and husbands from wives. Young males were particularly valued as they could labor longer than older slaves. Children were sold to other plantations. These separations were heartbreaking and could happen with no warning. Despite the risks, enslaved people did their best to keep their family bonds strong. They told stories, sang songs, and passed down traditions to remind themselves of their roots and to give each other hope.

Who Were the Enslavers?

In the original Thirteen Colonies, many white settlers enslaved people to help with work. Over time, slavery became more common in the southern colonies. Enslavers were usually white men with farms, businesses, or plantations. They used enslaved people to do the hard work. In the South, large plantations required many workers, so some enslavers had hundreds of enslaved people. Many supported slavery because it was an essential part of how they ran their farms and earned money. They helped create and enforce laws that kept slavery legal. In the North, enslavers often had fewer slaves, and slavery slowly ended there earlier than it did in the South.

Did Enslaved People Resist or Rebel?

Even though enslaved people had very little power, many resisted slavery in brave and clever ways. Some ran away to free states in the North or Canada, despite the extreme danger. They used secret paths, hiding places, and help from people involved in the Underground Railroad. Others resisted by pretending to be sick, breaking tools, or working slowly. A few led rebellions, like Nat Turner’s Rebellion in 1831. Many enslaved and free Black people, along with white allies, became abolitionists who spoke out, wrote books, and gave speeches to convince others to end slavery.

When Did Slavery End in America?

In 1807, Britain outlawed the slave trade within the British Empire. But it had no effect on the American colonies. Slavery remained legal and an integral part of the American colonies until the mid-1800s, when industrialization and mechanization had begun to reduce the number of enslaved people needed to operate plantations. Many northern states started passing legislation to outlaw slavery. A debate arose in Congress over the admission of slave versus non-slave states as the United States began pushing westward. A strong movement toward abolition moved across the country.

The American Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865, was a pivotal turning point in the history of enslavement in the US. The war was fought between the northern states (the Union), which wanted to stop the spread of slavery, and the southern states (the Confederacy), which tried to keep it. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which said that all enslaved people in Confederate states were free. Although it didn’t immediately free everyone, it was a decisive step toward justice. Finally, in 1865, the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed, officially ending slavery in the country.

What Was Life Like for Former Enslaved People after the Civil War?

Even though slavery was over, freedom didn’t mean equality. After the Civil War, many formerly enslaved people had nowhere to go, no money, and no protection. New laws called Black Codes were passed to control the lives of Black Americans, and later, segregation laws (also known as Jim Crow laws) kept Black and white people apart. African Americans still faced violence, unfair treatment, and poverty. But many also built schools, started businesses, voted when they could, and fought for their rights.

The struggle for equality led to the Civil Rights Movement many years later. Learning about slavery is important because it teaches us about justice, fairness, and human rights. It helps us understand the pain that many people experienced and reminds us of the dangers that arise when people are mistreated. Knowing this history also helps us see how racism and inequality began and how they still affect people today. By learning from the past, we can make more informed choices in the future and contribute to creating a world where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

A HISTORY OF SLAVERY LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS

The A History of Slavery lesson plan includes three worksheets: an activity worksheet, a practice worksheet, and a homework assignment. Each one will help students solidify their grasp of the material they learned throughout the lesson. You can refer to the classroom procedure guidelines to know when to hand out each worksheet.

QUILT CODES ACTIVITY WORKSHEET

Some oral traditions suggest that quilts may have been used to communicate signals along the Underground Railroad, using quilt codes, patterns sewn into quilts that gave hidden messages. While this idea remains unproven by historical records, it reflects the creative resistance of enslaved African Americans. For this activity, students will choose a quilt code from the list to recreate on a 9×9 paper or fabric square. On the back, they will write pieces of information regarding the code they chose.

A HISTORY OF SLAVERY PRACTICE WORKSHEET

The practice worksheet lists 9 questions based on the content. These questions all relate to the content pages, so students will need to refer to them often for the answers. In addition, each question provides which reading tool the question corresponds to, such as text feature, vocabulary, or comprehension.

ANALYZE THE QUOTE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

For the homework assignment, students will read the quote on the page and explain what they think it means in their own words.

Worksheet Answer Keys

There are answer keys for the practice and homework worksheets at the end of the lesson plan document. Correct answers are in red to make it easy to compare them to students’ responses. Given the nature of the homework, the response is a sample answer for guidance. If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits these pages. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep these as reference for yourself when grading assignments.