A Debate Against SlaveryLesson Three of Curriculum Unit:
|
1847 |
Martin
Robison Delany (1812-1885) (available through a link from the EDSITEment
resource American Memory) Martin Robison Delany was an editor, author, physician, abolitionist, black nationalist, colonizationist and army officer. In 1847, Delany joined Frederick Douglass as co-editor of the newspaper The North Star. He toured Ohio to gather subscribers and news for the paper. During the Civil War, Delany was an official recruiter for African-American military units. In 1865, he was commissioned as a Major in the army, making him the first African-American field officer of high rank. |
1848 |
An
African-American Newspaper (available through a link from American
Memory) Frederick Douglass, one of the best known and most articulate free black spokesmen during the antebellum years, was born a slave circa 1817. After he ran away, Douglass tirelessly fought for emancipation and full citizenship for African-Americans. Despite the failure of earlier African-American newspapers, Douglass founded The North Star in December 1847. The masthead contained the motto, "Right is of no sex, truth is of no color, God is the Father of us all -- and all are brethren." In 1851, it merged with the Liberty Party Paper and soon changed its name to the Frederick Douglass Paper. A contemporary African-American journalist observed that Douglass's ability as a newspaper editor and publisher did more for the "freedom and elevation of his race than all his platform appearances." |
1848 |
First of the Letters
to R. C. Ballard Regarding Slave Woman Abuse (available from the EDSITEment-reviewed
Africans in America) |
1849 |
Robert
James Harlan (1816-1897) (available through a link from American
Memory) A businessman, army officer and civil rights leader, Robert James Harlan accumulated gold worth $90,000 during the California Gold Rush, which he invested in real estate in Cincinnati. He built the first school in Cincinnati for African-American children. |
1849*
|
Harriet Tubman escapes slavery (available through a link from American Memory) |
1850* |
A
poster (high-resolution image) revealing the intensity of feelings against
slavery a decade before war: "Union with freemen --No union with slaveholders.
Anti-slavery meetings!" (available from American
Memory) |
1850s |
Photograph
of the barn on the Seth Marshall homestead in Painesville, Lake County,
Ohio (available through a link from American
Memory) The barn was a hiding place for fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad. |
1850s |
Photograph
of the Ripley, Ohio Wesleyan (African) Church (available through a link
from American Memory) This church was built prior to the Civil War by free African-Americans and slaves, the latter crossing from Kentucky with the consent of their masters. |
1850s |
The
Snowden Family of Clinton, Knox County, Ohio (available through a link
from American Memory) The Snowdens were an African-American family of musicians who performed banjo and fiddle tunes and sang popular songs for black and white audiences throughout rural central Ohio from the 1850s to the early 20th century. African-Americans in Knox County have long claimed that Daniel D. Emmett learned the song "Dixie" from the Snowdens. |
1851 |
Certificate
of Permission to Reside in Petersburg, Virginia (available through a
link from American Memory) This certificate, penned in 1851, indicates that the 42-year-old mulatto Harriet Bolling was freed by James Bolling in 1842. Freeborn blacks could stay in Virginia, but emancipated African-Americans were generally required to leave the state. This certificate states that the court allowed Bolling "to remain in this Commonwealth and reside in Petersburg." |
1852* |
Slave letter text
and image
of original (available from the EDSITEment resource Valley
of the Shadow) |
1853 |
Proceedings
of the Colored National Convention Held in Rochester (available from
American Memory) Outraged by the Fugitive Slave Act, African-American leaders became increasingly impatient with the lack of improvement in political and social conditions for their race. The national convention movement among free persons of color provided an independent arena where their interests could be defined and strategies developed for their improvement. This pamphlet of convention proceedings addressed the "conflict now going on in our land between liberty and equality on the one hand and slavery and caste on the other." |
1853* |
Wanted
Poster for Emily -- Runaway Slave (available through a link from American
Memory) |
1854 |
Certificate
of Proof of Citizenship for a Free Black Man Serving as a Seaman (available
through a link from American
Memory) In the event of capture or impressment, sailors needed to have documents on file to verify that they were citizens of the United States. For this reason, the government provided seamen's protection certificates for those who served at sea, including thousands of African-American seamen. This certificate is for 20-year-old Samuel Fox, who is described as having a "light African complexion, black woolly hair and brown eyes." |
1855* |
Anthony
Burns (a slave) Speaks (available from the EDSITEment-reviewed Africans
in America) |
1857* |
Slave
Letter: Vilet Lester letter to Miss Patsey Patterson, August 29, 1857,
and background
information (available through a link from Documents
of African-American Women) |
1859* |
The
Child's Anti-Slavery Book: Containing a Few Words about American Slave
Children (Search American Memory by title to find this document. Page 10 is ideal for showing the intended message of the book.) |
1859* |
Largest
Slave Auction, March 3, 1859, and Illustration
of a Slave Auction (available through a link from American
Memory) |
1859 |
Alfred
Francis Russell, three-quarter length portrait (available from American
Memory) Russell was born in Kentucky and moved to Liberia in 1833. He was chosen Vice President of Liberia from 1878 to 1883 and became President in 1883. |
1860* |
Slave
Trade and background
information (available through a link from American
Memory) This image depicts the miserable, cramped conditions of 510 Africans on board the Wildfire, who, while being smuggled into the United States in 1860, were captured by an anti-slaving vessel. The slaves were taken to Key West, Florida, and from there were sent to Liberia where the United States regularly repatriated "recaptured" Africans after 1808. |
To culminate this unit, ask students to demonstrate their knowledge of the institution of slavery, as well as what they learned about conditions for free workers in the North in the years before the Civil War. Have the students share specific information gleaned from the table of resources above that they find especially interesting or fascinating.