The featured document that is the main topic of this article, Robert E. Lee's Demand for the Surrender of John Brown and his Party [at Harpers Ferry], October 18, 1859, is from the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s-1917; Record Group 94, and is in the holdings of the National Archives. As a part of "Teaching with…

In this article, the authors discuss how children can learn from runaway slave advertisements. The advertisements for runaway slaves that masters placed in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century newspapers are among the documentary sources available to teachers for studying the lives of African-American slaves. Such advertisements often describe a…

This video pack is intended for parents, teachers, librarians, students, and travelers interested in learning about national parklands and how they relate to the nation's natural and cultural heritage. The video pack includes a VHS video cassette on Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, an illustrated handbook with historical information on…

Illustrates the difficulties of adjusting to freedom through observations of former slave owners from the United States and Africa, letters written by former slaves to their former masters, and recollections of former slaves in Cuba and the southern United States several years after abolition. (KO)

Presents a lesson using primary sources to explore the revolutionary rhetoric of British-American colonists and its application to the lives of enslaved Africans and free Blacks: How could the same people who argued so forcefully for liberty defend slavery? Includes excerpts from four primary documents and sources for additional documents. (DSK)

Discusses the influx of Black soldiers into the Union army following the Emancipation Proclamation. Concentrates on the case of Private Spotswood Rice. Provides a short history of Rice, including copies of Rice's letters to his enslaved daughters, the daughter's slaveholders, and an angry retort from the slaveowner to the federal commander in…

Unit 3 of a six-unit series on Indiana state history designed to be taught in Indiana secondary schools tells the story of Indiana from 1829 to 1908. Chapter 1 discusses national issues in an Indiana context. The effects of social movements such as Abolition, the underground railroad, and the Fugitive Slave Law on Indiana politics are examined.…

Scholars examine the Afro-American past to understand the position that black people have occupied in U.S. society, their efforts to cope with their status, and their successes and failures in pursuing full equality. The four major themes of Afro-American history and the transformations associated with them are: (1)"Africa to America" (Africans to…

Examines the impact of slavery and racism on the U.S. Constitution at its creation, at its centennial, and now. Explores the way Black U.S. citizens view the Constitution in relation to legitimized slavery. Provides a reading list in Black history and a glossary of civil rights terms. (GEA)

Analyzes one of Henry Ward Beecher's sermons to teach about the northern antislavery movement between 1830 and 1860 and to illustrate how sermons can be used as primary source documents. Provides six field-tested guidelines developed from an introductory U.S. history survey course to explain how students analyzed the sermon, held discussion, and…