View/Download PDF
Slave life: Exploring Early Documents
John Bradshaw
SLAVE LIFE: Perspectives on Slavery_Bradshaw
Through reading a selection of documents, students will critically analyze and determine the factual validity of each account of slave life. These readings will include slave narrative accounts as well as accounts from paternalistic authors and excerpts from an old Georgia history textbook. Students will compare and contrast documents drawing their own conclusions from what they have read; thus, making distinctions between objective and subjective accounts.
Documents: See linked files
Websites:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/foster/
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/moderng/public/CraThou.html
http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Literature/Douglass/Autobiography/02.html
1-2 90 minute blocks
3
How does an individual's perspective affect the recorded accounts of history?
Students will list 10 terms describing slave life from a slave owner's viewpoint and 10 terms describing slave life from a slave's perspective. Record terms in a two column graphic organizer. Save for summary activity. Discuss: Why are these two views different?
Go to PBS website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/foster/ and search for Stephen Foster. Go to the page that has his music. Play excerpts from “Old folks at Home”, “My Old Kentucky Home”, and “O’ Susanna”.
Ask students what they think the songs are about. Ask students what they think about the music. Explain the music that is known as "Negro Minstrelry". (The songs are about the lives of slaves and they were written by a man from the mid-1800s who lived in the North.)
Students may choose from a list of roles of slaves (man servant, field hand, house servants, etc.) and describe what they think the typical day of such a person might have been like. (time day began, duties, tasks, breaks from work, time day ended, etc.).
ACTIVITY ONE: (See NOTES for additional resources for Activity One)
Divide the class into two groups, giving Document A to one-half of the class and Document B to the other half. As students read the document, they should make notes on slave life including family life, duties, treatment, sickness, etc. (NOTE TO TEACHER: One account reveals the harshness of slave life and one presents the paternalistic view of slavery.) Ask students from each side of the room to partner with someone from the other and compare/contrast their findings. Students may create a graphic organizer to present their findings to the class. (Document excerpts may be accessed through "Linked Documents".)
Documents with head notes and questions for Instructional Activity One:
Document A: Slave Accounts: From Narratives, Volume IV, Part 4 (Federal Writers' Project, 1941), pp. 179-191.-George Womble(Interviewed by Elizabeth Driskell in Columbus, , January 1937
Head Note: This narrative paints a grim picture of life for slaves. George gives descriptions of what the field hands had to do in order not to get whipped. He describes the food rations for adults and children and the necessity of stealing food for survival. Other accounts include remedies for colds and fever and the necessity of paying homage to white newborns.Guided reading questions: How much did Mr. Womble pay for George? What did the slaves have to eat? How much cotton were they required to pick daily? What can you imply from Marse Womble's view on slavery?
Document Set B:
Document One: From Thomas R.R. Cobb, An Historical Sketch of Slavery. Philadelphia: T&J Johnston & Co., 1858, and pp. 217-221.) A Patriarchal Social System.
Head Note: This excerpt comes from a textbook written by Charles Henry Smith for public school students nearly 30 years after slavery ends in the states. It paints a rosy, paternalistic view of slave life from a major in the Confederate Army. He argues that slaves are the best cheap labor the South could hope for in the raising of cash crops like cotton. He also argues that the institution of slavery is in the slaves' best interest, because they become like family to their owners who provide and care for their every simple need. He adds that these family ties prohibit the breaking up of slave families.
Guided reading questions-1. What other arguments does Smith make for the institution of slavery? What are his attitudes toward the slaves? toward the plantation owners?
Document Two: Charles H. Smith, A School History of. Boston: Ginn & Company Publishers, 1893, (pp. 125-127). Aristocrats and Slaves.
Head note: This is another paternalistic look at slavery from Mr. Smith. He claims that the slaves had everything that they could desire and were genuinely happy all the time. He points out that the slave young played joyfully with the master's young and that divorce or the splitting of families was generally unheard of among the slaves. He adds that slaves were proud to belong to a family and oftentimes thought themselves "better" than the "poor white trash." Guided reading questions-1. For whom was this book intended? What are other examples given to prove that slaves had an easy life? 2. Why would Smith write this type account of slavery?
ACTIVITY TWO:
Instructional activity #2 will be Popcorn. Students remain with partners established in Activity One. Excerpts from two primary documents will be distributed to each partnership. Students will read the passages and underline phrases or words that stand out to them. These might be phrases that surprise, anger, or confuse them, or simply give new and interesting information. Time for the silent reading is 15 minutes. At the end of the 15 minutes, each student will read a favorite or selected passage. Then students will read another round. For this: there is no particular order, anyone can start and students may read more than once. Everyone is expected to read. Ask students to make comparisons and contrasts between the information offered in both readings. Ask them about their general thoughts on slave life. (Web sites are provided for these two documents. Teacher will need to excerpt documents prior to class.)
DOCUMENT SET C for Popcorn Activity with Head Notes and questions:
Teacher may access Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom or the Escape of William and Ellen Craft at http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/moderng/public/CraThou.html or from Craft, William and Ellen. Slave Narratives: Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom or the Escape of William and Ellen Craft. New York: Library of America, 2000. (pp. 681-687)
Head Note: The first few pages gives us background accounts about the two main characters from . Also, we read about a general description of their lives under slavery. W. Craft masterfully weaves stories into his autobiography about whites serving as slaves, his wife's owners, separation of families, and his experience on the auction block.
Questions for guided reading: 1. What is the importance of the Salome Muller story?2. What does the auction tell us about relationships between whites and blacks?3. Is there evidence to show that breaking up families was common? What is it?
Teacher may access Frederick Douglass' account of slave life at http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Literature/Douglass/Autobiography/02.html (Chapter 2) or from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. New York: Library of America, 1994. (p.18-25)
Head note: Douglass describes slave life as a horrid experience. In this selection, he describes the brutality used in punishing two female slaves. The descriptions of these events are very clear and vivid. He also describes the provisions given to slaves and some of their daily duties. The passage concludes with a description and analysis of slave songs and the feelings they evoke.
Questions for guided reading: 1. How did Douglass characterize the overseers and his masters? What descriptive terms does he use? 2. What does Douglass say about the slave songs? What are his feelings? 3. What provisions are given to the slaves? Are they fair? Why or why not?
Ask students to refer back to the essential question and have the class discuss how one's perspective may affect his view of events.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES PROVIDED FOR ACTIVITY ONE: From Charles Joyner, Remember Me: Slave Life in Coastal (Atlanta: Georgia Humanities Council, 1989), pp. 1-2. African Roots of Georgia Slaves-Student Handout 11-2 as found in The Georgia Studies Book (Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia. Head note: This article describes the vast differences in the African slaves who inhabited the coast of . The author gives examples of these different groups and explains how they formed their own culture and language through a daily interchange of their ideas. Guided reading questions-1. The author states that the slaves on the coast met many different types of Africans. What were the names of these tribes and how are each characterized by the author? 2. Describe the formation of the language Gullah. [Note to teacher. The following website gives a history of and pronunciation of the Gullah language. Of particular interest are the animal tales told in Gullah. http://www.knowitall.org/gullahtales/activity/index.html.] After listening to the language, ask if some students would like to try telling a story in Gullah. This could be homework or extra credit work. From Narratives, Vol. IV, Part I (Federal Writers' Project, 1941), pp. 142-147. Slave Account by Julia (Aunt Sally) Brown. Taken from The Studies Book, (Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia). Head note: This is a very rough account of slave life as told by Julia Brown. The reading gives a good description of the "patty rollers" (slave patrol ) and explains how slaves "got along" away from the plantation. Guided Reading Questions: 1. What hardships did Julia face? 2. What did she say about most slave owners? 3. What are the things she said that runaway slaves would steal?
An Historical Sketch of Slavery: A Patriarchal Social System. Philadelphia : T&J Johnston & Co., 1858, pp. 217-221.
Slavery and the Making of America—PBS website
Suggestions for further reading:
Slave Narratives. New York: Library of America, 2000. This essential companion to the slave life fact versus fiction unit contains 10 stories that give great insight into the lives of slaves.
Douglass. New York: Library of America, 1994. …Also, another essential companion…Frederick Douglass’ accounts of the cruelties of human bondage.
None
Document B_Slavery Ends In The States
Document A_Slave Account_Bradshaw
Document Set E_1Y1 Bradshaw