Set:
Objectives
- The student will list the dates associated
with the introduction of slavery in the Jamestown colony.
- The students will discuss in groups
explanations of the beginnings of the class system in
Virginia.
- The student will demonstrate through
discussion, an understanding that the rights of Englishmen and
their priviledges based on a system of black chattel
slavery.
Materials
Relevance
This lesson has the most relevance for explaining
the origins of racism and the history of race relations in our
country. It can also be used to dispel old myths that blacks were
always slaves in this country, and slavery as an entirely North
American institution. Secondly, it gives a concrete definition of
what it means to be free, and the implications of denying that
right to a whole segment of the population. The slaves that came
to America did not exist socially, politically, or economically as
a race. Freedom is an abstract term, and by defining what it is
not, we can understand what freedom is.
Involvement of the Learner
The teacher should begin the lesson with a
reading from the Declaration of Independece, the reading that
guarentees all men inalienable rights of life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness.
Explanation/Activity
- After the students' attention has been gotten,
the teacher should ask the students for their own definitions of
liberty. After a brief discussion, the teacher should give the
students the facts outlined in the background information about
the topic.
- Following the lecture and any questions about
facts alone presented in objective form.
- The students should divide into groups of
four. They will receive one copy of the Declaration of Independence
and a copy of the Magna Carta.
They will read both and create a
comparison chart, finding similarities among and differences
between them. After about twenty-five to thirty minutes, they will
write a consensus definition of freedom with regards to rights and
political participation, signed by all members of the
group.
- After each group presents their definition,
the teacher will tell students that the definition of freedom is
most easily obtained in the definition of what freedom is not:
slavery. The lesson on the development of racism should be
incorporated into this lecture as well (see materials).
- The group discussion should follow the prompts
of the teacher, asking the class why the social unrest in the
colony was fundamental to the inception of slavery. Give opinions
on how the colonists began to live with their decision to enslave
another race. This discussion will no doubt become heated quickly
if the students reduce it to a mere discussion of race relations.
The teacher should try to guide the discussion away from this, and
speak on the difficulites of trying to make sense of the
institution of slavery and how the rights of Enlishmen were
preserved by the enslavement of Africans.
Closure
The teacher should close the lesson with the
statement that history dealing with slavery is loaded, and needs
tact to deal with in an effective way. But by looking at American
history without neglecting any part is key to our understanding of
ourselves and our past. In addition, the teacher could use the
freedom statements for a partciaption grade. They should ask the
following questions to assess student understanding.
1)Why were the indentured servants unsatisfied
with the social situation around 1640-1670s?
2)Was racism THE determining factor in slavery
in the colonies?
3)What could have happened if the ship had
never left the Spanish Carribbean in 1619 with slaves?
4) How could Englishmen define themselves as
free?
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