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American Centuries > Lessons > Lessons About African Americans > Jin and Cato’s Lives as Enslaved Northerners

Jin and Cato’s Lives as Enslaved Northerners

Details

Author
Deerfield Teachers' Center
Topic/Subject Area
African American, Black Life; Slavery, Indenture
Historical Era
Revolutionary America, 1763–1783
Grade Level
Middle School (6–8), High School (9–12)
Creation Date
2017
Last Revision Date
2024

Related items

About This Lesson

Summary and Objective

Jin and her son Cato were enslaved people living in Deerfield, Massachusetts, in the 18th and early 19th centuries. By examining primary and secondary sources, students will understand that at this time, slavery in the North was different from the South.

Materials & Resources

Teaching Plan

  1. View the Map to African American Historic Sites, especially site #19, the “Reverend Jonathan Ashley House,” to answer the following questions:
    • Slavery was never officially abolished in Massachusetts, but it slowly died out of practice after it was ruled to be unconstitutional under the Massachusetts 1780 Constitution. When did Jin and Cato die? Would they have died as free people?
    • Once they gained their freedom, did Jin and Cato leave the Ashley family? Did they leave Deerfield? What is the significance of this information?
  2. Read Transcribed Excerpts from the Account Book of Jonathan Ashley and The Life of Enslaved People in 18th Century Deerfield, Massachusetts to answer these questions:
    • What did Jin do? Was all her work done for her master or mistress?
    • List the kind of work that Cato did. Was all his work done for his master? Explain.
    • Do you think the nature of Jin’s and Cato’s work was different from that of Deerfield’s White residents?
    • Did enslaved people in Deerfield live in separate quarters from their masters as they did in the South in the 18th century? Why might this be so?
    • Why do you think Rev. Ashley owned Cato?
    • What freedoms and privileges did Cato and Jin have?
  3. Read Excerpt from Jonathan Ashley’s Will and the probate inventory information for Sites #11 and #21 on the Map to African American Historic Sites. What do you learn?
  4. Had they lived in the South in the 18th century, how would Jin and Cato’s lives have been different? How would their lives have been the same?

Possible Answers to Discussion Questions