American Centuries

Pocumtuck Valley
Memorial Association

American Centuries > Lessons > History Lessons By Teachers > African Americans: A View from New England

African Americans: A View from New England

Details

Author
Natalie Lau
Topic/Subject Area
African American, Black Life; Slavery, Indenture
Historical Era
National Expansion and Reform, 1816–1860, Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861–1877
Grade Level
Middle School (6–8), High School (9–12)
Creation Date
2003
Last Revision Date
2024

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About This Lesson

Summary and Objective

Through the close examination of text and pictures representing African Americans during the Civil War era, students will understand that Massachusetts residents held contrasting views about African Americans and slavery. While newspapers and almanacs contained anti-slavery sentiments, depictions and categorizations of African Americans in schoolbooks showed the continued prevalence of discriminatory views. These images are corroborated by the posters for minstrel shows, which also depict African Americans as those deserving discriminatory treatment. These images contrast with the gentle and seemingly content images of enslaved people in paintings and drawings by George Fuller.

Materials & Resources

Collection Items

Teaching Plan

  1. Students will hear a brief introduction of the goals and directions for this activity.
  2. They will be divided into 4 groups that will be stationed at one of four sections in the classroom. Each group will examine a different set of documents, using cooperative learning techniques.
  3. Students will examine the documents, focusing on the particular questions at their station. Each group will have approximately 10 minutes at each station. After 10 minutes, the groups will be asked to rotate to the next station. The rotations will continue until all 4 groups have completed the questions at all 4 stations.
    1. Schoolbooks: How did textbooks classify and illustrate African Americans?
    2. Newspapers/Almanac/Slave Narrative: Give examples of anti-slavery sentiment in the articles.
    3. Minstrel Show/Music: From the labels and pictures, how are African Americans depicted?
    4. George Fuller art: How does George Fuller portray enslaved people? Describe clothing, expressions, and activity.
  4. Each group will briefly report important findings from each station.
  5. Teacher will facilitate a class discussion about the differing perspectives and representations of African Americans during the Civil War era. How do they contradict each other?