History Essays

Teachers contribute their best essays on the events and issues that they think are the most important in the history of slavery in America.

The Press and the Hemings-Jefferson Story from 1802 to 2001:
Newspapers have always shaped and reflected public opinion, and looking at the scandal surrounding Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings tells us much about the public's view of slavery and its legacy over time.

The Black Press in Antebellum America:
In antebellum America, black-owned and -edited newspapers served as a medium for discussions on racism, abolition, African-American culture, morality, literature, education, and much more within the African-American communities across the nation. Targeting both the black reading population and the opinion of whites in the United States and beyond, the antebellum black press presented a black perspective on current events, including topics such as civil rights for blacks, integration vs. segregation or separatism, women's rights, and temperance. The black press of that time focused on the abolishment of slavery, but the editors and contributors did not always agree on the means for achieving that goal

Rice and Slavery: A Fatal Gold Seede:
Students get an in-depth view of the history of rice and its role in perpetuating slavery in the United States. Complete with botanical definitions, charts on the production of rice, the price and exportation of rice and slave populations, this essay gives a multi-perspective look at one of the South's dominant cash crops.

Sugar and Slavery: Molasses to Rum to Slaves
Students get an extensive history of sugar in the United States and its ties to the slave trade and slavery in the United States.

The Devil's Blue Dye: Indigo and Slavery:
Learn about the properties of indigo, and its ties to American slavery in this in-depth essay. A lesson plan accompanies the essay.

King Cotton: The Fiber of Slavery:
Students get an in-depth view of the history of cotton and its role in perpetuating slavery in the United States. Complete with botanical definitions, charts on production of cotton, the price of cotton and slave populations, this essay gives a multi-perspective look at the South's one-time cash King.

Tobacco and Slavery: The Vile Weed:
In this extensive look at tobacco's history, students will learn about everything from its botanical roots to the use of tobacco in the slave trade to its role in perpetuating slavery in the United States.

Slavery and Native Americans in British North America and the United States: 1600 to 1865:
Native Americans have a complicated relationship to slavery in U.S. history, playing both the role of enslaved and the role of slave-holder. This essay explores how slavery impacted tribal life and historically affected Native Americans' relationships with each other, between tribal groups, with whites, and with enslaved and free African-Americans.

Overview of African Place Names in the United States:
In this essay, Dr. Holloway explores the history of and practices that underlie African place names in the American South. The essay discusses the role African place names play in documenting the experiences of African migration to and settlement in the United States. You will also find a map of Mississippi showing clusters of Bantu place names and a corresponding list of place names, their origins and meanings.

Bantu Place Names in South Carolina:
This essay introduces the slave-trade history of Bantu place names in the mainland coastal areas and adjacent Sea Islands of Georgia and South Carolina. Also, you will find a map of South Carolina, a list of place names, their origins and meanings, and a table summarizing the origins of slaves imported to Charleston, South Carolina.

The Impact of African Languages on American English:
In this essay, Dr. Holloway explores the African roots of many American English expressions and words. A lesson plan studying language origins accompanies the essay.

African Crops and Slave Cuisine:
This essay gives an overview of how the slave diet evolved from African origins, through middle passage, to the modern day incarnation of soul food.

Slavery and Sanctuary in Colonial Florida
This essay explores the distinct European cultures, values, and institutions of European economic life that took root in the North American colonies. Exploring the cultural interactions and battles for control of North America and the Caribbean, the essay provides a window into the reasons different European peoples colonized in North America, why they brought enslaved Africans to their colonies, and how the institution of slavery shaped their and Africans' lives.

New York City's African Burial Ground
The existence of New York slavery was evidenced by the uncovering of the African Burial Ground found in lower Manhattan. This essay gives an overview of the significance of the discovery, and the continuing work to preserve this part of African-American history.

African-American Names
This essay discusses the cultural significances of naming in the African culture, and how these practices survived and evolved in slavery times. It also includes lesson activity suggestions.

Slavery in New Jersey
This essay illuminates this northern state's history of slavery from the Colonial Period through Abolition to the end of the Civil War. It also provides teaching activities and suggestions.

Seminoles and Slaves: Florida's Freedom Seekers
This essay highlights the history of a unique population in the slavery legacy, the black Seminole Indians in Florida. A lesson plan accompanies the essay.