Investigation into Local Slave Rebellions
By Debbie Dickerson

Overview

This lesson challenges students to investigate a slave rebellion that happened in close proximity to where they live so they can use resources found at their local library, historical society, or state archives as sources for their search. Students then will compile any information they have found in a graphic organizer that explores plantation life, causes of the rebellion, and individuals involved. If they find more than one rebellion, students will use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast them. The final project will be to assimilate the information into an essay, the format of which will be determined by the type of information students find. This lesson would be a follow-up lesson for high school or college level students.

National Curriculum Standards met by this lesson

For a list of standards that this unit addresses, click here.

Time required

Approximately two weeks

Materials

• Public library resources
• Local archives
• Historical society
• The Internet could also be used as a source for information

The Lesson

Anticipatory Set

1. To engage students' interest, come to class with a "document" and tell them that the district has made some changes in procedures to help account for budget cuts. Tell them that the document states that students will now have to supply all of their own resources for the class, from books to paper, and even renting their desks. They will be charged for using the drinking fountain or using the restroom. Students also will be charged for Internet access. Tell students that, if they don't make their payment, they will not be admitted to class. After they are able to articulate their dismay and feelings about this referendum, let them know that this was an exercise to investigate firsthand the types of circumstances that have to exist for a person to entertain rebellious thoughts. Have students try to make connections to the way slaves must have felt in rebelling against the injustice of slavery.


2. Next, so students can gain some background knowledge, have them read the Historical Overview.

Procedures

Note to the teacher:

Before the lesson, research the local history section of your public library to determine if there was a slave rebellion in the area or state. Then, investigate your local historical society and/or the local or state archives. Since historical societies tend to be staffed by volunteers whose hours fluctuate, you may need to coordinate with the historical society to make an appointment for students to visit; note, too, that not all historical societies allow non-graduate researchers access to their collections. Collections from the era of slave rebellion may be in fragile condition and, consequently may be restricted. This is not to discourage this activity, just to emphasize that preparation and common sense are vital to its success.

1. After completing the anticipatory set, outline the assignment for students. Tell students they should use the Slave Insurrections map to get ideas of rebellions to research. Inform students they might not find any information, but could include in their notes anything related to the cultural climate at the time. If students do find some substantive proof of a rebellion in their area, the results will be published, as well as the teacher's name, as a facilitator. Remind students that they are recording history by doing this project and that their objectivity is critical.


2. Once students have completed their research, have students organize their notes into a graphic organizer. The format will be determined by the information they find. As students conduct this exercise, you should bear in mind the following:
   
   
   • If there isn't substantial information to prove a rebellion, students should take the information they found about the cultural climate, plantation life, and any other relevant topics and organize them into a flow chart. This would then help them organize their essays.
   
   
   • If students find information about just one rebellion, they should organize their information about it in a flow chart that has sections for events that led to the rebellion, the rebellion itself, and the individuals involved. They also should include information about cultural climate and plantation life. Students will also use this to organize their essays.
   
   
   • If students find more than one rebellion, they can organize the information in a Venn diagram that compares and contrasts the events. They should also include information about the cultural climate, plantation life, causes of the rebellion, and the individuals involved.
   
   
3. Once they have completed their graphic organizers, have students use them to help organize their final product, the written essay.


1. For students that didn't find substantive evidence of a rebellion, their essay should consist of three sections, as follows:


• The first section, the introduction, would be about the cultural climate in their area.
• The next section would be about plantation life and any other relevant information.
• The final section would contain any insights or opinions students gained from doing the research.


2. For students that found evidence of one rebellion, they should divide the essay into the following sections:


• Cultural climate and plantation life;
• Causes of the rebellion;
• The rebellion itself;
• The individuals involved; and
• Any insights or opinions the students may have.


3. If students find more than one rebellion, they should have these sections:


• Cultural climate and plantation life;
• Comparisons and contrasts of the causes of the rebellions;
• The events of the rebellions;
• The individuals involved; and
• A summary that include students' insights or opinions on the subject.


4. Tell students their written essays should contain the information they found in a concise manner and include a bibliography of sources, which is part of the students' research task. Instruct students to ask the archivist for information about the correct citation of archival sources at the time they are conducting research, and write it down at the time. Also, if students are allowed to photocopy, scan or photograph documents, tell them they should record the citation on the back of the document or in the digital title, because it is very easy to get confused and forget later on.

Assessment

Assess students' work keeping the following criteria in mind. Make sure students clearly label their graphic organizers and have a substantial amount of information in them. Their written essays need to follow the format determined by the information found and written in complete paragraphs, using good word choice, organization, sentence fluency, and conventions. Students need to record their sources in a bibliography.

Related Works

Students could use the following books further study slave rebellions:

• Nat Turner: A Slave Rebellion in History and Memory, by Kenneth S. Greenberg.
• The Confessions of Nat Turner, (the Pulitzer Prize winner of 1968) by William Styron
• Denmark Vesey: The Buried Story of America's Largest Slave Rebellion and the Man
• Who Led It, by David Robertson.
• Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahria (John Hopkins Studies in Atlantic History and Culture), by Joao Jose and Arthur Brakel (translator).

This lesson was submitted by Debbie Dickerson, a Government teacher in Topeka, Kansas.