|
National Park Service Online Resources for Slavery
Compiled by Donna Hendry
The National Park Service web site offers a variety of educational resources relating to the African-American experience during the time of slavery. To read a brief overview on the National Park Service, to click here.
Teachers have culled the best of the slavery related resources from the nps.gov site and we offer them here.
Focus on People
Prudence Crandall http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/crandall/crandall.htm
A Connecticut woman who ran a boarding school for young women, Prudence Crandall chose to close the school in 1833 and reopen it as a school strictly for "Young ladies and little misses of color". Only after an angry mob ravaged the school, did Prudence close the school for fear the students might be harmed. She continued to work for the abolitionist movement. The lesson plan, developed by the National Parks' Teaching With Historic Places staff, uses images of the school to discuss America's view of race and education.
Frederick Douglass: Frederick Douglass emerged from slavery to work for the betterment of all African Americans and to awaken American society to the injustices of slavery.
Booker T. Washington: An extraordinary man, Booker T. Washington rose from slavery to become a powerful and influential leader. This site offers the reader many clues into Washington's life with pictures of his home, belongings, and his beloved Tuskegee school.
George Washington Carver: Providing opportunities for the African-American farmers to gain economic independence was a driving force for George Washington Carver. This site offers insight to Carver's mission, and the man himself. The site provides pictures of Carver's belongings and has a place to click for some of his recipes.
Focus on Places
Teaching with Historic Places offers a series of award-winning lesson plans that use places listed in the National Register to enliven the study of history, social studies, and geography.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/feb00.htm
Port Hudson:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/louisiana/por.htm
Port Hudson was the site of one of the longest sieges of the Civil War. African Americans fought on both sides, both as free men and as slaves. The lesson plan has students investigate this battle through images, maps, and essays.
Lesson plan:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/71hudson/71visual2.htm
The Old Courthouse of St. Louis:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/9stlouis/9stlouis.htm
This courthouse's most profound moment in its history was the proceedings of the Dred Scot Trial. Dred Scott was a slave whose court battle to free his family and himself went all the way to the Supreme Court. The Court's "Dred Scott" decision set the precedence that once a man was a slave, he was always a slave. Items include a trial script, essays on the significance of the trial, lessons and images.
The Underground Railroad:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/
One of the most taught aspects of slavery, the NPS offers lessons, histories, and sites that were involved in the Underground Railroad.
Southern Louisiana: The River Road:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/louisiana/riverroad.htm
Go on a virtual journey to different plantations, discussing plantation life, both for the owners and the slaves. Includes pictures of standing slave quarters.
Cherie Quarters:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/louisiana/che.htm
An area of the Riverlake Plantation, the Cherie Quarters were once an area of what was believed to be 30 some odd slave quarters. Now there are only two buildings left. Though no official survey has been done, it is believed that there are only 40-50 slave quarters left in Louisiana. Cherie Quarters is also the birthplace of writer Ernest J. Gaines.
http://jimcrowhistory.org/resources/gateway/gw_gaines.htm
The Old Slave Mart, Charleston, South Carolina:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/charleston/osm.htm
Constructed in 1859, this building was used to sell slaves until the defeat of the South in the Civil War. It was then turned into a tenement. In 1938, the site became a museum of African-American history, arts and crafts.
Nile of the New World: The Lower Mississippi Delta Region:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/delta
This site serves as the portal to many links about the lower Mississippi River.
Boston African-American National Historic Site:
http://www.nps.gov/boaf/index.htm
This site is located in Boston's Beacon Hill district. It contains 15 pre-civil war buildings, including the oldest standing African-American church.
When Rice was King:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/3rice/3rice.htm
The rice fields of Georgetown County in South Carolina were carved out of tidal swamps along coastal rivers by slaves. Rice was the harshest crop for slaves to have to work, but it was also profitable. Students will look at the geography and running of a rice plantation in this lesson.
Delta Themes:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/delta/themes.htm
This is another portal to a series of topics. The following may be of special interest:
- The People: Encountering the Cultural Diversity of the Lower Mississippi Delta Region
http://www.cr.nps.gov/delta/concept05.htm
Includes a library entry entitled "Delta Cultures Reflected in the Landscape" which offers a summary of the varied ethnic and cultural groups that settled in the area.
- African-American Heritage
http://www.cr.nps.gov/delta/afri_amer/heritage.htm
An encyclopedic overview of African-American cultural heritage in the delta region.
Golden Crescent: The history of this coastal region in Georgia and Florida is highlighted in this site. The region has a unique culture, called "Gullah" that is a mixture of Creole and African American roots. The National Park Service has picked an interesting way to share the African-American Heritage sites and buildings.
Vieux Carrč: A Creole Neighborhood in New Orleans:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/20VIEUX/20VIEUX.htm
New Orleans is a gumbo of backgrounds, cultures and heritages. Of special interest here is a lesson on Creoles of Color.
Cane River Creole National Historical Park:
http://www.nps.gov/cari/index.htm
This park includes two antebellum plantations where much archeology, and restoration is taking place. Nothing on the website is said about slaves or slavery, but may be of interest to local teachers.
Focus on Culture and Archeology
The National Register of Historic Places: African-American Feature
This site is a must see. The National Register of Historic Places showcases historic properties listed in the National Register, National Register publications, and National Park units. This site can be used as a gateway to all the other African-American related sites that the National Park Service has to offer.
Clues to African-American Life at Manassas National Battlefield Park:
http://www.nps.gov/mrc/exhibit/arch06.htm
This online exhibit includes incredibly interesting artifacts found at the Manassas battlefield and its environs. Photographs include archeological notes.
Celebrating African American Archeology:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/af-am/index4.htm
The Southeast Archeological Center organizes archeological projects that create a historical record of these contributions. The web site details many of these projects.
Civil War Soldier Search http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/soldiers.htm
The NPS offers a search tool of Civil War soldiers buried in National Cemeteries. Students can use this function to look up names of African Americans they may come across in their studies. Links will also provide information on their regiment and the regiments activities.
Stories to Tell: African-American History in your Parks:
http://www.nps.gov/untold/
The NPS recognizes that Americans of African descent were involved in all aspects of American history, but that their stories were rarely shared. Stories are shared from an African-American point of view in the themes of Military Action, Westward Expansion and Exploration and Adventure.
The African-American Archeology Newsletter:
http://www.newsouthassoc.com/AfAmNewsletter.html
This site was referred by the NPS, and includes many scholarly articles about researching slavery and their social roles.
|
