Unit
Years: 1600-1800
Economy & Society
Freedom & Equal Rights
Prior to this lesson, students should be familiar with general concepts related to labor in the early American colonies, such as the Transatlantic Slave Trade, plantation systems, differences in climate, geography, and goals (religious, economic, etc.) of the various colonies both North and South.
Students will:
Throughout the first two hundred years of African peoples’ presence in North America, the status of laboring people in early America was fluid and changing. In the earliest period, some African settlers lived as free people, owning and farming land. However, as temporary servitude hardened into racial slavery, the skills and labor of enslaved peoples provided the means by which colonial families functioned, communities developed, and the economic foundation for a nation was built. The true cost of this labor can still be felt in the ways the lives of enslaved people were remembered and in the generational impact.
Introduction
Most often we think of slavery as a phenomena found mainly in the South on tobacco, rice, and cotton plantations. While there is some truth to that picture, historians such as Ira Berlin now describe American slavery as a continually changing institution that differed from town to country, from region to region, and over time. Michael Guasco, in his review of Berlin’s book, Many Thousand Gone, wrote that slavery was “not simply a saga of labor and physical domination [but] a thoroughly human tale of the emergence of an African-American people and culture characterized by self-assertion, social consciousness, and political activism.” An examination of the society and economy of the colonial era and the early Republic thoroughly supports this conclusion.
Early Labor in the American Colonies
A race-based system of slavery did not develop in the American colonies until the late seventeenth century. Before that time, some Africans and many Europeans came to British North America as formal or informal indentured servants, although not always by free will. In England, children could be taken from parents who were considered indigent, or unable to support themselves and their family. If orphaned, children could be contracted from locally controlled workhouses. In Africa, European merchants capitalized on existing systems of trade to purchase captives, but they arrived in the colonies with the same status as White indentured servants. In North America, Black and White indentured servants could earn their freedom and became landowners. Perhaps one of the most well known examples of this may be seen in the life of Anthony Johnson, an African who arrived in Virginia in 1621 and who by the end of his life owned and farmed more than 200 acres.
Chattel Slavery Develops
The system of race-based slavery developed due to a variety of factors which contributed to a rise in both the number of African laborers and an establishment of laws to establish chattel slavery. Life expectancy in the Southern colonies improved, and significant numbers of White indentured servants could be expected, for the first time, to outlive the terms of their indentures. As these newly free laborers demanded land and political representation, wealthy landowners sought to create systems of labor that would be permanently enslaved. At the same time, the British crown issued a charter to the Royal African Company, establishing a monopoly on the slave trade in West Africa, which provided laborers from Africa that were less costly than contracting indentured sevants in Europe. As Black laborers rose in number, old paths to freedom, such as lawsuits using claims based on religion or parentage, manumission in a landowner’s will, or the purchase of one’s own freedom, were gradually made illegal or were increasingly rare.
By the eighteenth century, laws regulating slavery existed throughout the colonies but life under slavery differed greatly depending on local needs, conditions, and the skills of the enslaved themselves. Southern plantations organized systems of labor modeled on the nearby slave colonies of the West Indies, where enslaved people tended crops in large groups, driven by an overseer. But enslaved people were also tasked with performing every duty and trade that the colonial economy required. Skilled boatmen transported plantation goods on rivers to port cities. They supplemented plantation incomes and their own diets by fishing and harvesting produce from rivers and the sea. In cities and towns throughout the colonies and on plantations, enslaved people labored as blacksmiths, coopers, musicians, carpenters, shoemakers, as stonecutters and masons, brickmakers and bricklayers, and in grist and saw mills. Enslaved people would have tended and cared for livestock, including the training and management of horses.
In emerging cities and towns, enslaved labor was instrumental to the construction of private and public buildings and new industries. Enslaved men were rented out to industries and building projects, however their enslaver would keep whatever wages they earned. Records show that this was a common practice during the construction of Washington, DC, including in the building of the White House and Capitol Building. Rarely but significantly, enslaved peoples might be responsible for tasks normally assigned to clerks or secretaries, although their duties might also include those of a personal manservant or valet. One such man, William Lee, served closely with George Washington in the Revolutionary War. Often, the skills of the enslaved people were closely related to their life experiences, including what they learned from African communities and within the circumstances of their enslavement.
Free Black Communities Develop
In the Northern states, plantation styles of labor were rare, and the enslaved often labored with farmers and their families in households, in coastal towns, on ships and their related industries. A variety of factors led to the gradual abolition of slavery in this region, including freedom petitions and lawsuits brought by the enslaved themselves, the general rhetoric surrounding questions of freedom and equality during the Revolutionary era, and the military service of both enslaved and free Black men in the Revolutionary War itself. By 1800, all Northern states had either abolished slavery or passed gradual emancipation laws. However, Northern states would continue to finance and profit from the international slave trade until its abolition in 1808. Free Black communities remained a small percentage of the total population, but were overrepresented in the professions of waiter, caterer, barber, and maritime industries. Free Black communities in the early republic established churches, guilds, schools, and societies that laid the foundation for the struggle for freedom and equality in the United States.
Massachusetts Historical Society | African Americans and the End of Slavery in Massachusetts (Massachusetts Historical Society)
Free Blacks in the Antebellum Period – The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship | (Library of Congress)
Free Blacks in Colonial Virginia – (Virginia Humanities)
The Chesapeake: Making Race | National Museum of African American History & Culture. (National Museum of African American History and Culture)
Slavery in the President’s Neighborhood Timeline – White House Historical Association (White House Historical Society)
Richard Allen: Apostle of Freedom | Historical Society of Pennsylvania (Historical Society of Pennsylvania)
New Light on Richard Allen: The Early Years of Freedom (JSTOR)
Richard Allen and the Origins of the AME Church – Rediscovering Black History (National Archives)
Slavery and the Slave Trade – Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia (Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia)
Berlin, Ira. Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1998.
The careful examination of sources related to enslaved servitude, the development of chattel slavery and free Black communities, and the contributions of enslaved labor to the emerging American economy and nation reveals the true extent of African and African American people’s involvement in the foundation of the United States. A wide range of skills critical to the economic success of an emerging nation and development of Black identity and activism were identified and utilized. However, the ways that the lives of enslaved and free Black people were recognized and remembered, as well as the impact on future generations as a result of this economic inequity, can still be observed and studied in present day.
Teaching with the identified primary source documents will be challenging without proactive engagement with students around reaction and impact. Many of the sources represent the dehumanization of enslaved and free Black people of that time, including their places of burial and the physical descriptions in advertisements of freedom seekers. Previewing these topics with students, allowing them to engage with the sources individually rather than as part of a group, journaling their thoughts or feelings, making clear connections to the present day, and debriefing as a class helps students know what to expect and provides opportunities to process this difficult history.
We recommend having a conversation with students about the ways in which the language we use about race has changed. Many primary documents of the time period contain references to “negro” or “negroes” as well as overtly sexualized language such as “wenches:. It will be helpful to clarify that students should be mindful of the language that they use to discuss the past when terms differ from what is most appropriate to use today.
Jamestown was founded on May 14, 1607 as the first permanent English settlement in North America. Jamestown was funded by the Virginia Company of London, a group of English investors who hoped to make money by setting up colonies in the New World. Jamestown was established in what is now the state of Virginia, on the banks of the James River in Virginia, named after King James I of England.
The English settlers quickly realized that additional labor would be needed to work and develop the colony further. This need gave rise to indentured servants. Indentured servants are people who sign a contract of “indenture” in order to receive something in exchange for work for a predetermined amount of time. Many Europeans, unable to afford the cost to travel to America, agreed to indentured servitude to pay for their passage, room and board.
The colonies began to be filled by Europeans and Africans through both formal or informal indentured servitude, although not always by free will. As far back as 1525, Africans of all ages were forcefully taken from their homes. In England, children could be taken from parents who were considered indigent, or unable to support themselves and their family. If orphaned, children could be contracted from locally controlled workhouses. Africans began to arrive in Jamestown in 1619. In Africa, European merchants also capitalized on existing systems of trade to purchase Africans.
Though their freedoms were limited, there were indentured servants, both Black and White, who initially did have freedoms and laws to protect them. Black and White indentured servants could both earn their freedom and become landowners. However, as the needs for labor grew, the cost of having as many indentured servants as needed was not cost-effective. The laws began to change in order to support the economic interests of landowners, taking away the freedoms of African and African American people. These changes included laws that not only enslaved those arriving from Africa but also enslaved their children, creating a hereditary system of slavery. As a result, by the late seventeenth century, a race-based system of slavery was fully developed in the American colonies.
Select the activities and sources you would like to include in the student view and click “Launch Student View.”
It is highly recommended that you review the Teaching Tips and sources before selecting the activities to best meet the needs and readiness of your students. Activities may utilize resources or primary sources that contain historical expressions of racism, outdated language or racial slurs.
Provide students with a copy of the Student Context and read together as a class. Provide clarity as needed to understand the definition of an indentured servant.
Break students into pairs and provide them with primary sources that outline the indentured servitude of Richard Frethorne.
In partner groups have them discuss the following questions together and be prepared to share out with the whole class.
Next introduce the class to the story of John Punch, an African indentured servant, and James Gregory and Victor, both European indentured servants. It is important to note as you review that even though John Punch served as an indentured servant, there were other Africans that were brought to Jamestown at this time against their will.
John Punch, an African indentured servant in Virginia, alongside James Gregory and Victor, both European indentured servants, sought their Freedom from Hugh Gwyn. All three were captured and returned and brought to court by Gwyn. All three were sentenced to return to their servitude as well as physical lashes. James Gregory and Victor were also sentenced to three additional years of indentured servitude. John Punch was sentenced to remain in servitude for the “rest of his natural life.”
Vocabulary & Key Terms:
Student Context:
Jamestown was founded on May 14, 1607 as the first permanent English settlement in North America. Jamestown was funded by the Virginia Company of London, a group of English investors who hoped to make money by setting up colonies in the New World. Jamestown was established in what is now the state of Virginia, on the banks of the James River in Virginia, named after King James I of England.
It was quickly realized that additional labor would be needed to work and develop the colony further. This need gave rise to Indentured servants. Indentured servants are people who sign a contract of “indenture” in order to receive something in exchange for work for a predetermined amount of time. Many Europeans, unable to afford the cost to travel to America, agreed to indentured servitude to pay for their passage, room and board.
The colonies began to be filled by Europeans and Africans through both formal or informal indentured servitude, although not always by free will. In England, children could be taken from parents who were considered indigent, or unable to support themselves and their family. If orphaned, children could be contracted from locally controlled workhouses. Africans began to arrive in Jamestown in 1619. In Africa, European merchants capitalized on existing systems of trade to purchase Africans.
Though their freedoms were limited, indentured servants, both Black and White, initially did have freedoms and laws to protect them. Black and White indentured servants could both earn their freedom and become landowners. However, as the needs for labor grew, the cost of having as many indentured servants as needed was not cost effective. The laws began to change, in order to support the economic interests of landowners, and subsequently taking away the freedoms of African and African American people. This included laws that not only enslaved those arriving from Africa but also enslaved their children creating a hereditary system of slavery. As a result, by the late seventeenth century, a race- based system of slavery was fully developed in the American colonies.
Begin by introducing students to the changes and laws that fully shifted indentured servitude to slavery in the United States.
The system of race-based slavery developed due to a variety of factors which contributed to a rise in both the number of African laborers and an establishment of laws to establish chattel slavery. Life expectancy in the Southern colonies improved and significant numbers of White indentured servants could be expected, for the first time, to outlive the terms of their indentures. As these newly free laborers demanded land and political representation, wealthy landowners sought to create systems of labor that would be permanently enslaved. At the same time, the British crown issued a charter to the Royal African Company, establishing a monopoly on the slave trade in West Africa, which provided laborers from Africa that were less costly than contracting indentured sevants in Europe. As Black laborers rose in number, old paths to freedom, such as lawsuits using claims based on religion or parentage, manumission in a landowner’s will, or the purchase of one’s own freedom, were gradually made illegal or were increasingly rare.
Begin by sharing the student context of an overview with students to help them understand the reliance of Early America on the skills of enslaved people.
By the eighteenth century, laws regulating slavery existed throughout the colonies but life under slavery differed greatly depending on local needs, conditions, and the skills of the enslaved themselves. Southern plantations organized systems of labor modeled on the nearby slave colonies of the West Indies, where enslaved people tended to crops in large groups, driven by an overseer. But enslaved people were also tasked with performing every duty and trade that the colonial economy required.
Provide students with a copy of “Tasks Identified by Age and Gender” from George Washington’s Diary, 1786-87. Explain to students that a historian compiled the list from tasks mentioned in Washington’s diary in the given years, and give them time to read the list. Then provide time to examine the website attached to the museum Royall House and Slave Quarters located in Medford, Massachusetts, beginning at Enslaved People’s Lives at the Royall House – The Royall House and Slave Quarters. Instruct students to note similarities and differences between the tasks identified.
After time to review individually or in pairs as a whole class discuss:
As a final question, ask students to consider and discuss how enslaved labor contributed to the development of the United States?
Men’s Skills
Spring/summer work
Fall work
Women’s Skills
Winter work
Spring/summer work
Fall work
Source: The extract from George Washington’s diary is reprinted in Carr, Lois Green and Lorena S. Walsh. “Economic Diversification and Labor Organization in the Chesapeake, 1650-1820,” in Work and Labor in Early America, Stephen Innes, Ed.
Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, 1988.
April 1769
To be sold on Wednesday the 3rd of May, before Mr. Anthony Hay’s door, in Williamsburg, for ready money. Twenty likely Virginia born Slaves, …among them a good shoemaker, gardener, and hostler, several men used to the house and field business, and several boys and girls fit for service.
William Mitchell, s.s.
January 1771
To be SOLD, on WEDNESDAY the 6th of March, pursuant to the last Will and Testament of Mr. Anthony Hay, deceased, THAT noted and well accustomed Tavern in Williamsburg, called the RALEIGH, which has every Convenience to it, and exceeding fine Stable and Pasture adjoining. At the same Time will be sold…nineteen NEGROES … among them a very good Cabinet Maker, [worked at Hay’s former business], a good Coachman and Carter, some fine Waiting boys, good cooks, Washers, etc…
November 1773
To be SOLD…Share in the Town Point Company …, likewise a very valuable Negro Fellow, who has worked at the Smith’s Business some time, and still continues at the principal shop in Town, sundry Smith’s tools, several exceeding good house wenches with their children, and some very fine Negro girls, all to be sold at private sale.
April 1775
A BLACKSMITH
To be HIRED out till Christmas next, or the 25th of December, 1776
He is a hearty, stout, young Negro Fellow, honest, diligent, and of submissive Temper, who can execute all Sorts of plain work in the best manner.
JOHN RUFFIN, Junior Guardian for Theo. B. Ruffin
June 1777
For sale, for ready money, or 12 months credit, an exceeding good plantation BLACKSMITH, who is very well acquainted with many other kinds of work in that branch of business, such as nail making, tiring wheels, etc. The terms may be known by applying to Joshua Poythress, sen. At Flower de Hundred, in Prince George county, or to William Poythress at York garrison.
Begin by asking students to think of the many ways that iron is used today. Examples may include:
Next, introduce to students that the use of iron was also key in the early development of industry in the United States and that much of the blacksmith and iron work done at that time was done by enslaved people.
Have students spend time visiting the National Park service site on blacksmiths and ask them to focus on the skill of ironworkers from Mande located in West Africa. After students review this site, provide them with them the following sources:
Ask students to consider these sources in relation to what they learned from the National Park service then respond to the following questions in small groups or as a whole class:
Key questions:
Researching individuals who labored in slavery and freedom is a valuable way to engage students’ curiosity about life in the American colonies and early Republic. The following individuals were chosen for their wide variety of experiences, changes that they witnessed in the colonial era and emerging Republic, their own personal agency and fortitude, and surviving evidence. One video and article has been provided below, however students should also feel free to complete their own research. After researching and taking notes, students compose two scenes for their lives— one in slavery and one in freedom— in the style of a graphic novel.
A “poem for two voices” is a two-column format that allows writers to juxtapose two contrasting ideas, concepts, or perspectives. Alternating lines indicate opposing viewpoints and are read by an individual voice. Adjacent lines represent agreement or compromise and are therefore read in unison. Before beginning this activity, have students examine examples here Poems for Two Voices | Poetry In Voice and listen to examples read out loud on YouTube by searching for the same titles listed posted on Poetry in Voice.
Have students pair up. Distribute copies of the primary sources listed below. As they read, students should highlight phrases that are important to identity, perspective, emotion, etc. After looking at sources that reflect both the perspectives of people who are free and enslaved, students should decide on a theme for their poem. For example, ‘hope,’ ‘perseverance,’ ‘labor,’ etc.
In their own words and using words from the primary sources, students use the poetry for two voices format to create a two-column poem on their chosen theme. Note: Some student populations might benefit from a skeletal outline, starting lines, or template for each line/phrase.
Students can illustrate their poems and mount them on construction paper, perform them in front of the class, or make an audio recording to share with the larger community.
How can primary documents reveal the individuality and agency of both enslaved and free Black people in the 17th and 18th century?
A Runaway Ad from the Pennsylvania Gazette – mid 1700’s
Run away in July last, from Nicholas Everson, living in East-New-Jersey, two miles from Perth-Amboy ferry, a mulatto Negroe, named Tom, about 37 years of age, short, well-set, thick lips, flat nose, black curled hair, and can play well upon the fiddle; Had on when he went away, a red-colored watch coat, without a cape, a brown coloured leather jacket, a hat, blue and white twisted yarn leggins; speaks good English, and Low Dutch, and is a good shoemaker; his said master has been informed that he intends to cut his watchcoat, to make him Indian stockings, and to cut off his hair, and to get a blanket, to pass for an Indian; that he enquired for one John and Thomas Nutus, Indians at Susquehanna, and about the Moravians, and the way there. Whoever secures him in the nearest goal or otherwise, so that his master may have him again, shall have Forty Shillings reward, and reasonable charges, paid by Nicholas Everson
Runaway Ad from the Virginia Gazette, May 1770
Run away from the subscriber, the first day of November last (under the pretence of suing for his freedom) a likely young fellow, named Bob, of a yellow complexion, slim made, near six feet high, has a remarkable down look, is a very good blacksmith, and as supposed, is harboured by some white man of that trade. Whoever will bring the said fellow to my house in Dinwiddie county, near the court-house, shall receive a reward of FIVE POUNDS.
Runaway Ad from the Virginia Gazette, May 1773
Run away from the subscriber, on the 15th of April, a negro man named JACK, belonging to Mr. John fox, of Gloucester county…He is by trade a shoemaker, and once worked with Mr. Robert Gilbert in Williamsburg, is fond of the violin, and has taken with him a new one, which his master lately gave him…His clothing was the same as that of other labouring Negroes..He is well acquainted in Williamsburg and Gloucester, and in many other places in this colony.
Source: Copies of newspaper ads for runaways, from the Pennsylvania Gazette and the Virginia Gazette
April 1769
To be sold on Wednesday the 3rd of May, before Mr. Anthony Hay’s door, in Williamsburg, for ready money. Twenty likely Virginia born Slaves, …among them a good shoemaker, gardener, and hostler, several men used to the house and field business, and several boys and girls fit for service.
William Mitchell, s.s.
January 1771
To be SOLD, on WEDNESDAY the 6th of March, pursuant to the last Will and Testament of Mr. Anthony Hay, deceased, THAT noted and well accustomed Tavern in Williamsburg, called the RALEIGH, which has every Convenience to it, and exceeding fine Stable and Pasture adjoining. At the same Time will be sold…nineteen NEGROES … among them a very good Cabinet Maker, [worked at Hay’s former business], a good Coachman and Carter, some fine Waiting boys, good cooks, Washers, etc…
November 1773
To be SOLD…Share in the Town Point Company …, likewise a very valuable Negro Fellow, who has worked at the Smith’s Business some time, and still continues at the principal shop in Town, sundry Smith’s tools, several exceeding good house wenches with their children, and some very fine Negro girls, all to be sold at private sale.
April 1775
A BLACKSMITH
To be HIRED out till Christmas next, or the 25th of December, 1776
He is a hearty, stout, young Negro Fellow, honest, diligent, and of submissive Temper, who can execute all Sorts of plain work in the best manner.
JOHN RUFFIN, Junior
Guardian for Theo. B. Ruffin
June 1777
For sale, for ready money, or 12 months credit, an exceeding good plantation BLACKSMITH, who is very well acquainted with many other kinds of work in that branch of business, such as nail making, tiring wheels, etc. The terms may be known by applying to Joshua Poythress, sen. At Flower de Hundred, in Prince George county, or to William Poythress at York garrison.
Key questions:
In this activity, students explore slavery, freedom, abolition, memory, and memorialization centered around the African Burial Ground in Portsmouth, NH. This burial place was in use for two hundred years before being built over and purposefully forgotten in public memory, until it was rediscovered and rededicated in the 21st century.
Provide students with the photograph on the second page of In Honor of those Forgotten, a educational and fundraising pamphlet for the African Burial Ground memorial and rededication. This photograph shows Chestnut Street in downtown Portsmouth, NH with an approximation of the location of the individual burial sites within a section of the African Burial Ground. In small groups, have students complete a See, Think, Wonder organizer on the image.
After sharing out and discussing, provide students with the overview on page three of the pamphlet, which introduces the African Burial Ground and its rediscovery in the 21st century. Provide students with time to explore the website African Burying Ground Memorial Park – Portsmouth, New Hampshire. They should focus on confirming or modifying what they listed in their organizer, but can also explore what they had not considered.
After students have shared out, discuss:
As a conclusion, ask students to journal on the question: What can a study of the process of forgetting, rediscovery, and memorialization of the African Burial Ground help us to learn about slavery and its legacy in the North?
Examples might include reparations to Holocaust survivors, Native American tribes, or Japanese Americans interned during World War II. A resource you may select could be https://www.history.com/news/reparations-slavery-native-americans-japanese-internment
How did the institution of slavery change over time and across geography?
How can primary documents reveal the individuality and agency of both enslaved and free Black people in the 17th and 18th century?
A “poem for two voices” is a two-column format that allows writers to juxtapose two contrasting ideas, concepts, or perspectives. Alternating lines indicate opposing viewpoints and are read by an individual voice. Adjacent lines represent agreement or compromise and are therefore read in unison. Before beginning this activity, have students examine examples here Poems for Two Voices | Poetry In Voice and listen to examples read out loud on YouTube by searching for the same titles listed posted on Poetry in Voice.
Have students pair up. Distribute copies of the primary sources listed below. As they read, students should highlight phrases that are important to identity, perspective, emotion, etc. After looking at sources that reflect both the perspectives of people who are free and enslaved, students should decide on a theme for their poem. For example, ‘hope,’ ‘perseverance,’ ‘labor,’ etc.
In their own words and using words from the primary sources, students use the poetry for two voices format to create a two-column poem on their chosen theme. Note: Some student populations might benefit from a skeletal outline, starting lines, or template for each line/phrase.
Students can illustrate their poems and mount them on construction paper, perform them in front of the class, or make an audio recording to share with the larger community.
For this performance task students will complete a research paper. This research paper project helps students develop critical thinking, research skills, and a deeper understanding of complex social issues. As an additional element you may also select for students to create a short presentation based on their research paper. This could include a slideshow or a brief oral presentation summarizing their findings.
Paper Structure Guidelines can mirror your existing class expectations or you may opt to use the following suggested guideline:
Whether you opt to have students complete a class presentation or not, lead a concluding class discussion where students share their insights and what they learned from their research.
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