Objective: Usually it's best to get a story straight from the source, but when it comes to history, we're often out of luck—unless we have access to primary source materials, that is. Wv�Ӹ��-���Y�|�j;�.��y�Y�'�M%c�f��ֽqwmut����Q׶�M`��x\�J��,:r��Qd��#>��N^:G}-�zY2�ɴrjl5y|�Eei�C3����Ca���� ��lY�@ Teaching Activity. 120 pages. 0000042230 00000 n 0000031002 00000 n . A mixer role play explores the connections between different social movements during Reconstruction. Teaching a People’s History of Abolition and the Civil War, edited by Adam Sanchez and published by Rethinking Schools, is a collection of 10 classroom-tested lessons on one of the most transformative periods in U.S. history. 0000001096 00000 n “Did Lincoln really free the slaves?” “If he didn’t, who did?” “What else have we been lied to about?” These kinds of questions can ignite deep learning and historical engagement. In this Q&A, we feature Caroline Cheung, an English PhD candidate and graduate instructor. Police regularly murder Black citizens with impunity. 0000003473 00000 n Rethinking Schools. For many students, this is a rupture of epic proportions. %PDF-1.4 %���� How can we learn from the past to influence the future? Slavery was abolished because slaves, the ex-slaves, the escaped slaves, and some white abolitionists got together and formed a great movement against slavery. EVERY YEAR, I start teaching about slavery and the Civil War by asking my high school students “Who freed the slaves?” Without fail, the vast majority, if not the entire class, answers “Abraham Lincoln.” Holding back my desire to immediately puncture this simplistic narrative, I continue questioning: “Well, if Lincoln was the Great Emancipator and freed the slaves, what do you think he said in his first speech as president?” My students throw out various hypotheses that I list on the board: Slavery is evil, immoral, unjust; people should have equal rights regardless of color; it’s time to get rid of slavery; slaveholders should be punished; and so on. . Zinn Education Project. Abolitionist literature, art, and poetry depicted the life of the slave and became a political tool which the moral suasionists used effectively to sway sentiment toward their position. . By Bill Bigelow. What is the relationship between those at the top of society — presidents, Congress, elites — and ordinary citizens? . 0000037942 00000 n Our job as educators should be to expand the viewpoints through which our students look at history. “Lesson 3: If There Is No Struggle. Rethinking Schools. 13. Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window). Teaching Activity. Of course, Lincoln’s views on slavery and Black rights did not start or end with his first speech as president. By Bill Bigelow. Let’s tell them. With Black soldiers now taking up arms against the Confederacy, Lincoln’s war for union was transformed into a war for liberation. The success of that resistance opened up a new set of questions during the Reconstruction era, which are explored in the Afterword and in a subsequent lesson. ( Matthew 7:24-29 ) Abolitionists understand that any movement against national sin must be rooted in God’s perspective on the matter rather than the pragmatic wisdom of man. Should they maintain a singular focus on slavery in the South or spend their energies also opposing racism in the North? 0000016903 00000 n No more auction block, no more driver’s lash. Students need to rethink the Great Emancipator myth by examining Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address, the Emancipation Proclamation, his timid approach to ending slavery, and, by contrast, the heroism of the abolitionists and the enslaved people themselves. . Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. In character, they confront the questions that abolitionist organizers also encountered: Should they support attempts to buy enslaved people and … Phone: 202-588-7205 | Email: zep@zinnedproject.org, Web design and development by new target, inc. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Instructions for You. . In “Lesson 5: Raising the Voices of Abolitionists Through Art,” students read and listen to abolitionist speeches and analyze abolitionist art. �_@Z����U��#8>pPe�#$��h��P�{�D8�%�J�)� �� k���4�lh:��EhB���� Ӝ�k6���]�����j���cXx��4��' �Q endstream endobj 95 0 obj <> endobj 96 0 obj <> endobj 97 0 obj <>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]/ExtGState<>>> endobj 98 0 obj <> endobj 99 0 obj <> endobj 100 0 obj <> endobj 101 0 obj <> endobj 102 0 obj <>stream As Howard Zinn explained: When I look at the history of the United States, what I see is that whenever anything good has been accomplished, whenever any injustice has been remedied . What role have white people played in maintaining and fighting Black oppression? . . As abolitionist Wendell Phillips wrote to Sen. Charles Sumner, “These are no times for ordinary politics; they are formative hours. We are citizens. . . Abolitionist Teaching We Want to Do More Than Survive by Bettina Love; Misty Monroe (Narrated by) Call Number: PROF EQUITY LOV. The entire U.S. economy — not just Southern plantations — was built on the labor of enslaved Blacks. To understand abolition and the Civil War then, is to understand how ordinary citizens — with ideas that seem radical and idealistic, taking action together, breaking unjust laws, pressuring politicians to act — can fundamentally change society. We then turn to Lincoln’s actual first inaugural address and students are shocked to read that Lincoln stated that he had “no inclination” to “interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists,” that he promised to uphold the Fugitive Slave Act, and that he expressed support for the Corwin Amendment, which would have prevented Congress from ever tampering with slavery in any state. 0000051898 00000 n The first two lessons in the unit begin with narrative and poetry in an attempt to nurture empathy with the plight of the enslaved, but also appreciation for the varied ways Black people resisted their enslavement. “Were we lied to?” they ask. We must not put ourselves in the position of looking at the world from their eyes and say, ‘Well, we have to compromise, we have to do this for political reasons.’ We have to speak our minds.” I’ve found that students are capable of complex thinking around the role that Lincoln played in the abolition of slavery. The real story of slavery’s end involves one of the most significant social movements in the history of the United States and the heroic actions of the enslaved themselves. Utilizing the intellectual work and direct action of community organizers, Abolitionist Teachers will organize and take action for educational freedom. 0000017418 00000 n 0000041543 00000 n . There is no more important lesson that our students can learn from studying history. x�b```f``������1�A�X��,.,,��,N “Lesson 7: The Election of 1860 Role Play” gives students a clearer picture of the electoral coalition that brought Lincoln to power. Abolitionists like Sojourner Truth, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison raised their voices in protest against slavery. Required fields are marked *, A collaboration between Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change The purpose of this unit is not to simply dethrone Lincoln as the Great Emancipator. Opening the Union Army to Blacks had profound effects on white soldiers and the Northern white public. 0000039524 00000 n By running their own meeting and making decisions collectively, this lesson also allows students to gain valuable skills they need as engaged citizens, skills too often de-emphasized in the era of high-stakes testing. The next several lessons attempt to paint a picture of the social movement that developed to combat slavery. These runaways also created opportunities for the all-white Union Army, in desperate need of soldiers and laborers. By Bill Bigelow. What could be more important than learning how one of the country’s greatest evils was ended? “Lesson 4: Who Fought to End Slavery?” introduces students to 28 prominent and lesser-known abolitionists. The emancipation of 4 million people from slavery ushered in a revolutionary transformation of U.S. society led by African Americans. Slavery was not abolished because Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. A role play based on the election of 1860 allows students to explore the political debates of the time and the real reasons for the Civil War. Edited by Adam Sanchez. 0000043760 00000 n About 3.… Abolitionist Teaching Network's mission is simple: develop and support educators to fight injustice within their schools and communities. ��+=��XR�]�i����U�E!&@���>��:���2�X\N�k� Coming at a moment of activism by modern descendants of the struggle for freedom, the book could not be more timely. This was the river of Black struggle in the South, waiting for no one to declare freedom for them. But in order to develop students’ democratic capacities, it’s not enough to simply tell them an alternative account. 0000030132 00000 n There are countless stories of collective struggle that are antidotes to cynicism. But the popular narrative that a single white politician ended an institution that formed the economic backbone of U.S. society is simply inaccurate, racist, and dangerous. Part memoir, part manual, part manifesto, We Want to Do More Than Survive explains that abolitionist teaching is neither a new set of standards nor a social justice curriculum, but a revolutionary commitment to transforming ourselves, our country, and the world. Every day they came into the Northern lines, in every condition, in every season of the year, in every state of health. Brief biographies of 25 Black abolitionists. Yet now they reached a new, enlarged audience that included those in the halls of power. Teaching sociology and anthropology in the tradition of critical education, and abolition pedagogy more specifically, pushes back against such “politics of disconnect” by placing curriculum and learning in broader context (cultural, sociopolitical, historical), so that citizens may appreciate the As Rethinking Schools curriculum editor Bill Bigelow puts it, “A people’s history requires a people’s pedagogy.”. 0000001651 00000 n 25 pages. Be sure that black and white abolitionists are represented, and women as well as men. But there were other interests that Lincoln was forced to consider. Lessons to introduce students to a more accurate, complex, and engaging understanding of U.S. history than is found in traditional textbooks and curricula. 36. 0000016525 00000 n The national purpose and thought ripens in 30 days as much as ordinary years bring it forward.” This concept — that people’s ideas can change, and sometimes change rapidly — is crucial for students who have grown up in a world full of racism, sexism, warmongering, and climate denial. By Bill Bigelow. Nationally, men like John Greenleaf Whittier, who became the poet of the abolitionist movement, and Ezekiel Bigelow, a satirist, used their literary skill to bring the slavery issue … There have been many worthwhile defenses of Lincoln’s record, his antislavery intentions, and his actions. Although by 1860 enslaved people made up less than 13 percent of the population, their economic worth (in dehumanizing capitalist terms) was valued at more than the factories, banks, and railroads combined. Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Among 19th-century Plymouth women, the life of Abby Morton Diaz, abolitionist, working mother, and advocate for women’s rights is represented by a family photograph album. By Adam Sanchez. General James S. Brisbin, who supervised the recruitment of Black soldiers in Kentucky, described to his superiors how the ‘jeers and taunts’ of white soldiers were silenced by their Black comrades’ bravery.” And maybe nothing reveals the rapid shift in public opinion more than the warm welcome white New Yorkers gave the 20th U.S. Only seven months earlier, Blacks had been brutally beaten and murdered during the draft riots. In “Lesson 6: Mapping the Slave Economy,” the focus shifts to the economic roots of the Civil War. failures in teaching and learning abolition. Guide for Racial Justice & Abolitionist Social and Emotional Learning (pdf) Download Around the same time I began to compile this unit, the Zinn Education Project began our Teach Reconstruction campaign because too often Reconstruction is given short shrift in classrooms and history textbooks. For decades prior to the war, abolitionists — Black and white, male and female — petitioned the government, organized rallies and public meetings, produced antislavery pamphlets and books, ran candidates for public office, built new political parties, and created a vast network to harbor runaways and resist slave catchers. Through role play, these lessons ask students to imagine themselves as abolitionists and consider the choices that these activists faced. The final lesson asks students to construct their own argument from the varied perspectives they encounter throughout the unit. . Publication Date: 2019-02-19. The abolitionists and, most importantly, the enslaved themselves understood that slavery was so monstrous that it needed to be completely eliminated. Teaching Activity. “Lesson 1: Frederick Douglass Fights for Freedom” attempts to ground what can often seem like distant history in the lives of our students, while “Lesson 2: Poetry of Defiance” culminates in a collective “Write that I” poem that asks students to center and celebrate resistance in telling the history of the enslaved. As Lincoln asked in a July 1861 message to Congress, justifying waging a war for union, “Is it just . By Adam Sanchez and Nqobile Mthethwa. 2014. 0000055620 00000 n Abolitionism and Education. Published by Rethinking Schools. 0000003008 00000 n . Abolitionist teaching asks us to question the piece of the oppressor that lives in all of us. We o ffer these examples because they are immediate, and because, as the people in the classroom were closer to incarceration than most populations in the United States perceive themselves to be, we naively thought that conversations might be different. Your email address will not be published. • take a Vocabulary Quiz for Famous Abolitionists. “Lesson 8: A War to Free the Slaves?” challenges one common misunderstanding: that Lincoln and the North waged war against the South to free the enslaved. When Republicans swept the 1860 election, antislavery activists nevertheless continued their familiar tactics and criticized Lincoln’s and Congress’ half-measures. Through research and analysis in the classroom, students will learn about the diversity of women who participated in antislavery activities, the variety of activities and goals they pursued, and the barriers they faced as women. Crystal T. 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