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A Case Study: Slavery and Anti-Slavery in Philadelphia, PA, (17th-19th Centuries) Mini-Unit
By Donna Sharer

Overview

This mini-unit is a case study to help students understand the enslavement of Africans in a northern city, Philadelphia, and the roles African Americans played in the Abolition Movement in Philadelphia. Philadelphia, "The City of Brotherly Love," was founded by William Penn, a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and an owner of 12 enslaved Africans. Philadelphia (and Pennsylvania), though known for religious tolerance and fairer dealings with Native Americans, permitted the enslavement of Africans early in America's history. Throughout this mini-unit, students will work in teams of three. Each team will visit a "workstation" to interpret, analyze, and apply information from documents for their final project. The final project will be an exhibit at Independence National Historic Park (http://www.nps.gov/inde) on slavery and abolition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Curriculum Standards

National Curriculum Standards

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

Time Required

Approximately two weeks for a 50-minute class period or one week with 90-minute class period.

Materials


  • Computer with Internet access (If you don't have access to a computer lab, make copies of the articles/documents and set up "workstations." Give groups a set amount of time at each workstation and to move from station to station.)


  • Copies of forms to analyze primary documents (written documents), available at:
    http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons/analysis_worksheets/worksheets.html


  • Daily evaluation forms [link to dailyeval.doc]


  • File folders for each team to keep their materials


  • Poster board displays for each group's exhibit. (If you have the time and facilities, students may use PowerPoint instead of a display board.)

The Lesson

Essential Questions: Why was slavery practiced in the northern United States? How was slavery opposed in the northern United States?

Procedures


  1. Introduce the unit and have students form groups of three. (If there are extra students, use the extra role.) Give students enough time to ask about the process and the final project.


  2. Give each group a daily log form to record their questions, research, and other related ideas. (Teams will develop a question for the other days.)


  3. Ask students to brainstorm a list of what they associate with Philadelphia and why they associate this information with Philadelphia. Students might know nothing about Philadelphia. Ask them to view a slide show of Philadelphia attractions by going to http://www.pcvb.org/Apps/Attractions/Attractions_Criteria.asp and clicking on "Photo Tour" on the left of the page.


  4. Remind students that Philadelphia is where the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution were ratified and that it was known for religious tolerance. At the same time, Philadelphia also was the home to free and enslaved African Americans.


  5. Introduce the Daily Log. Ask students to respond to the following questions for day one:

    • "Slavery in the northern United States was _______________________."


    • "Abolitionists, or people who worked to end slavery, were __________________________________."

    (At the end of the unit, ask the students to complete the sentences again and compare/contrast their responses as a class.)

  6. To expand on the above sentences, have students, as a class, use a "KWHL" chart to explore what they know about slavery and abolition in northern U.S. states. Ask them to complete the "what we want to learn" portion of the chart. (Save the rest of the chart for the end of the unit.)


  7. Have students view, as the first primary documents, maps to give them additional background information on Philadelphia.


  8. First, use a U.S. map to locate Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. As a class, ask students to hypothesize connections of slavery and abolition to Philadelphia and Pennsylvania based on its geographic location.


  9. Then, have each team view the 1796 and 1800 maps to add to their hypotheses. (You may want to look at current maps of Philadelphia. Until 1854, Philadelphia was "Center City;" it then was expanded to include all of Philadelphia County.)


  10. Distribute copies of the primary document form for written documents. Then, instruct each team to complete a form for the following documents, while also reminding students about the final project. Students will work with their team members to read background information on slavery in Philadelphia:

  11. Make sure each team views the same information/documents. Students also should view the background information on the Slavery and Abolition Map

  12. Have each team analyze the following primary documents on the abolition of slavery in Pennsylvania:

    • 1780 Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery: Remind students to look for the key provisions of the Act.

    • "Cato's" letter in response to an attempt to revise the Gradual Abolition Law: Ask students to consider why Cato's appeal was so compelling to the legislators.

      • Divide the documents into seven to eight sections. Assign each small team/group one section to interpret. They should list the main points of the section (e.g., What does the law say about slavery?). Have each team present its findings on either a chalkboard or an overhead.

  13. Instruct each team to analyze the following primary and secondary documents on the Abolition Movement in Philadelphia. To save time, introduce the first documents rather than having each team analyze them:

    14. The first document is the first formal protest against slavery in the United States. It was written in Germantown, PA, in 1688. (Today, Germantown is a Philadelphia neighborhood.) The signers were four German men who were part of a Mennonite meeting. The men received negative reactions from most Quaker meetings. (Some Quakers enslaved Africans. Mennonites did not enslave Africans).
  14. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Philadelphia was the home of many abolitionists. Have students use the chart to record information on Philadelphia's abolitionists. Make copies of the articles on key Philadelphia abolitionists. Then, create nine file folders (one per abolitionist) and give students the criteria for information they should gather for each abolitionist: Name, Motivation, and Contributions.

    15. Students should work in teams to complete the chart. Allow five to ten minutes for each group to use one folder, and then move the folders from group to group:


  15. Philadelphia's long history of abolition expanded in the late 18th century and flourished in the 19th century. Many key leaders were African Americans. The following are primary documents related to the Philadelphia Abolition Movement. Have students analyze each document using the primary document forms (written documents, photos). To save time, have the team members each analyze two documents and share their findings with their fellow team members:

  16. Have students answer these focus questions:

    • What was unique about abolition in PA?
    • What were the strengths of the Act? The weaknesses?
    • How did the Act affect slavery in Pennsylvania?
    • How are the arguments from the 1688 Germantown document addressed in the 1780 Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery?

Culminating Project

Give students the following instructions:


  1. Your team has been asked to design an interpretive exhibit on slavery and abolition in Philadelphia, PA. The exhibit will be part of Independence Park in Philadelphia.


  2. Your team will:

    • Determine the main ideas you want visitors to learn at your exhibit.
    • Create a title for your exhibit.
    • Design and create four sections of an exhibit. You should include this information:

      • Slavery in Philadelphia/Pennsylvania;
      • Legal methods to abolish slavery;
      • Abolitionists; and
      • Obstacles to abolishing slavery.

      You may create the model of the exhibit on a tri-board Poster. (If there is time, you may use PowerPoint or a similar program rather than a tri-board.)


  3. Each team member will have these specific responsibilities:

    • Historian: Write the script for the exhibition. The script should include a brief (five to six sentences) explanation for each aspect of the exhibit addressing these issues:

      • What background information do visitors need to appreciate the exhibit?
      • What impression do you want visitors to have about slavery and the Abolition Movement in Philadelphia?

    • Artist: Design the exhibit. Create the layout/design for the four sections of the exhibit, making sure to consider:

      • What objects, documents, drawings, etc. will you include?
      • Will the exhibit be interactive, visual, a combination, etc.?
      • What colors or designs will you include? Why?

    • Public Relations Person: Write two Public Service Announcements about the exhibit. The first announcement should include the announcement about the exhibit and how and why it was developed. The second should announce the opening and invite listeners to attend. Each Public Service Announcements should be no more than 150-200 words. (For information on writing a Public Service Announcement see http://www3.uakron.edu/wzip/new/PublicService.html.)

  4. (If there is a 4th person, give him/her this responsibility:

    • Reporter: Write an article about the opening of the exhibit. Include who created it, why, and how. Pretend you interview visitors and include their reactions to the exhibit.)

Assessment

You may use the following suggestions, changing the weight for each area as you need, or design another assessment:


  • Daily Log Chart: Up to 5 points per day per students (self evaluation)--30 points (either 5 points/day for 10 days or 10 points per day for 5 days).
  • Group presentation: 30 points.
  • Individual role assessment: 40 points, rubrics provided.

Additional Resources

  • African Americans in Pennsylvania: A History and Guide
    (Blockson, Charles L. Black Classic Press, 1994)
  • African Americans in Pennsylvania: Shifting Historical Perspectives
    (Trotter, Joe W., Jr., and Eric L. Smith, Eds. Penn. State Univ. Press, 1997)
  • Freedom by Degrees: Emancipation in Pennsylvania and its Aftermath
    (Nash, Gary B. and Jean R. Soderlund. Oxford Univ. Press, 1991)
  • Pennsylvania: A History of the Commonwealth
    (Miller, Randall M. and William Pencak, Eds. Penn. State Univ. Press, 2002; Chs. 2-4)

This lesson was submitted by Donna Sharer, a history teacher in Pennsylvania.