Seeking Liberty Lesson Plan: Runaways' Emigration out of the United States |
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Overview |
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The narrative, Runaway Journeys, particularly the segments "Going South and West," "Up North," and "Canada, the Promised Land," reminds students that the reach of U.S. law stops at the nation's border. Canada, Mexico, England, Spain, and Caribbean nations (independent or colonial) had different laws about slavery than the United States. As a follow up to reading this narrative, the "Seeking Liberty" lesson plan is designed to allow students in social studies classes (history, government, international studies) to examine other nation's laws relative to slavery, immigration, citizenship, and racial discrimination for the period 1808-1865. "Escape to Cities and Towns," discusses how urban areas have been magnets for African-American migrants.
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Grade Levels: | | Target grade levels: High school, grades 9-12 |
For use with: | | Runaway Journeys |
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Concentration Area: | | History: U.S. Government |
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National Curriculum Standards met by this lesson |
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The following standards have been taken from the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McRel) standards. |
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Students will understand |
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- How slavery shaped social and economic life in the South after 1800 (e.g. the cotton gin and the opening of new lands in the South and West led to increased demands for slaves; differences in the lives of plantation owners, poor free black and white families and slaves; methods of passive and active resistance to slavery; escaped slaves and the Underground Railroad).
- Different economic cultural and social characteristics of slavery after 1800 (e.g. the influence of the Haitian Revolution and the ending of the Atlantic slave trade, how slaves forged their own culture in the face of oppression, the role of the plantation system in shaping slaveholders and the enslaved, the experiences of escaped slaves).
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Time required |
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One to two 50-minute class periods, if students read the narrative outside of class and depending on the speed of the oral presentations. |
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Materials needed |
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Anticipatory Set |
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- Ask students to brainstorm a list of any laws of another nation that they know are different from those of the United States.
- Record the answers on the chalkboard, a flipchart, or a transparency.
- Ask students to look at the list and decide whether any of the laws they have mentioned seem harsher and less just than those of the United States. Then, ask students whether any of the laws they listed seem milder and more just than those of the United States.
- Explain that while slavery remained a constant in the United States between 1787 and 1865, there were changes in the fugitive slave law, territories where slavery was banned or permitted, the international slave trade, immigration law and citizenship requirements (both for immigrants and free persons of color). Direct students to read the narrative, Runaway Journeys focusing on gleaning information about U.S. policies and other countries' policies towards fugitive slaves from the United States from the segments "Going South and West," "Up North," and "Canada, the Promised Land."
- Supplement details about U.S. laws from the textbook or a summary handout.
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Procedures |
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- Explain to students that the Fugitive Slave Law was a push factor, causing some slaves to emigrate outside of the United States in search of personal security. The countries they moved to often had laws favorable to these immigrants, thus serving as pull factors.
- Divide the class into teams/panels to research and present a summary of the laws of:
- Canada;
- England, France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Spain (and their respective Caribbean colonies);
- Mexico and Haiti (following their independence from Spain and France, respectively.
Ask students to determine what (if any) laws in these foreign countries regulated the following from 1808 to 1865:
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Slavery: Was it legal to have slaves in this country? If so, what personal or legal rights did a slave have? Did the country participate in the international slave trade?
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Immigration: What were the rules regarding immigration to this country? Were there any restrictions based on education, race, or ethnicity?
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Citizenship: Was there a method for an immigrant to become a naturalized citizen? If so, how many years of residency were required and were there literacy tests? Were there any restrictions based on race or ethnicity?
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Racial Discrimination: Were there any laws against discrimination in areas such as jobs, education, public accommodations and housing, or hate crimes? If so, did these laws address racial inequalities?
- Ask each panel to report back to the class. Students should take notes in a chart format so that it will be easy to retrieve information (sample follows).
- As a class, discuss the following:
- Which countries in North America and the Caribbean seemed to offer fugitive slaves the best opportunity for a new life?
- Which countries in North America and the Caribbean had little to offer fugitive slaves?
- Was the North or far West of the United States, despite the Fugitive Slave Law, still more attractive than emigration outside of the United States?
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Assessment |
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Ask students to select two of the countries they have learned about and to write a formal five-paragraph essay comparing and contrasting whether their laws were attractive to fugitive slaves from the United States. Evaluate on a 20-point scale (which may be multiplied by five to convert to 100-point scale or for conversion to letter grades) using the following rubric:
Grading Element and Total Possible Points |
(10) Excellent |
(9-8) Good |
(7-6) Fair |
(5-1) Not Satisfactory |
(0) |
Written Assignment: Historical Comprehension (10) |
Demonstrates excellent:
Historical analysis of information from both narratives
Command of facts
Synthesis of information
Interpretation
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Demonstrates good:
Historical analysis of information
Command of facts
Synthesis of information
Interpretation
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Shows fair:
Historical analysis of information
Command of facts
Synthesis of information
Interpretation
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Shows little:
Historical analysis of information
Command of facts
Synthesis of information
Interpretation
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No Work |
Written Assignment: Technical Writing Skills (10) |
Shows excellent:
Compositional structure
Sentence structure and variety
Vocabulary use
Grammar, spelling, punctuation
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Shows good:
Compositional structure
Sentence structure and variety
Vocabulary use
Grammar, spelling, punctuation
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Shows adequate:
Compositional structure
Sentence structure and variety
Vocabulary use
Grammar, spelling, punctuation
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Shows inadequate:
Compositional structure
Sentence structure and variety
Vocabulary use
Grammar, spelling, punctuation
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No Work |
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Related Works |
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Interdisciplinary Links |
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Foreign Languages: Collaborate with foreign language teachers to locate literature and historical essays on slavery and freedom in other languages. Some may be classic discourses such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (Discours sur l'origine et les fondements de l'inégalité parmi les hommes) or Pope Gregory XVI's 1839 Supremo Apostolatus, the first limited condemnation of slavery by the Roman Catholic Church. Or, they may be proclamations, such as the July 6, 1816, decree abolishing slavery by Simon Bolivar and Boisrond Tonerre's Haitian Act of Independence, from January 1, 1804.
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Art/Graphic Design: Students locate images associated with fugitive slaves who emigrated from the United States to Canada and prepare a display with captions and a brief summary of Canada's legal protections of fugitive slaves from the United States. A great deal of information about communities in Ontario is at: http://olivetreegenealogy.com/can/ont/blacks.shtml. Quebec also has a well-illustrated site at: http://www.qesn.meq.gouv.qc.ca/mpages/.
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