United States History Student Edition

07

INQUIRY ACTIVITY

FLORIDA BENCHMARKS

Analyzing Sources: The Lives of Enslaved People ? COMPELLING QUESTION How does oppression affect individuals and society?

• SS.8.A.4.3 • SS.8.A.4.8 • SS.8.A.4.11

• SS.8.A.1.3 • SS.8.A.1.6 • SS.8.A.1.7

Plan Your Inquiry DEVELOPING QUESTIONS

Background Information Beginning in the early 1600s, enslaved people were brought from Africa to Great Britain’s colonies in North America. The practice of slavery continued as the thirteen colonies developed and as a new nation, the United States, was formed. The number of enslaved people steadily increased, and by 1860 enslaved African Americans made up 32 percent of the population in the South. Some enslaved people managed to escape to freedom in the North. There, they shared their stories to help others understand the horrors of slavery. This lesson includes excerpts from slave narratives and other sources that reflect the perspectives of African Americans who suffered enslavement. As you examine each source, consider how the practice of slavery affected each author or creator and American society as a whole.

Think about the lives of enslaved people in the South, the kinds of brutal conditions they faced, and the different steps they took to fight back. Then read the Compelling Question for this lesson. What questions can you ask to help you answer this Compelling Question? Create a graphic organizer like the one below. Write your Supporting Questions in your graphic organizer.

What this source tells me about the effects of oppression on individuals and society

Questions the source leaves unanswered

Supporting Questions Source

A B C D E F G

ANALYZING SOURCES Next, examine the primary sources in this lesson. Analyze each source by answering the questions that follow it. How does each source help you answer each Supporting Question you created? What questions do you still have? Write these in your graphic organizer.

After you analyze the sources, you will: • use the evidence from the sources • communicate your conclusions • take informed action

This 1864 painting by Thomas Moran depicts an enslaved African American family hiding in the Dismal Swamp in Virginia to escape slavery.

Pictures Now/Alamy Stock Photo

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