United States History Student Edition

G

Complete Your Inquiry EVALUATE SOURCES AND USE EVIDENCE Refer back to the Compelling Question and the Supporting Questions you developed at the beginning of the lesson. 1. Comparing How are the experiences described by Frederick Douglass (Source A) and Harriet Jacobs (Source F) similar? 2. Evaluating Which source in this lesson do you think has the strongest emotional impact or serves as the strongest condemnation of the practice of slavery? Why? 3. Gathering Sources Which sources helped you answer the Supporting Questions and the Compelling Question? Which sources, if any, challenged what you thought you knew when you first created your Supporting Questions? What information do you still need in order to answer your questions? What other viewpoints would you like to investigate? Where would you find that information? 4. Evaluating Sources Identify the sources that helped answer your Supporting Questions. How reliable is each source? How would you verify the reliability of each source? COMMUNICATE CONCLUSIONS 5. Collaborating Work with a partner to discuss how oppression affects individuals and society. How do these sources provide insight into the experiences of enslaved people and the ways these experiences were shared with others? Use the graphic organizer that you created at the beginning of the lesson to help you. Share your conclusions with the class. TAKE INFORMED ACTION Writing a Newspaper Article The institution of slavery was a major violation of human rights. Today, people around the world still fight against human rights abuses. Conduct research to find out more about examples of human rights abuses that take place today and about the people who work to end them. Choose one individual or organization fighting such abuse. Write an article about your findings that might appear in your school newspaper.

Slave Badges In 1800, the city of Charleston, South Carolina, required both free and enslaved African Americans to wear identifying tags. Known as “slave badges,” these small, metal tags were worn when African Americans were away from their home plantation or property.

PRIMARY SOURCE: ARTIFACTS

EXAMINE THE SOURCE 1. Identifying What sorts of information are found on the badges? 2. Drawing Conclusions Why might Southerners have thought such tags were necessary, both for enslaved and free African Americans? What does the use of such tags reveal about attitudes toward slavery and African Americans in the South?

(t)The New York Historical Society/Archive Photos/Getty Images; (b)Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from the Liljenquist Family Collection

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