Teaching Enslavement in American History; Lesson Plans and Primary Sources

Teaching Enslavement in American History provides classroom teachers with the resources necessary to navigate one of the most difficult topics in any history course. This volume is the product of a collaboration between three university professors and a team of experienced middle and high school teachers. Its nine chapters include the context for topics like the middle passage, the Constitution’s position on enslavement, African cultural retention, and resistance to enslavement. The resources include 18 lesson plans and dozens of short primary and secondary sources modeled on document-based questions and the inquiry design model.

Real teaching requires courage, a deep understanding of the complexity of the subject matter, and skillful use of primary sources. Rather than teaching students what to think, Teaching Enslavement in American History pushes students to learn how to think: empirical argumentation, source evaluation, understanding of change-over-time, and analysis of historical context. The lessons in this book ask students to read, analyze, and contextualize a variety of primary sources, to identify the limitations of these sources and to articulate historical contradiction where it occurs. At the heart of this book is the belief that historical consciousness leads to societal change. Teaching about enslavement is not merely about teaching a curriculum, it is about molding citizens who will lead our democracy in its journey to become a more perfect union.

Chara Haeussler Bohan is an education professor at Georgia State University, specializing in educational history, curriculum, race, and gender. She has published more than 100 articles and books and has most recently focused on the perpetuation of Lost Cause mythology in northern and southern schools.

H. Robert Baker is a history professor at Georgia State University, specializing in law and the Constitution. He has written two books on the Supreme Court and slavery, and dozens of articles on topics ranging from slavery and law to American literature. His current research examines freedom suits and the practice of kidnapping free Black people into slavery.

LaGarrett J. King is an education professor at the University at Buffalo, specializing in social studies curriculum, with a focus on how Black history is interpreted and taught in schools and society. He has published more than 60 articles and book chapters, and also researches critical theories of race, teacher education, and curriculum history.

Wade Morris taught high school history for fifteen years in Virginia, Georgia, and Beirut, Lebanon. He currently serves as a Dean’s Fellow at Georgia State University’s College of Education and Human Development, where he researches the 19th century roots of American education.