by Laura Krenicki
William J. Johnston Middle School, Colchester
TEACHER'S SNAPSHOT
| Topic Slavery & Abolition |
Theme Cultural Diversity and an American National Identity |
Town Statewide |
| Related Search Terms George Washington, President, Slaves, Slavery, Enslaved |
Social Studies Frameworks Grade 5 – Early United States History |
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D1: POTENTIAL COMPELLING QUESTION
What did the Founding Fathers really think about slavery?
D1: POTENTIAL SUPPORTING QUESTIONS
- How were slaves treated? Were all slaves treated the same?
- What steps did some slave-owners take to protect slaves?
- George Washington visited Connecticut on more than one occasion. How might he have encountered slavery here?
D2: TOOL KIT
Things you will need to teach this lesson.
The first page of the slave census in George Washington’s 1799 will. – Mount Vernon
George Washington Slave Census
George Washington died in 1799, and according to his will, all of his slaves were to be freed upon his death. His wife, Martha, however, had been married before, and she had slaves from her first marriage. According to the law, slave ownership passed along the male line, meaning Martha’s son from her first marriage managed the rights of those slaves. As some of the slaves intermarried, George’s “freed” slaves would not have wanted to leave their non-freed spouses or children.
D3: INQUIRY ACTIVITY
Have students do a close-reading of the slave census. Have students investigate:
- How many different jobs can you identify on the slave census? Do these jobs appear to be farm jobs or skilled trades?
- What is the relationship between the gender of the slave and the job that he or she performed?
- Is there any evidence that children worked at Mount Vernon?
- How might the work of slaves been different in Connecticut than in Virginia, and why? Or was it different?
D4: COMMUNICATING CONCLUSIONS
Divide students into different groups and have each group decide what type of slave job they would perform. Randomly pass out cards with either G or M on them. Let students know the G means they are George’s slave or M is Martha’s. Now that George’s slaves are free, what would that mean for the rest? Have students decide what to do in each group and report out to the rest.
Extension: Group students into 3 or 4 and make them family groups. Have students decide how their family groups would be made up (for example, have mother, father, children, older family, etc.) Do the same as above with the G and M cards. How would this be different than the job activity? Have groups report out and compare to the earlier task.
Have students research slavery in Connecticut and compare it to slavery in Virginia. Are there similarities? Differences? Why do they think that is?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
