Students will analyze a document that shows the challenges African Americans faced in receiving the freedom they were guaranteed with the 13th Amendment. The Indenture of Apprenticeship between John Foster and Jeff, a four-year-old African American, shows how Southerners found unique ways to keep African Americans in servitude. This activity is designed to engage students in an analysis of the success of the 13th Amendment. Students should have background knowledge in the Civil War and the goals of Reconstruction.

Students will review the purpose of an amendment, analyze the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, and consider the reasons for the date of approval. Students should have some background knowledge in the Civil War, including the causes of the war and the views of the Union and Confederacy. 

Students will analyze documents from the War Department’s Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands — better known as the Freedmen’s Bureau — that Congress established on March 3, 1865, as the Civil War was coming to an end. Using the scale in Weighing the Evidence, students will evaluate the effectiveness of the Freedmen’s Bureau in assisting formerly enslaved persons. Learning Objectives: Students will be able to identify and draw conclusions about the roles of the Freedmen’s Bureau (Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands), critically analyze primary sources, formulate opinions about the effectiveness of the Bureau, and back up their opinions verbally or in writing.

 Before the 13th Amendment officially ended slavery in the United States, free and enslaved African Americans fought for their liberty, society’s recognition of their humanity, and the promise of equality. A variety of methods were used by enslaved African Americans to resist the conditions they experienced while in bondage. In this lesson plan, students will learn about three individuals whose actions are a representation of the bravery of African Americans who fought for their freedom and equality. 

 In 1865, the ratification of the 13th Amendment officially ended slavery in the United States. After fighting for their liberty before and during the Civil War, enslaved African Americans saw their dreams of emancipation realized. In the years that followed the end of the war, Virginia and other southern states had to reconfigure their social, economic, and political systems during a period called Reconstruction. During this era, newly freed Black Virginians experienced advancements but also encountered barriers to achieving true equality. This lesson explores whether African Americans were truly “free” following the passage of the 13th Amendment.