In this special revised and updated feature for Black History Month, teachers, parents, and students will find a collection of NEH-supported websites and EDSITEment-developed lessons that tell the four-hundred-year old story of African Americans from slavery through freedom and citizenship to the presidency.

This lesson introduces students to American colonial life and has them compare the daily life and culture of two different colonies in the late 1700s. Students study artifacts of the thirteen original British colonies and write letters between fictitious cousins in Massachusetts and Delaware.

This inquiry focuses on the causes of the American Revolution in light of feelings of injustice among social classes. Students typically learn about the experiences of people during the American Revolution in simple categories such as loyalist and patriots. In reality, there were varied experiences that reflect social class, gender, race, and ethnicity. In this inquiry, students will learn about a variety of these experiences and how they may have impacted the events of the Revolution.

Description
Overview: The growth of tobacco, rice, and indigo and the plantation economy created a tremendous need for labor in Southern English America. Without the aid of modern machinery, human sweat and blood was necessary for the planting, cultivation, and harvesting of these cash crops. While slaves existed in the English colonies throughout the 1600s, indentured servitude was the method of choice employed by many planters before the 1680s. This system provided incentives for both the master and servant to increase the working population of the Chesapeake colonies.
Subject: U.S. History Level: Middle School
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration,
Reading Provider: Independence Hall Association Provider Set: US History Date Added: 10/16/2014
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Language: English Media Format: Graphics/Photos, Text/HTML

The Declaration of Independence and the words “all men are created equal” provided thousands of enslaved Africans high expectations and many were ready to fight for the Country and their own personal freedom. Thousands of enslaved Africans impacted the war right from the start at Lexington and Concord, all the way to the end at Yorktown. This lesson will explore the life of James Armistead Lafayette, an enslaved African Virginian. Working as an undercover spy for George Washington, James risked his life to gather key intelligence about the British that helped secure an American victory at Yorktown. In this lesson, we will discuss whether his efforts in service of the American cause helped or hindered his ability to achieve emancipation.

Students will examine the life of a Free African American during the Revolutionary War period. This will take place as a case study into the life of Prince Hall. Prince Hall fought for more rights of African Americans during his lifetime.

This short article, produced by historian Dr. David Toye for the Saylor Foundation, describes the employment of indentured servants and slaves in the different regions of the American colonies.
title"Slavery and Indentured Servitude in the American Colonies" 2018 by userSaylor Academy
under license"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0"

Students will examine the life of Crispus Attucks and/or James Lafayette. They will explore how both men were able to fight for their freedom as enslaved, or formerly enslaved people. Students will analyze primary and secondary sources to learn more about the life and journey of  both of these men, as well as their impact on historical events.

Fifth grade students in Michigan begin their study of American history with American Indian peoples before the arrival of European explorers and conclude with the adoption of the Bill of Rights in 1791.