George Washington and Frederick Douglass letters: Recognizing point of view and bias

This lesson uses two letters written by famous individuals. Frederick Douglass, a well-known former slave who became a leader of the American abolition movement, escaped from slavery in Maryland to freedom in New York in 1838. George Washington was a large slaveholder in Virginia (as well as the first president of the United States).

A lesson plan for grades 9–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies

By Karen Cobb Carroll, Ph.D., NBCT

Frederick Douglass Funeral March (By N. Clark Smithe. Chicago : S. Brainard's Sons Co., c1895. From the Sheet Music from the Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress. Digital ID: scsm0165. More about the photograph)

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Where English and history meet: A collaboration guide

Strategically plan a collaborative unit and learn how to overcome those everyday obstacles that prevent success. This guide is accompanied by four lesson plans to help you put collaboration into practice.

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Learn more

• Frederick Douglass Biographical information from PBS.
• George Washington Biographical information from The White House.

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Related topics

• Learn more about Frederick Douglass, George Washington, antebellum, bias, history, language arts, letters, point of view, slavery, social studies, and writing.

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Learning outcomes

At the close of this lesson, students will:

• analyze two primary documents to detect tone, purpose, and author biases
• identify cultural contexts of a primary document

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

60 minutes

Materials/Resources

Teacher should access a copy of the F.Douglass letter to H. Auld and the George Washington letter to John Mercer from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Print copies of the letters for students.

Technology resources

Teacher needs access to the internet and a printer.

Pre-activities

Teacher should discuss bias, a preference that can inhibit impartial judgment, and how it appears in documents. Students can share examples of bias in their own lives, both in themselves and others.

Activities

1. Teacher distributes copy of the Douglass letter. If teacher prefers and computers are available, students can access an online copy from the address above.
2. Students should read the letter and answer the following questions:
   • To whom is the letter addressed? (Mr. Auld) What is his relationship to Douglass? (He was Douglass’ former master.)
   • What is Douglass asking Mr. Auld to provide? (the date when he came to live there)
   • Why might Douglass not know when he came to live with the Auld family? (At the time, as a slave he might not have been able to read or compute dates.)
   • Why did he run away? (He did not know how soon he might be sold.)
   • What bias might Douglass have as he writes this letter? (anti-slavery) Where in the text does Douglass show his bias? (At the point that he writes, “I love you, but hate slavery; But I hate to talk about that.”)
   • What bias might Mr. Auld have as he receives this letter? (pro-slavery)
3. Class discussion of evidence of bias in this letter should follow.
4. Teacher distributes a copy of the Washington letter. If the teacher prefers and computers are available, students can access an online copy from the address above.
5. Students should read the Washington letter and answer the following questions.
   • What is Washington’s attitude about slavery? (He does not want to buy another slave, and wants slavery to be slowly removed from the United States.)
   • Is Washington saying that he will never purchase another slave? (No) What does this say about his bias toward slavery? (He may not like slavery or may know that it is wrong, but for what could be a variety of reasons, he still owns slaves.)
   • Compare Douglass’ and Washington’s attitudes and biases about slavery. How can we discern these attitudes from these documents? (See documents. Responses may vary.)
   • Would these attitudes be present in society today? Why/why not?
6. Classroom discussion should compare the biases in the two letters. What may have contributed to the biases? Would they have been considered biased at the time they were written? Why/why not? Why do we consider them biased today?

Assessment

Student will compose a letter that might have been sent from George Washington to Frederick Douglass on the subject of slavery, and a response by Douglass to Washington. The letters should reflect the tone, biases, and views of the two men. Rubric: Letters should reflect the tone of the time period, and attitudes of the two authors, and should address the subject of slavery.