LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

African American Studies

Goal 2: The learner will develop an understanding of the justifications and ramifications of slavery between 1619 and 1860.

Objective 2.01. Analyze the economic, social, religious, and legal justifications for the establishment and continuation of slavery.

Additional related resources

We’re in the process of aligning our content for students to the Standard Course of Study. As we do, you’ll find it here.

Setting up a plantation
In Antebellum North Carolina, page 2.14
Excerpts from the papers of Paul Cameron, detailing the costs of setting up a new plantation in Greene County, Alabama. Includes historical commentary.
Format: document/primary source
Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.
Preaching obedience to slaves
In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 3.8
John Jea was born in West Africa in 1773, enslaved at the age of two, and brought to New York. He was eventually freed and became a preacher. In this excerpt from his autobiography, written about 1811, Jea describes the way both his master and the white minister used Christianity to preach obedience to the slaves and to convince them of their worthlessness. Includes historical commentary.
Format: book/primary source
Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.
North Carolina v. Mann
In Antebellum North Carolina, page 1.3
In this 1829 court decision, Judge Thomas Ruffin established the nearly absolute power of a slaveholder over a slave. Includes historical commentary.
Format: court decision/primary source
Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.
Managing a plantation: Property
In Antebellum North Carolina, page 2.13
Excerpt from the papers of Duncan Cameron, a wealthy North Carolina planter, listing property on his plantations, with notes of those that needed special attention. Includes historical commentary.
Format: document/primary source
Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.
Managing a plantation: Expenses
In Antebellum North Carolina, page 2.12
Page from an account book kept by Duncan Cameron, a wealthy North Carolina planter, listing his business with a Petersburg merchant in 1841–42. Includes historical commentary.
Format: document/primary source
Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.
The growth of slavery in North Carolina
In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 2.5
Slavery came to North Carolina with the first European settlement, though it grew slowly at first. The institution developed in a unique way in North Carolina, and by the early national period it was fully integrated into the state's society and economy.
Format: article
Distribution of land and slaves
In Antebellum North Carolina, page 1.1
In this activity, students analyze census data and maps to understand the distribution of land, wealth, and slaves in antebellum North Carolina.
Format: activity
By David Walbert.
Black codes
In Antebellum North Carolina, page 1.9
Excerpts from the North Carolina Revised Code of 1855 with respect to free and enslaved African Americans, known as the "black codes." Includes historical commentary.
Format: legislation/primary source
Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood and David Walbert.
A Bill to Prevent All Persons from Teaching Slaves to Read or Write, the Use of Figures Excepted (1830)
In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 5.9
Law enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly, 1830. Includes historical commentary.
Format: legislation/primary source
Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.
Antebellum homes and plantations
In Antebellum North Carolina, page 2.15
The most popular images of antebellum life are grand plantation houses -- but, as we've seen, a tiny fraction of North Carolinians lived in such houses. To get a sense of what daily life was like for a wider variety of people, we've developed a slideshow of...

General resources

Aligned lesson plans

Slavery and bias in historic West Africa: A case of he said, he said
In this lesson, students will examine three primary source documents concerning West African history, and will work to discover the similarities and differences between the documents. Students will discover the biases revealed by the authors of the documents.
Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)
By Shane Freeman.
Creating museum exhibits to understand slavery
In this lesson students will analyze primary source documents from the Built Heritage collection at the North Carolina State University. They will use their textbooks, knowledge of history, observation skills, and inference to draw conclusions about slavery in North Carolina.
Format: lesson plan (grade 8–10 Social Studies)
By Loretta Wilson.