Kentucky Center for African American Heritage

 

 

  
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8.10
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Middle School – Grade 8
    

 

 

 

 

 

Slave baby on auction block
Traumatic Auction

 

Core Content Guide

1.1.2
Democratic governments function to preserve and protect the rights (e.g., voting), liberty, and property of their citizens by making, enacting, and enforcing appropriate rules and laws (e.g., constitutions, laws, statutes).

1.3.1
The United States Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and state constitutions guarantee certain rights (e.g., freedom of movement and residence, freedom of religion, freedom of expression and association, personal privacy) for all citizens.

2.4.1
Conflict and competition (e.g., political, economic, religious, ethnic) may occur as cultures emerge and develop.

5.1.3
History is a series of connected events shaped by multiple causeand- effect relationships, tying the past to the present.

5.2.2
The ideals of equality and personal liberty (rise of individual rights, economic freedom, colonial governments, religious diversity, Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States), as developed during the colonial period, were motivations for the American Revolution and proved instrumental in forging a new nation.

5.2.4
Political, social, economic, and cultural differences (e.g., slavery, tariffs, industrialism vs. agrarianism, federal vs. states’ rights) among sections of the U.S. resulted in the American Civil War.

Color drawing of slave auction
Auction Block


    

 

8.10 Changes in the Rights of African Americans in Government Documents

Pre-Visit
The Declaration of Independence was the first document to establish a new government, independent of British rule. The document served to preserve and protect the rights, liberty, and property of the citizens of this new democracy. Find language in the Declaration of Independence that seems to be in conflict with the idea of slavery. (Slavery was not thought to be in conflict with the professed rights “that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” because slaves were not protected as “Men;” instead they were defined as “property.”) Discuss these contradictions.

The individuals writing the U. S. Constitution decided not to mention the institution of slavery in the document. So, slavery was neither protected nor forbidden in the language of this important document that defines our federal government, rights, and privileges.

Students discuss how Kentucky chose to protect the institution of slavery in the Constitution of 1850. (Read Article X.)

In the Museum
Students experience an interpretation of slavery in the Middle Passage “A River So Wide and So Deep” Exhibit and stand in a space resembling an auction block, answering, “How does it feel to stand here? What do you think the people standing here to be sold may have been feeling?” Students learn more about the day-to-day lives of slaves in Kentucky.

While touring the “Life, Liberty, and Property” Gallery, students compare various perspectives on slavery and assemble their own thoughts using magnetic word and picture tiles.

Great Sale of Slaves January 10, 1865
Slave Ad

Students see how the issue of slavery contributed to the start of the Civil War. In this exhibit area, students reflect as to whether they think the language of the government documents they have read may have been one of the contributing factors that led to war.

Students also learn about the 13th–15th Amendments to the Constitution and the fight for equal rights throughout the 20th century.

Post-Visit
Individually, students write a constitutional preamble that would reflect their beliefs about the rights they feel are most important today. Include language to ensure that rights applied to all people. Students compare their work with the work of other students, and together write a constitutional preamble for the class. Record these preambles in journals.