Lesson Plan
Introduction
Title: Fanning the Flames of Abolition
Topics: William Lloyd Garrison and the Liberator, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Uncle
Tom’s Cabin, Nat Turner and Gabriel Prosser Rebellions
Time Period: Five 45-minute periods
Grade Level/Subject: 11th Grade U.S. History
Learning Objectives/SOLs
VUS.1a The student will Analyze, and interpret primary and secondary documents,
records, and data.
VUS.1c The student will Formulate historical questions and defend findings based on
inquiry and interpretations.
VUS.1h The student will interpret the significance of excerpts from famous speeches and
other documents
VUS.6c The student will demonstrate knowledge of the major events during the first half
of the nineteenth century by describing the cultural, economic, and political issues that
divided the nation, including slavery, the abolitionist and women’s suffrage movements,
and the role of the states in the Union.
Prior Knowledge Required/Acquired (Taught in previous lesson.)
VUS.6c The Northern states developed an industrial economy based on manufacturing.
They favored high protective tariffs to protect Northern manufacturers from foreign
competition.
The Southern states developed an agricultural economy consisting of a slavery-based
system of plantations in the lowlands along the Atlantic and in the Deep South, and small
subsistence farmers in the foothills and the valleys of the Appalachian Mountains. The
South strongly opposed high tariffs, which made the price of imported manufactured
goods much more expensive.
The growing division over slavery and states’ rights: As the United States expanded
westward, the conflict over slavery grew more bitter and threatened to tear the country
apart.
Materials Needed:
Teacher: Computer, LCD Projector, and Internet Access
Students: Computer (if possible), pen/pencil, paper.
Teaching and Learning Sequence
Lesson One.
1. Introductory Activity: Give students Activity One Questions to see how much, if
any, prior knowledge some of them may have on the subject.
2. Have students who think they know the answer to any of the questions give their
answers.
3. Introductory Video on Slavery in America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc1RbUxQv4E&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPXHrMDvBm0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZkpU_ioRKw&feature=related
This is a 30-minute video on the history of slavery in America. Each segment is 9-10 minutes
long. For each segment students will write down three facts about slavery in America and one
question. At the end of each segment students will share their three facts and question. The
teacher will to the best of his/her ability try to answer those questions or direct students that their
questions will be answered in the next segment. This is a great opportunity for students to
discuss and formalize their own questions about slavery in America.
4. Closure: Tell students that not all their questions about slavery may have been answered
in class but that this is a great opportunity to research for themselves to discover answers
to many of the complex questions surrounding slavery.
5. Assessment: Formative: I will monitor students’ attentiveness during the lesson i.e. the
video. Summative: I will collect the students’ facts and questions and see that they were
following directions and learning new information about slavery.
Lesson Two.
1. Introductory Activity:
http://www.giga-usa.com/quotes/authors/william_lloyd_garrison_a001.htm
Project the quotes from William Lloyd Garrison or hand students a saved
copy and have them answer the following questions.
Where does William Garrison stand on the issue of slavery in America during
the 19th century?
Why does he feel this way?
From the quotes interpret how passionate he is about this issue.
What in the quotes made you think that?
Can you compare him to anyone in our own times?
If he were alive today what issues might he be writing about?
2. Notes: The
“Old South”: An Illusion of Unity
File Format: Microsoft PowerPoint - View as HTML
(1800): Gabriel Prosser. --Charleston, S.C. (1822): Denmark Vesey. --Southampton, Va.
(1831): Nat Turner. Run Away; Passive Resistance...
2. users.ipfw.edu/gatesb/H105l.PPT
The PowerPoint will be presented so that as the teacher lectures the students will fill in
necessary information to the side of the slide. (This will take multiple days and should be
done for only part of the period for the remaining days of the lesson plan. Areas covered
in the notes should not be done before activities in class that discuss them.)
Closure: Homework: You have read and analyzed the quotes of William Lloyd
Garrison and the Liberator newspaper he published. Now you are going to put
yourself in his time period and write a newspaper article for the Liberator. Talk
about slavery and why it is wrong. Talk about how the institution of slavery
makes you feel and how it reflects on the country. Use your own voice as if you
lived 150 years ago and were witnessing these things for yourself. Must be 3
paragraphs but no more then 5 so that students will have time to share at the
beginning of next class.
4. Assessment: Formative: I will collect student the students’ answers to the
introductory activity. Summative: The students’ homework should reflect their
understanding of how abolitionists in the north hated the institution of slavery and
be able to write this understanding in article form.
3.
Lesson Three.
1. Introductory Activity: Have students share the articles they wrote for the
Liberator. Articles should be against slavery and passionate about why.
2. Harriet Beecher Stowe Quotes.
http://classiclit.about.com/od/uncletomscabin/a/aa_unclequote.htm
Project the quotes from the website or give students a copy. Read through
a few of the quotes. Have students answer the following questions
How does the main character describe his life as a slave?
According to description in the book what was it like for slaves on the
Underground Railroad?
What do the characters want to do after they have obtained their freedom?
3. Closure: Tell students that as they can see not only can newspapers but
also fiction can also be used to change society. An example they might
know is the book The Jungle by Sinclair. A fiction book that helped
change the food industry in America.
4. Assessment: Formative: I will monitor that students are answering the
questions in class and sharing their articles from the previous night’s
assignment. Summative: I will collect their articles and questions from
class to see that they understood the material.
Lesson Four
1. Introductory Activity: Place students into groups. Within their group they
are to imagine that they are slaves on a plantation in America in the early
19th century. As slaves they have few if any freedoms. But they want to
resist slavery as much as they can. We have already seen with Harriet
Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin that some slaves resisted by
running away on the underground railroad. As a group list other ways in
which you think slaves might have resisted slavery especially if running
away was not an option for them. Give students 5-10 minutes then go
over answers.
2. Have students on computer or give them the copies of the biographies of Nat Turner and
Gabriel Prosser
http://www.africawithin.com/bios/nat_turner.htm
http://civilwar.bluegrass.net/secessioncrisis/prosserrebellion.html
Using a Venn Diagram, have students write Nat Turner for one circle and Gabriel Prosser for the
other. They are to write things that were similar about them and things that were different using
the Venn Diagram. As a class go over the answers.
2. Closure: Tell students that as they have seen not just white northerners resisted
slavery but so did slaves themselves in many different ways.
3. Assessment: Formative: I will monitor students’ activities during the lesson for
completion. Summative: I will collect the students’ group answers and Venn
diagrams for correctness and comprehension.
Lesson Five:
1. Introductory Activity: Have students write 10 interview questions for Nat Turner
if they had the opportunity to question him. Questions should focus on his life
and the rebellion itself. Then have students partner up and ask their questions as
if they were Nat Turner after the rebellion. As a class then go over how different
people answered the questions.
2. Either project the Quotes of Nat Turner or give them the quote handout.
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nat_Turner
3. As a class discuss the Confessions of Nat Turner quotes. What was he
thinking and why did he start a rebellion?
4. Students are to then take the answers from their questions from another
student and evaluate if that person was right in why Nat Turner started a
rebellion and for the reasons that he started it. Write this in 3-5
paragraphs justifying their answers with examples.
5. Closure: Tell students that people have many different reasons for why
they acted the way they did against slavery. Nat Turner thought that God
talked to him and others like Harriet Beecher Stowe felt that it was morally
wrong. No matter the reason what is important is that they acted.
Homework: The students are to find a newspaper article that talks about
some injustice in the world today. Much like William Lloyd Garrison many
people today are passionate about issues still concerning race, poverty,
government, and even natural disasters. Students are to summarize the
article to be shared next class and we will compare the style and the
passion of the author to Garrison. This will be a great way to show a link
between the past and the present. Articles should be opinionated and the
summary should be no less then three paragraphs.
6. Assessment: Formative: I will monitor students’ progress in class of asking
interview questions and completing the activity. Summative: I will collect
the students’ interview questions and their analysis of how different it was
from what other students in the class may have thought.
Assessment (Whole Lesson)
1. The homework and in class activities are part of the assessment process that
students are to show critical thinking skills.
2. Activity One given at the beginning of the lesson will be handed out again.
Students are to retake this assessment and have much more detailed answers then
they would have had before even if they did have prior knowledge. Answers
should be multiple paragraphs about who the person was and their significance to
the slavery issue of the early 19th century.
Closure (Whole Lesson): Students have now discussed four very important people to the
abolitionist movement before the Civil War. Before we move on to other issues that
divided the country I want to focus on why you believe that these people are less well
known today than Abraham Lincoln, John Brown, and Robert E. Lee perhaps. What
reasons could there be for this? In my opinion, this is an injustice to these people who
fought in their own ways against slavery? Students are to answer the questions why is it
important to remember these people, and what can we do honor their contributions to
abolition?
References
Nat turner. (2010). [Web]. Retrieved from
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nat_Turner
Nathanial turner. (2010). [Web]. Retrieved from
http://www.africawithin.com/bios/nat_turner.htm
S e c e s si on c ri si s . ( 2 0 1 0 ) . [ Web ] . Ret ri e ved f r o m
h t t p : / / ci vi l wa r. b l u eg ras s .n et / s e c es si on c ri si s/ p r o ss e r r e b el l i on .h t m l
Slavery in america part 1. [Web]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc1RbUxQv4E&featur
e=related
Slavery in america part 2. [Web]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPXHrMDvBm0&featu
re=related
Slavery in america part 3. [Web]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZkpU_ioRKw&featu
re=related
The Old south an illusion of unity. (2010). [Web]. Retrieved
from
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cach
e:RMqHx8O0M6IJ:users.ipfw.edu/gatesb/H105l.PPT+Nat
+Turner+and+Gabriel+Prosser+filetype:ppt&cd=7&hl=e
n&ct=clnk&gl=us
Uncle tom's cabin's quotes. (2010). [Web]. Retrieved from
http://classiclit.about.com/od/uncletomscabin/a/aa_unc
lequote.htm
William lloyd garrison. (2010). [Web]. Retrieved from
http://www.gigausa.com/quotes/authors/william_lloyd_garrison_a001.ht
Lets see what you already know or think you know.
Directions: To the best of your ability answer the following questions on information that
will be covered in this lesson.
1. Who was William Lloyd Garrison?
2. Who was Harriet Beecher Stowe?
3. Who was Nat Turner?
4. Who was Gabriel Prosser?
5. States that allowed slavery were known as or called what?
6. States that prohibited slavery were known as or called what?
At the end of this lesson you will be asked these questions again to see how much
knowledge you have gained.
WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON
American journalist and abolitionist
(1805 - 1879)
Enslave the liberty of but one human being and the liberties of the world are put in peril.
- [Liberty]
Every mission constitutes a pledge of duty. Every man is bound to consecrate his every
faculty to its fulfillment. He will derive his rule of action from the profound conviction of
that duty.
- [Duty]
It is for us to discharge the high duties that devolve on us, and carry our race onward. To
be no better, no wiser, no greater than the past is to be little and foolish and bad; it is to
misapply noble means, to sacrifice glorious opportunities for the performance of sublime
deeds, to become cumberers of the ground.
- [Progress]
Our country is the world--our countrymen are all mankind.
- motto of the "Liberator" (1837-39)
[Patriotism]
Resolved, That the compact which exists between the North and the South is a covenant
with death and an agreement with hell; involving both parties in atrocious criminality,
and should be immediately annulled.
- adopted by the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society at Fanueil Hall
[Slavery]
Where there is a human being, I see God-given rights inherent in that being, whatever
may be the sex or complexion.
- Life (vol. III, p. 390) [Rights]
I am in earnest--I will not equivocate--I will not excuse--I will not retreat a single inch
and I will be heard.
- Salutatory of the Liberator
(vol. I, no. 1, Jan. 1, 1831)
[Resolution]
I will be as harsh as truth and as uncompromising as justice.
- Salutatory of the Liberator
(vol. I, no. 1, Jan. 1, 1831)
[Resolution]
'Uncle Tom's Cabin' Quotes
Catalyst for Change Novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe
By Esther Lombardi, About.com Guide
See More About:
Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, is as famous as it is controversial. The
book helped to flare up feelings for the slaves in the South, but some of the stereotypes
have not been appreciated by some readers in more recent years. Whatever your opinion
about Stowe's romantic novel, the work is a class in American literature. Here are a few
quotes from the book.
o "Yes Eliza, it's all misery, misery, misery! My life is bitter as wormwood; the
very life is burning out of me. I'm a poor, miserable, forlorn drudge; I shall only drag you
down with me, that's all. What's the use of our trying to do anything, trying to know
anything, trying to be anything? What's the use of living? I wish I was dead!"
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ch. 2
o "This is God's curse on slavery!--a bitter, bitter, most accursed thing!--a curse to
the master and a curse to the slave! I was a fool to think I could make anything good out
of such a deadly evil."
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ch. 5
o "If I must be sold, or all the people on the place, and everything go to rack, why,
let me be sold. I s'pose I can b'ar it as well as any on 'em."
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ch. 5
o "The huge green fragment of ice on which she alighted pitched and creaked as
her weight came on it, but she staid there not a moment. With wild cries and desperate
energy she leaped to another and still another cake;--stumbling--leaping--slipping-springing upwards again! Her shoes are gone--her stocking cut from her feet--while blood
marked every step; but she saw nothing, felt nothing, till dimly, as in a dream, she saw
the Ohio side, and a man helping her up the bank."
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ch. 7
o "You ought to be ashamed, John! Poor, homeless, houseless creatures! It's a
shameful, wicked, abominable law, and I'll break it, for one, the first time I get a chance;
and I hope I shall have a chance, I do! Things have got to a pretty pass, if a woman can't
give a warm supper and a bed to poor, starving creatures, just because they are slaves,
and have been abused and oppressed all their lives, poor things!"
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ch. 9
o "I have lost two, one after another,--left 'em buried there when I came away; and
I had only this one left. I never slept a night without him; he was all I had. He was my
comfort and pride, day and night; and, ma'am, they were going to take him away from
me,--to sell him,--sell him down south, ma'am, to go all alone,--a baby that had never
been away from his mother in his life!"
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ch. 9
o "Her form was the perfection of childish beauty, without its usual chubbiness and
squareness of outline. There was about it an undulating and aerial grace, such as one
might dream of for some mythic and allegorical being. Her face was remarkable less for
its perfect beauty of feature than for a singular and dreamy earnestness of expression,
which made the ideal start when they looked at her, and by which the dullest and most
literal were impressed, without exactly knowing why."
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ch. 14
o "We don't own your laws; we don't own your country; we stand here as free,
under God's sky, as you are; and, by the great God that made us, we'll fight for our liberty
till we die."
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ch. 17
o "I looks like gwine to heaven, an't thar where white folks is gwine? S'pose they'd
have me thar? I'd rather go to torment, and get away from Mas'r and Missis. I had so."
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ch. 18
o When I have been travel ling up and down on our boats, or about on my
collecting tours, and reflected that every brutal, disgusting, mean, low-lived fellow I met,
was allowed by our laws to become absolute despot of as many men, women and
children, as he could cheat, steal, or gamble money enough to buy,--when I have seen
such men in actual ownership of helpless children, of young girls and women,--I have
been ready to curse my country, to curse the human race!"
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ch. 19
o "One thing is certain,--that there is a mustering among the masses, the world
over; and there is a dis irae coming on, sooner or later. The same thing is working in
Europe, in England, and in this country. My mother used to tell me of a millennium that
was coming, when Christ should reign, and all men should be free and happy. And she
taught me, when I was a boy, to pray, 'Thy kingdom come.' Sometimes I think all this
sighing, and groaning, and stirring among the dry bones foretells what she used to tell me
was coming. But who may abide the day of His appearing?"
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ch. 19
o "I'm going there, to the spirits bright, Tom; I'm going, before long."
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ch. 22
o "There, you impudent dog! Now will you learn not to answer back when I speak
to you? Take the horse back, and clean him properly. I'll teach you your place!"
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ch. 23
Secession Crisis
Prosser Rebellion "First Major Slave Insurrection" August 30, 1800
The significance of the American Revolution, with its accompanying rhetoric about
freedom, was not lost on a young slave named Gabriel who was owned by Virginian
Thomas Prosser. Gabriel, also known as Gabriel Prosser, was an intelligent and deeply
religious man. He was strongly influenced by the Biblical example of the Jews' flight for
freedom as well as the 1790 slave revolution in Saint Domingue (Haiti). The end of the
18th century saw an increased freedom of movement for America's slaves; the
accompanying increased interaction between the blacks and whites seemed to indicate
that both races were becoming accustomed to their roles of master and servant. Gabriel
Prosser, however, would demonstrate that not all blacks were satisfied with a life of
servitude.
In the spring and summer of 1800, 25-year-old Prosser laid plans for a slave uprising; his
goal was to make himself king of an independent black state carved out of Virginia. His
plan called for an attack on Richmond in which the slaves would seize the arsenal and kill
all the white people except Quakers, Methodists, and Frenchmen, all of whom Prosser
considered "friendly to liberty". The relaxation of slave controls of the time gave Prosser
opportunities to associate with other slaves and gather recruits for his plan.
Gabriel's army, estimated at about 1,000 slaves, gathered six miles outside Richmond on
the night of August 30, 1800; they might have succeeded in their initial goals had a
violent rainstorm not washed away bridges and flooded the roads. Before the
insurrectionists could reorganize and reassemble, a black informer revealed the plan to
white authorities. Upon orders from Gov. James Monroe, the state militia rounded up
suspected slaves and put them on trial. Prosser and about 34 of his followers were
convicted and hanged.
The extent of the rebellion- the first major slave insurrection in American history- greatly
alarmed white Americans and resulted in a tightening of controls. New regulations
greatly curtailed slaves' freedom of movement, and many states enacted laws that made
educating slaves illegal.
Fascinating Fact: One of Prosser's followers was quoted as coolly telling his captors: "I
would kill a white man as free as eat."
Back to index page
Nathaniel Turner
Nat Turner
1800-1831
Nationality - American
Occupation - Abolitionist
Narrative Essay
Nathaniel Turner (1800-1831) was a black American who organized and led the most
successful slave revolt in the United States.
Nat Turner was born a slave on Oct. 2, 1800, in Southampton County, Va. As a child, he
exhibited notable leadership qualities and intelligence. His insight prompted friends to
believe he was destined to be a prophet. Commenting on Nat's precociousness, they
remarked that he "would never be of any service to anyone as a slave."
Turner had a restless, observant, inquisitive mind. He read the Bible and extracted from it
useful ideas on liberty and freedom. He preached to other slaves, counseling them to seek
self-respect, to fight for justice, and to resist and rebel against the institution of slavery if
they were to be free men. He believed that he was chosen by God to deliver his people
from bondage and "slay my enemies with their own weapons."
In February 1831 Turner received what he believed to be a sign from God (a solar
eclipse) telling him that it was time for him and his companions to prepare for the revolt.
On August 21 they began their attempt to overthrow the institution of slavery. In 48 hours
they killed between 55 and 65 whites throughout Southampton County. A family of poor
whites, who owned no slaves, was spared. On August 23 Turner's black liberation army
was met and overpowered by a superior state and Federal military force. Over 100 blacks
were slain in the encounter and dozens more immediately executed.
Turner, the "Black Spartacus," escaped and was not caught until October 30. On
November 5 he was tried and convicted. Although he admitted to leading the rebellion,
when asked how he pleaded, he said "not guilty." Six days later he was executed for
trying to free his people from slavery.
This slave rebellion catalyzed the beginning of the abolitionist movement in the United
States. Because Turner's motive was a desire for liberty, some regard him as cast in the
same mold as the American patriots who fought the Revolutionary War and as other
freedom-loving men. No less than Patrick Henry, Turner too believed that "give me
liberty or give me death" must be man's guiding philosophy of life.
Sources
An excellent work on Turner is Herbert Aptheker, Nat Turner's Slave Rebellion,
Together with the Full Text of the So-called "Confessions" of Nat Turner Made in Prison
in 1831 (1937; repr. 1966). Lerone Bennett, Jr., Pioneers in Protest (1968), contains
interesting material on Turner. William Styron's novel Confessions of Nat Turner (1968)
evoked considerable reaction from blacks, which is summarized in John Henrik Clarke,
ed., William Styron's Nat Turner: Ten Black Writers Respond (1968). Eric Foner, Nat
Turner (1971), is a thorough, well-researched account of the rebellion and the reaction to
it. Henry I. Tragle, The Southampton Slave Revolt (1971), provides perhaps the most
important contemporary documents.
Biography Resource Center
©2001, Gale Group, Inc.