Plantation Culture and Resistance in the South
Name___________________________________________________________________
Period__________
1. FOOD STATION:
a. Read through the two page glossary of different foods eaten by slaves.
b. Try a piece of rice cake and a piece of the molasses cookie
c. Answer the following questions:
 What foods on this worksheet have you eaten?
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What food would you like to try? Describe the food you chose.
d. Read “What Slaves Eat” and the attached descriptions from slave memoirs and record two
observations below:
i. ______________________________________________________________________________________
ii. ______________________________________________________________________________________
2. DAILY LIFE STATION:
a. Read ‘Daily Life of a Plantation Slave’ (both paragraphs).
b. Draw an image related to the daily life of a field worker and a house slave:
Field Worker
House Slave
c. What was one negative aspect of being a house slave?
d. Look at the clothing handouts (front and back) Record one observation______________________
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e. What does the material of the bag (hemp) feel like? Why do you think most clothing was made
of material like this?
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3. KING COTTON
a. Read the Geography Application “King Cotton.” How far west did the cotton plantations go?
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By 1860, how much cotton was the United States producing each year?__________________
b. Carefully observe the cotton plant. Record your observations below.
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c. View the images of slavery. Image 1-3 were taken on plantations before the Civil War, Image 4
was taken after slavery ended. Choose 2 images to analyze, what do you see? How does the
image make you feel?
Image #___________ What I see: ____________________________________________________________
How I feel:__________________________________________________________________________________
Image #___________ What I see: ____________________________________________________________
How I feel:__________________________________________________________________________________
4. SPIRITUALS/SONG STATION:
Listen to the song “Follow the Drinking Gourd” on the computer and read the lyrics and meaning that
correspond.
1 – Record one line from the song and its meaning
Line:_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Meaning:________________________________________________________________________________________
2
– Why was the song “Go Down Moses” forbidden for slaves to sing? ______________________________
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3
– How did slave spirituals help slaves?_____________________________________________________________
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4
– Look at the “Roots of Culture” handout and the instruments from West Africa. What elements of
West African music found their way into the lives of the enslaved?
5. KEEPING AFRICAN TRADITONS ALIVE (THEN AND NOW):
a. Read the introduction to the slave story “Brier Rabbit” and read the second and last stanza’s of
the story.
b. What purpose do you think the character of a trickster rabbit that could outwit its oppressors
would serve for enslaved people?
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c. Case Study: Gullah - The Gullah people are of African ancestry and today inhabit the Sea
Islands and coastal areas of South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida. The Gullah
language is a creole language (mixture of two – African and English) – thus it is based on English,
but has vocabulary elements and grammatical features from several African languages – it is still
spoken in areas of the Sea Islands today!
1) Look through the Gullah dictionary and record two words or phrases below and
the English translation
Gullah word : ___________________________________ English:___________________________________
Gullah word : ___________________________________ English:___________________________________
2) Read “Sweetgrass baskets” about the Gullah craft and look at CAREFULLY observe the
sweetgrass woven flower
3) Why do you think the Gullah were able to keep these traditions alive in the Deep South,
but few Northern groups were able to do the same?
6. UNDERGROUND RAILROAD:
a. Look over the poster, both front and back
i. What is a “station”?______________________________________________________________
ii. What is a “conductor”?__________________________________________________________
On the reverse of the poster, read about how quilts were used to communicate.
b. Using ideas from the examples, make your own quilt design and give an explanation for
what it stands for:
Quilt design:
Explanation:
c. Can you think of another way slaves could have secretly communicated? Describe
your idea below:
REFLECTION – In the space below reflect on what you learned about slavery and resistance in the South in this
activity. In your response please discuss AT LEAST four of the six stations and what you learned while exploring
the station. (attach additional paper if needed)
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