Slavery! The Beginning, the Transformation, and its Continual Effect On Those Who Have Endured It

Alvin Scott, Exceptional Children, Vance High

Curriculum Unit (pdf)

Synopsis

This unit will challenge students to understand the intrigue nuances of slavery in the ancient and new world. The unit will explore the fact that slavery is nothing new and has been taking place since the beginning of wartime (the conquer and the conquered). It will show that slavery has existed in many different forms and, depending on who was in control at the time, transformed to affect the people who endured it. The unit will help students understand the effect that slavery has had in Africa, Europe, and the Americas. It will provide a worldly view of how people are valued and viewed throughout society. The unit will also give a graphic visual of how many powerhouse economies were built off the backs of slave labor. Students will learn how slavery has become more psychological and institutionalized in American society through policies put in place to deter the progress of the freed slaves in America. It will expose students to how the political move by Abraham Lincoln to free the slaves had nothing to do with doing what was right, but more so keeping the southern states from growing to an overwhelming maximum capacity of wealth. Many have been noted to express that the former slave should lift himself up by his bootstraps and make something of himself. However, unless you walk with blinders on your eyes, it is clear to see the unjustifiable sanctions put in place throughout the south after slavery such as Jim Crow Laws, mass incarceration laws, and other programs established to make the overwhelming minority dependent on the government and its assistance.