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Stories of the Enslaved

Here you will find links to the stories our team has uncovered through our research. These stories tell the experiences of men, women and children sold in New Orleans with ties to Virginia.

Index to Stories

  • Appendix E: Reading Nineteenth Century Handwriting

    Reading handwritten documents is a skill that many students struggle with when first working with archival sources. Depending on when and where students attended elementary school, they may or may not know how to write and read cursive, and the inconsistencies of spelling and punctuation in older documents often adds to the struggle. Provide students…

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  • Appendix D: Lesson Plan for Language about Slavery

    Have students review Foreman’s essay in class and have them write down what they think the key take-away of the piece is.  Class Discussion: preserve people’s dignity and agency? Introducing concept of specialized language in the slave trade: Introduce terminology used by slave traders to describe enslaved people: skin color (mulatto, griffe, etc.); occupation (driver,…

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  • Appendix C: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

    Discussion Guide for Berry and Foster’s articles from JCWE Discussion Guide for Berry, Price per Pound of their Flesh

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