This unit is designed for students in grades nine through twelve in American and Connecticut history courses. The lesson plan may be used two ways:
1. As a two-week unit on slavery and the struggle for black equality.
2. As individual lessons which the teacher uses to supplement existing units.
A lesson has been included that describes the problems faced by blacks in Connecticut while in bondage and after emancipation. 1 have excerpted and rewritten the story of a Connecticut slave, James Mars, found in
Five Black Lives
edited by Anna Bontemps, which illustrates many of the difficulties encountered by Connecticut blacks in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Appropriate questions accompany the reading.
The Prudence Crandall case is used to examine the gamut of feelings of whites toward blacks in the early 19th century which ranged from ardent support to equally ardent opposition. A mock trial has been staged in which students will assume the roles and ideological positions of some of the key participants in the case.
Finally, a time line is offered which includes key dates and events in the struggle for black equality in Connecticut up to 1870. Accompanying questions will help students understand important legislations, patterns, and, issues.
