This unit was created by educators from Holton Forward, part of the 2022 cohort of The 1619 Project Education Network. It is designed for facilitation across approximately 10 class sessions of 50 minutes each.
Objectives & Outcomes
- Students will be able to explain the role enslaved labor played in generating wealth both in the US and internationally.
- Students will understand how enslaved people were dehumanized.
- Students will analyze the ways in which enslaved labor contributed to the success of Mt. Vernon, and then one of the following locations: Georgetown University, Wall Street, Monticello, the Capitol Building, or the White House.
- Students will create a memorial to remember and honor the role of enslaved people in creating US wealth by examining existing memorials, and visiting the remains of an enslaved labor camp.
Essential Questions
- How do we approach learning about slavery?
- How were enslaved people dehumanized?
- How did enslaved labor contribute to US and Global trade and wealth in the 1800’s?
- How did enslaved people contribute to Mt. Vernon’s wealth and power (influence)?
- What can we learn about the role of memorials in recognizing and remembering the contributions of Americans by examining the Mt. Vernon Slave Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial?
- How did enslaved people contribute to the wealth and power of the US through building one of the following locations: Monticello, the White House, Georgetown University, Wall Street, and the Capitol Building?
- How can we recognize and remember the contributions of enslaved people in building American wealth and influence?
- What do you learn from other students’ memorials and what you have learned in the process of creating a memorial proposal?
Unit Overview
Guided by the essential question, How could a memorial recognize and remember the role of
enslaved people in making the United States a wealthy and powerful country?, students will examine the rise of the US as a wealthy and powerful country due to enslaved labor. Often the growth of US economic influence in the world is not connected to the pre-Civil War era, and resources of The 1619 Project help us reframe this narrative.
Once students understand the impact and importance of enslaved labor in building American wealth and influence, they will be asked to think about ways they can bring awareness about this history through remembrance. In a time when we are pulling down Confederate statues, we want to ask students to think about who we should be memorializing and how. Daniel Bowman’s image on page 96 of The 1619 Project profoundly highlights the lack of memorials for enslaved people.
For the culminating activity, students will consider how they want to prompt discussion and remembrance about this topic. Students will analyze the ways in which enslaved labor contributed to the success of Mt. Vernon, and then, one of the following locations: Georgetown University, Wall Street, Monticello, the Capitol Building, and the White House. In groups, students will create a memorial proposal sketch or 3-D model and a design statement to explain their choices. Students will present their memorial proposal to their class section, and the class will vote on the memorial proposal they think best highlights the ways in which enslaved people contributed to American wealth and power at their class’ assigned site. At a full-grade class meeting, the group with the winning proposal from each class will present. Students and faculty who do not have the class are invited to attend. *Note on site locations for the project. We chose sites that were close to our school’s location, and since our school is located near Washington, D.C., we had many to choose from. Mt. Vernon's website is well-developed and would be useful for students to examine when considering the essential question of the project. In addition, there is a Slave Memorial at Mt. Vernon students can examine. We encourage you to examine your local and regional area for sites that students can explore which do not have memorials to the contributions of enslaved people. These are some resources that can help you in thinking about the purpose of the project, the role of memorials, and locations that enslaved people played an integral role in building American wealth and power.
Performance Task
Students will create a memorial proposal to remember and honor the role of enslaved people in creating US wealth by examining existing memorials, visiting the remains of an enslaved labor camp and considering perspectives of the descendants of enslaved labor camps.
A two week unit (10 lessons of 50 minutes each) for teachers, including pacing, texts and multimedia resources, graphic organizers for student projects, and performance tasks for the unit. Download below, or scroll down to read the complete unit plan.
Facilitation Resources
| 1619 Resources | “Capitalism” by Matthew Desmond (Excerpted reading) |
| Additional Books and Articles |
1. Excerpts from Narratives in the Life of a Slave by Frederick Douglass 2. 14 Famous Monuments and Memorial Buildings Around the World |
| Additional Film and Video | 1. Frederick Douglass: Orator, Editor and Abolitionist Video 2. Amplify ELA - Chadwick Boseman reads Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass 3. Cotton Gin Video 4. What are the challenges of commemorating slavery? |
| Websites and Databases | Google Earth |
Learn Well, Live Well, Lead Well standards
LW3-3c. I validate the importance of the history and lived experiences of others.
LW3-4d. I collaborate with others to accomplish a common goal.
LW3-5d. I synthesize information to make informed decisions and recognize potential impacts.
LW3-8d. I demonstrate humility, integrity, and a sense of shared responsibility regarding social justice.
Middle School History Goals and Competencies
You are able to use relevant information to answer questions about the past to plan your memorial.
You are able to communicate your ideas clearly and effectively.
You think critically about the topics you are learning.
The following capture work by students in Maryland who engaged with this unit as part of their US History course in 2022.
Creating a project, detailed in the unit's performance task, students formed groups to design a memorial that would bring attention to the role enslaved people played in creating the foundation for economic prosperity in the United States. The student memorials were to be situated at Monticello, the White House, Georgetown University, Wall Street, or the Capitol Building.
The school created an archive of all the submitted memorial proposals, and the winning designs can be viewed below.
8th grade Memorial Proposals
How could a memorial recognize and remember the role of enslaved people in making America a wealthy and powerful country?
M1: Monticello- Thomas Jefferson’s slave labor camp/plantation
M4: Enslaved Labor and the Capitol Building
M6: Wall Street
