Did the United States Constitution uphold the institution of slavery, or did it help to destroy it? Young historians study Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution and evaluate the rights of slaveowners as they compared to or challenged the rights of slaves. Using a historical context, they choose the most important words that sum up the text, and compare the Article to the 13th Amendment.

Concepts

the united states constitution, slavery, primary source analysis

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Use in a unit on the United States Constitution, 19th century slavery legislation, or primary document analysis
• Encourage groups to conduct further research beyond the provided documents

Classroom Considerations

• Requires projection or a SmartBoard; if you don't have access to these tools, print up the text for each learner to read
• The link to the 1847 letter to the editor is broken, but you can easily find it by searching online for the title
• Lesson is designed for high schoolers but would work for eighth grade classes studying American history

Pros

• Includes extension and enrichment ideas for advanced learners
• Provides links to auxiliary materials for the lesson

Cons

• None