Slavery in Philadelphia

This curriculum unit is appropriate for ninth grade students and will be an exploration of the life of Africans in Philadelphia and the various conditions of servitude that they encountered from the time of the inception of the city in 1681 to the passage of the Gradual Abolition Act of 1780 and the Fugitive Slave Laws of 1850. This unit will also explore the conditions for free Africans and escaped slaves during the antebellum period. Students will learn about the laws that governed society and their impact on the lives of African Americans, the daily life activities of African Americans and their impact on society, the resistance movements in Philadelphia, and historic sites within Philadelphia that relate to slavery.

The desired impact of this unit will be to take a broad topic such as slavery and make it local. This unit will allow teachers to show students the impact that slavery had in this region and how Philadelphia impacted the rest of the world.