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Slavery and Reform
While New Englanders led the call for the abolition of slavery, much of our wealth derived from slavery. Hear the call for freedom and feel the intricate web of economic responsibilities in the wealthy homes of seaport captains, the bustling factories turning cotton into cloth and in the fiery rhetoric of abolitionist newspapers published "within sight of Bunker Hill and the birth place of liberty."
Slavery and Reform includes the following institutions and a brief description of their program offerings.
American Antiquarian Society
In the years preceding the Civil War, many Americans embroiled by religious fervor sought to transform virtually all aspects of life and form a truly perfect nation. Propelled in many cases by the great social upheavals that they saw around them, these reformers sought to eliminate such social problems as poverty, crime, alcoholism, and slavery while also improving education, prisons, and the care for the indigent and insane. Reform also entered into the most personal aspects of behavior with efforts to change how people dressed and what they ingested into their bodies. While many of these reforms were not successful others, such as the abolition of slavery and women's rights, have had a powerful influence on American society. This program examines the large social, political and intellectual forces at work in Antebellum America and the various reforms that were both a response to and reflection of these forces. The workshops listed below are options that can be included in the full day program.Why Reform?
This session examines the various social, intellectual and technological forces that were at work in antebellum America and how these both gave rise to the reform impulse and influenced the way reformers behaved. The pervasive use of steam and electrical power, the rise of immigration, social mobility and the increasing influence of individualism are all examined through trade cards, advertisements, cartoons, newspaper accounts, and other sources.Beyond Abolition
While the abolition of slavery was the most contentious and profound social reform movement in the abolition period it was only one of a plethora of reform efforts. This workshop explores the wide diversity of reforms including: antismoking, dietary, dress, temperance, women's rights and other reforms through historic images, text, sheet music and manuscripts.Leaders of Reform
This workshop examines the life and times of various leaders of reform including William Lloyd Garrison, John B. Gough, Charles Grandison Finney, Lucy Stone, Abby Kelly Foster, Frederick Douglas. Their personalities and their influence are explored through samples of their own writing, newspaper and periodical accounts, portraiture and cartoons.The Deerfield Teacher's Center of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association
Debating Freedom: New England Slavery and the Antebellum Antislavery Movement in Western Massachusetts
The story of slavery is much broader than the history of Southern plantations, and the antislavery movement was as much or more a rural as an urban phenomenon. Participants in the Debating Freedom program consider the nature and origin of African American presence and slavery in rural Massachusetts before turning their attention to the complex nature of antislavery movements in western Massachusetts. The three-hour program includes: "Through Cato's Eyes," an interactive walk of the Street in Old Deerfield where more than 20 enslaved men and women lived in the decades before the American Revolution; "One Minute a Free Woman," an interactive workshop in which participants use a variety of primary sources to create a Reader's Theater dramatizing the remarkable story of Elizabeth Freeman of Massachusetts and her determined quest for freedom in 1781; and "Debating Freedom," a primary-source investigation of the many aspects of the antislavery movement. The full-day program offers all of the above programs as well as: "How to Change Your Heart," a one-hour workshop exploring the relationships between the religious revivals of the Second Great Awakening and the ferment of reform of which antislavery was a part; and a *visit to nearby Northampton for an Antislavery Era walking tour that includes the home and sugar beet factory of abolitionists Lydia Maria and David Child, old City Hall where Frederick Douglass addressed a rally, and the site of J.P. Williston's Underground Railroad station on King Street. This program is designed for educators of grades 3-12.Old Sturbridge Village
The Anti-Slavery Debate
Contrary to popular notions, most northerners in the early 1800s did not actively oppose southern slavery. After an introduction to the contentious issue of slavery, participants tour the Village on their own in small groups and try to convince costumed villagers to sign a petition to ban the slave trade in the District of Columbia. Program concludes with a wrap-up session where they report on the opinions they encountered and what arguments they found persuasive.
Reform Movements
In the early 1800s New England led the nation in a wave of optimistic reforms hoping to improve society. The program begins with a lecture followed by focused or self-guided exploration of the re-created nineteenth-century Village. Can be combined with Town Meeting or Anti-Slavery program.Rhode Island Historical Society
"That Unrighteous Traffick"
If a slave voyage from the colonies of North America reached the coast of Africa, there was a 60% chance it was from Rhode Island.the smallest of the colonies. This program concentrates on the Brown family's involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, of which much of the participation is known and documented. Walk through "The Voyage of the Slave Ship Sally 1764-1765" exhibit and relive the debates between John Brown and his brother Moses, an ardent abolitionist, learn about the role of the provisioning trade and grapple with the questions of this global economy based on human flesh.Massachusetts Historical Society
The Case for Ending Slavery
This workshop uses key documents and court cases, along with the historical context provided by scholars, to investigate the beginning and end of slavery in Massachusetts and Massachusetts' seminal role in ending slavery in the nation. This program can be extended for a second day with a session at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and a walking tour of Civil War Boston.
Authors and Antislavery
This full-day program explores the Concord of such prominent antebellum and Civil War authors as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and the Alcotts, among others. It is conducted by the staff of the Massachusetts Historical Society and partnering organizations in conjunction with The Case for Ending Slavery workshop.Historic New England
Anti-Slavery Debate
Explore the issues of choice, individual involvement, and consequences in antebellum New England through primary documents. Museum staff playing the roles of Abolitionist and slave owner lead a recreation of an anti-slavery meeting. Tour the home of abolitionist Henry C. Bowen.
Individual Opportunity-Social Responsibility
Examine two generations who achieve wealth and demonstrate social responsibility while facing significant consequences in antebellum America. Workshops using primary documents, lecture, and tour of Roseland Cottage (pictured to the right).
The Power of the Press
Investigate the leading issues 1850-1860 through the major Northern and Southern newspapers of the period. Options: Fugitive Slave Act, Dred Scott, John Brown, Lincoln election. Workshops using primary documents, lectures, tour of Roseland Cottage.
