Skip to content
Chronological Reasoning and Causation

Slavery in New York

Student View

About this Activity

  1. Load Advertisement of a Runaway, 1823 in Main Image Viewer
  2. Load An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, 1799 in Main Image Viewer
  3. Load An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, 1799 in Main Image Viewer
  4. Load An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, 1799 in Main Image Viewer
  5. Load An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, 1799 in Main Image Viewer
  6. Load Will of Rachel Bogardus, October 2, 1781 in Main Image Viewer
  7. Load Will of Rachel Bogardus, October 2, 1781 in Main Image Viewer
  8. Load Will of Rachel Bogardus, October 2, 1781 in Main Image Viewer
  9. Load Letter from Killis to Mr. James Carpenter, Goshen, June 17, 1816 in Main Image Viewer
  10. Load Broadside. Thirty Dollars Reward for Killis, January 5, 1807 in Main Image Viewer
  11. Load Manumission of Mink, April 28, 1795 in Main Image Viewer
  12. Load Overseer of the Poor Record, Town of Orange, Rockland County, April 13, 1803 in Main Image Viewer
  13. Load Overseer of the Poor Record, Town of Orange, Rockland County, April 13, 1803 in Main Image Viewer
  14. Load State Census Record for the Freeman Family, Montgomery County, 1855 in Main Image Viewer
  15. Load "An Act for the more effectual preventing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of negro and other slaves" in Main Image Viewer
  16. Load "An Act for the more effectual preventing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of negro and other slaves" in Main Image Viewer
  17. Load "An Act for the more effectual preventing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of negro and other slaves" in Main Image Viewer
  18. Load "An Act for the more effectual preventing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of negro and other slaves" in Main Image Viewer
  19. Load "An Act for the more effectual preventing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of negro and other slaves" in Main Image Viewer
  20. Load "An Act for the more effectual preventing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of negro and other slaves" in Main Image Viewer
  21. Load "An Act for the more effectual preventing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of negro and other slaves" in Main Image Viewer
  22. Load "An Act for the more effectual preventing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of negro and other slaves" in Main Image Viewer
  23. Load "An Act for the more effectual preventing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of negro and other slaves" in Main Image Viewer
  24. Load "An Act for the more effectual preventing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of negro and other slaves" in Main Image Viewer
  25. Load "An Act for the more effectual preventing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of negro and other slaves" in Main Image Viewer
  26. Load "An Act for the more effectual preventing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of negro and other slaves" in Main Image Viewer
  27. Load "An Act for the more effectual preventing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of negro and other slaves" in Main Image Viewer
  28. Load "An Act for the more effectual preventing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of negro and other slaves" in Main Image Viewer
  29. Load "An Act for the more effectual preventing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of negro and other slaves" in Main Image Viewer
  30. Load "An Act for the more effectual preventing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of negro and other slaves" in Main Image Viewer

Suggested Teaching Instructions

Essential Questions
Was New York a perfect model for the best way to end slavery?
Did abolitionists play a major role in ending slavery in New York?
 
Learning Objectives
• Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
• Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
• Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text.
• Analyze in detail how a complex primary source is structured, including how key sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text contribute to the whole.
• Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.
• Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events.
• Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
 
Students will understand the events leading to the end of slavery in New York State.
Student will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the history of slavery in New York State through a final project of their choosing.
 
Lesson 1: Slavery in Colonial New York
Documents: 
1. Will of Rachel Bogardus (1781)
2. New York Slave Code (1730)
 
Lesson 2: Gradual Emancipation in New York
Documents:
1. Manumission of Mink (1795)
2. Gradual Emancipation Act (1799)
 
Lesson 3: Resistance to Slavery in New York
Documents:
1. Runaway Advertisement (1823)
2. Killis Broadside (1807)
3. Killis Letter (1816)
 
Lesson 4: Freed African Americans in New York
Documents:
1. Erie Canal Census Record from Montgomery County (1855)
2. Document Showcase DBQ
 
Summative Assessment
 
Task: Describe the institution of slavery and its importance to New York both as a colony and a state.
Describe the process of “gradual emancipation” and explain why this process lasted over 50 years.
 
Process: You must fulfill the task requirements by completing one of the following projects
1. Designing a museum exhibit
2. Writing an essay
3. Creating an illustrated timeline
4. Writing a personal narrative from the perspective of a slave, slave owner, or abolitionist
5. Writing and presenting a speech

 

RETURN TO RESULTS