George Washington's Views on Slavery

Lesson Objectives:

• Students will analyze documents that present multiple perspectives on a central issue, specifically public vs. private perspective and change over time.
• Students will understand the societal, cultural, and economic conditions of 18th century American life that sustained the institution of slavery.
• Students will explore the relationship between George Washington and his slaves.
• Students will collaborate on a project that does not have a definitive final answer and will have to come to consensus or explain the reason for disagreement.
• As a group, students will create a thesis statement and evidence that answers the essential question: What were George Washington’s views on slavery?
• As individuals, students will write an essay based on the conclusions of their group.

Related Standards:

• Revolution and the New Nation
• Colonization and Settlement
• Writing an argumentative essay
• Reading Standards in Technical Subjects
• Reading and Writing Literacy in History/Social Studies
• Reading Informational Texts
• Use questions generated about an individual to assess how the significance of their actions changes over time and is shaped by historical context.
• Evaluating Sources
• Reading for Perspective
• Speaking and Listening
• Explain how the perspectives of people in the present shape interpretations of the past. 
• Critique the usefulness of historical sources for a specific inquiry.
• Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources into a reasoned argument about the past.