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The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret: The Founders' Failure to End Slavery

Lesson Purpose

This DBQ style lesson asks students to use multiple primary and secondary sources to evaluate the statement: Ideals and moral concerns regarding human equality and the evils of slavery espoused over the course of the Founding Era were impossible to carry out and enforce due to the economic necessity and racial dynamics of slavery. This lesson was created by 2016-2017 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Michael Ellis.

Tags

Objectives:

  • Students will analyze and interpret primary and secondary sources in order to recognize change over time
  • Students will respond to a writing prompt in a clear, thesis-driven essay that uses evidence from the provided sources

Related Standards:

  • Primary Source Analysis
  • Writing Standards
  • Reading Standards
  • Early American History
  • Civic Values and Social Norms
  • Contextualization
  • Comparison
  • Causation