Please see attachment
KA #2
Comparing Citizenships: Slavery, Indigeneity, and the American Government
Instructions: In the 21st Century, Historians have built digital exhibits where the public can access historic documents online. For this KA, you will explore 3 of them: The Lowcountry Digital History Initiative (which documents slavery in the Carolinas) and the Yale Avalon Project (which houses the nation’s oldest federal laws and political documents.
Additionally, you will examine the Code Noir – meaning the Black Code in French. This document consists of the laws produced by the French to govern slavery in their Caribbean colonies which were/are: St. Domingue (Now Haiti), Guadeloupe and Martinique, Saint Barthelemy, Martinique, Anguilla, Saint Lucia, and Saint Martin.
Finally, you will look at a compiled list of slave codes from NC. This document is housed at UNC Chapel Hill’s DocSouth Digital Archive.
Submission Information:
|
Due Date: |
Wednesday, September 24nd, 2025, at 11:59pm EST. |
|
Submission Guidelines: *Note: I know that you have a lot of readings to get through. I have allotted two weeks for each of your KAs. Please utilize your time wisely; pace yourself so that you are not overwhelmed. Read a little each day; give yourself time to think deeply about each of these events in the context of all that we see today. Finally, write passionately. I am here if you need anything. Please visit my Tuesday office hours if you need help. |
|
|
Readings (Find them in the module): 1.) The Code Noir (The Black Code) – This document describes the laws that restricted slaves on islands colonized by France – like Haiti. 2.) Lowcountry Digital History Initiative: I have posted the link to the first article in the module, once you open that link, use the left panel to find the other articles below.
3.) The Constitutional Convention (Video – 7 Mins) 4.) The US Constitution:
5.) The Declaration of the Rights of Man – 1789 6.) An Act Concerning Slaves and Free Persons of Colour [North Carolina Slave Codes 1700-1880] |
Point Values:
|
Directions:
1.) The Code Noir:
a.)
Choose 4 articles (articles are technically laws) from this document. Put the article into your own words; then, analyze how the article shaped the life of the enslaved.
-
Use the organization below:
Article (Insert Number)
Summary: What does this article say in plain terms?
Analysis: What does it demand/prohibit/punish?
2.)
Documents from the Digital History Initiative:
a.) Evaluate the map in the article “Contrasting Beginnings of Slavery in North America.”
-
List two things you glean from the map.
-
After reading the article, examine how slavery in the English colonies differed from slavery in French and Spanish colonies (list two examples from the text).
b.) “Slave Societies vs Societies with Slaves:” How did the economic significance of slavery differ from the New England Colonies vs the Colonies of Virginia and Georgia?
c.) “Regional Labor Experiences: Sugar & Tobacco” and the article “Rice in the Lowcountry:” What differences existed between the working conditions of the enslaved growing sugar vs tobacco vs rice?
d.) “American Indian Slavery in Carolina:” Summarize the enslavement of indigenous peoples in the Colony of Carolina. What turmoil existed between the two groups?
3.)
The Constitutional Convention Video:
a.) Provide the 5 W’s [who, what, when, where, why] of the US Constitutional Convention.
b.) What dilemmas did the writers of the constitution face regarding slavery?
c.) What compromises existed as a result?
4.) The US Constitution
a.) The Preamble: Summarize the preamble. What do the writers of the Constitution say are the foundation American values?
b.) The Bill of Rights: This document was a part of the compromises to limit the power of the Federal Government. Knowing this, consider the following:
-
-
What freedoms are granted to American Citizens [which only included colonial white men] in this document?
-
Which of these amendments are being widely debated in political conversations today? Insert one news article link that was published after the year 2000 to help prove your point. (only pull news articles between the years 2000- current)
-
5.) Declaration of the Rights of Man – 1789
-
-
List two examples of the Rights of Man that the document refers to. How can you see these two examples resurface in political conversations today?
-
How are these values and protections different from the values and punishments that govern the enslaved? Choose one slave code and one example from this document to cite as examples of the differences.
-
6.) An Act Concerning Slaves and Free Persons of Colour [North Carolina Slave Codes 1700-1880
a.)
Choose 3 laws from this document. Put the law into your own words; then, analyze how the article shaped the life of the enslaved.
-
Use the organization below:
Law (Insert year here)
Summary: What does this article say in plain terms?
Analysis: What does it demand/prohibit/punish?
b.) Make one comparision and one contrast of the conditions of the
enslaved under the Code Noir in French colonies vs slaves under these laws in English colonies.
c.) Make one comparison and one contrast of the conditions of
“Free” Blacks under the Code Noir in French colonies vs slaves under these laws in English colonies.
d.) How does this NC Slave Code govern “free” Blacks? How similar are their conditions to slavery? Cite one example from the document.
