Homework: Analyze, Synthesize, & Compare & Contrast: Captures in Africa, Slave Auctions in America, & Being a Slave
Purpose
Students will demonstrate the ability to:
o Analyze historical facts and interpretations
o Analyze and compare political, geographic, economic, social, cultural, religious, and intellectual institutions, structures, and processes across a range of historical periods and cultures
o Recognize and articulate the diversity of human experience across a range of historical periods and the complexities of a global culture and society
o Draw on historical perspective to evaluate contemporary problems/issues
o Analyze the contributions of past cultures/societies to the contemporary world
Skills
The purpose of this homework is to help you practice the following skills that are essential for your success in this course, in college, in the field of History, and in your professional life beyond college:
o Analyzing and synthesizing primary documents
o Comparing and contrasting experiences and perspectives
o Thinking critically about written information
Knowledge
This homework will also help you to become familiar with the following important content in this discipline:
o The experiences and perspectives of Africans captured and forcibly removed from their native land
o The experiences and perspectives of African Americans sold at auction in the American South
o The experiences and perspectives of African Americans enduring slavery in the American South.
Task
Read the excerpts from published slave narratives found in Content under American Voices as AV 1. Complete and submit a ten-paragraph written homework based on this content (and this content alone) addressing each of the four topics below and following the instructions and format for each topic:
• Compare and contrast the accounts of Olaudah Equiano and Boyrereau Brinch:
o Based on the limited information available to you in these two excerpts, what do you think Equiano and Brinch want their audiences to know about their lives in Africa before they were captured? (Paragraph one)
o While both excerpts describe the capture of young people in western Africa, what was the essential difference between Equiano's kidnappers and those that grabbed Brinch, and how does this fact explain the differences in the experience each described? (Paragraph two)
• Compare and contrast the accounts of Henry Bibb, Josiah Henson, and William Anderson:
o What conclusions can you draw about slave auctions in the South from reading these three accounts? Identify, describe, and provide evidence of at least two common and prevalent themes (Paragraphs three and four - one for each common theme)
o In what important way was Henry Bibb and his experience different from that of Henson and Anderson? (Paragraph five)
• Compare and contrast the accounts of John Jacobs, Lunsford Lane, and Harriet Jacobs:
o What conclusions can you draw about the worst aspects of living as a slave in the American South from the reading of these three accounts? Identify and describe one unique (shared in only one account) deprivation or danger from each account (John Jacobs - Paragraph six; Lunsford Lane - Paragraph seven; Harriet Jacobs - Paragraph eight)
o From a personal perspective, which of the three aspects you identified in Paragraphs six, seven, and eight would you consider the worst and why? (Paragraph nine)
• What is your most important takeaway from these document excerpts and what makes these 19th century accounts relevant today?
o Identify a relevant current issue in the United States and explain how the position a 21st century American takes on this issue could be informed by the history revealed in this set of primary documents.
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
o The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
o The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
o Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.