New York and Slavery

Alan J. Singer

Description

Blending historical narrative with ideas for engaging young people as historians and thinkers, Alan J. Singer introduces readers to the truth about the history of slavery in New York State, and, by extension, about race in American society. Singer's perspective as a historian and a former secondary school social studies teacher offers a wealth of new information about the past and introduces people and events that have been erased from history.

New York, both the city and the state, were centers of the abolitionist struggle to finally end human bondage; however, at the same time, enslaved Africans built the infrastructure of the colonial city. The author shows teachers how to develop ways to teach about this very difficult topic. He shows them how to deal with racial preconceptions and tensions in the classroom and calls upon teachers and students to become historical activists, conduct research, write reports, and present their findings to the public.

Sujets

• USA
• United States of America
• Region
• 20th century
• History of the Americas
• Regional
• États-Unis

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 21 août 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791478011
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

New York and Slavery

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New York and Slavery

Time to Teach the Truth

Alan J. Singer

elsio e r e editions exc State University of New York Press Albany, New York

Cover engraving courtesy of I. N. Phelps Stokes Collection, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. (colorized)

Published by State University of

New York Press, Albany

© 2008 State University of New York

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher

For information, contact State University of www.sunypress.edu

Production by Kelli LeRoux Marketing by Fran Keneston

New York Press,

Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Singer, Alan J. New York and Slavery : time to teach the truth / Alan J. Singer. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-7914-7509-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-7914-7510-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Slavery—New York (State)—New York—History—Study and teaching. 2. Slave trade—New York (State)—New York—History—Study and teaching. 3. New York (N.Y.)— History—Colonial period, ca. 1600–1775—Study and teaching. 4. New York (N.Y.)— History—1775–1865—Study and teaching. 5. Slavery—New York (State)—New York— History. 6. Slave trade—New York (State)—New York—History. 7. New York (N.Y.)— History—colonial period, ca. 1600–1775. 8. New York (N.Y.)—History—1775–1865. I. Title.

F128.4.S58 2008 306.3'620899607307471—dc22

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

2007035783

This book is dedicated to the accused 1741 “conspirators” and Colonel Tye, Henry Highland Garnet, and the thousands of other freedom fighters, both Black and White, whose names have been virtually erased from history. May the truth about their struggle to end slavery in New York, the North, and the nation finally be taught in our schools.

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Contents

Preface Acknowledgments Chapter 1 Erased from History Chapter 2 Teaching About Slavery Chapter 3 Complicity and Resistance Chapter 4 Settlement Chapter 5 Control Chapter 6 Making Choices in a New Nation Chapter 7 Debate Chapter 8 Profiting for Human Misery Chapter 9 Resistance! Chapter 10 What Students Understand About Slavery Chapter 11 Time to Teach the Truth Chapter 12 Books, Movies, and Web sites Chapter 13 Classroom Ideas for Teaching About Slavery References Biographical Note Index

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Preface

This book was inspired and supported by a number of people, some of whom are not even aware of my work. The most important contributors were the thousands of secondary school students and their teachers who corrected me when I was off base and made sure my ideas made sense to them. Milton Borome, who taught “Negro History” at the City College of New York in the 1960s, showed me that American history was much more complex with many more major participants than I had dreamed. William L. Katz, an independent historian who is also a close friend, has always shared materials and ideas. The New York State Council for the Social Studies and the New Jersey Council for the Social Studies and their local subsidiaries provided venues for presenting and writing about slavery in the United States, particularly New York’s relationship with the slave system. A “Teaching American History” grant that brought the New York City Department of Education, Hofstra University, and the Brooklyn Historical Society together as collaborators introduced me to teachers interested in this project who were willing to develop and use a curricu- lum guide (http://www.nyscss.org) on slavery and New York in their classrooms. A number of social studies teachers affiliated with the Hofstra University New Teachers Network helped research and design lessons discussed in this book and included in theNew York and Slavery: Complicity and Resistancecur- riculum guide. Special contributions to the project were made by Mary Carter, a retired social studies teacher and Hofstra University student teaching field su- pervisor; Kerri Creegan, a high school teacher in the Massapequa, New York school district; Douglas Cioffi, a middle school teacher in the Long Island, New York Roman Catholic diocese school system; April Francis, a middle school teacher in the Uniondale, New York school district; Stephanie Sienkiewicz, a middle school in McLean, Virginia; and Michael Pezone, a high school teacher in Queens, New York. Students from Law, Government, and Community Service Magnet High School in Queens, New York deserve special recognition for organizing the New York and Slavery Walking Tour in lower Manhattan.

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