Online Resources for Teaching about Slavery

The following resources offer resources and suggestions for teaching about slavery in America.

• Slave Voices: This American Memory (Library of Congress) collection including recordings between 1932 and 1975 includes hours of actual voices in audio format taken from former Southern slaves. It includes 23 interviewees born between 1823 and 1860.
• Our Story: Slave Life and the Underground Railroad: This site, prepared by the Smithsonian's Museum of American History, offers a brief introduction to the topic. It is interspersed with primary source links as well as links to children's literature selections and some children's books reader's guides (e.g., Follow the Drinking Gourd, Freedom on the Menu).
• Harriet Tubman Biography: Developed by Kate Clifford Larsen, this site includes information about the Underground Railroad, a timeline, list of escapees, and maps.
• Slavery and the Making of America: This site includes a rich collection of links to primary sources relating to slavery topics.
  
• The Underground Railroad Simulation: This National Geographic simulation guides students along the Underground Railroad through text, song, graphics (including locational photographs and primary source images), and student decision-making.
• Slave Narratives: This interactive site from the Museum of the African Diaspora leads readers (and listeners) through biographies of several slaves including Mary Prince, Tempe Herndon Durham, and others. For each, there is a timeline, biography, and transcript (in audio and textual format).
• Reader's Theater: This reader's theater script follows the Underground Railroad as guided by Harriet Tubman.

Aaron: A Case Study

The Geography of Slavery in Virginia offers a fabulous case study relating to the plight of one slave's life. Through primary sources, students of history can follow Aaron's story to learn his story.