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GEORGE WASHINGTON BIRTHPLACE

NATIONAL MONUMENT

PRESENTS

^How\ Most\ of\ the\ Plantation\ Lived:\ Slavery\ on\ the\ Washington's\ Farm^

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**CURRICULUM MATERIALS**

**Dear Teacher,**

Thank you for participating in the educational program, "How Most of the
Plantation Lived: Slavery on the Washington's Farm." The George
Washington Birthplace National Monument developed this special program
for 3^rd^ through 5^th^ grade students to meet the Virginia Standards Of
Learning and the Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum content standards.

In this program, students will experience the institution of slavery,
its social and economic influence on colonial Chesapeake culture, and
George Washington's relationship with slavery through hands-on
activities at the park.

Students will explore daily life on a tobacco plantation for a slave by
contrasting Master's and Slave's time, and investigating slave family
and community life through hands-on cultural expression such as music,
tobacco field tasks and tools; and the Washingtons' role as a slave
holding family in context of colonial Chesapeake culture.

The pre- and post-visit activities in this teacher guide include math
exercises for the planting and economics of tobacco growing; foodways
and dietary differences between household slaves, field slaves, and the
Washingtons; and comparisons between conditions and seasons for
household and field slaves.

We are proud to offer "How Most of the Plantation Lived: Slavery on the
Washington's Farm" to assist teachers in conveying the importance of
understanding our history.

George Washington Birthplace National Monument

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**Table of Contents**

[Preparation Activities]{.underline}

Park Background 4

A. The Institution of Slavery and Influence

On Colonial Chesapeake Culture 5

B. Slavery in Early VA and MD Colonies 13

C. Tobacco Economy and Triangular Trade 21

[Follow-up Activities]{.underline}

D. I'm a Slave! 37

E. Reflections on Slavery 41

F. Interpreting Artifacts 42

**[Park Background]{.underline}**

Is your mother or father keeping something valuable for you until you
are older? Maybe it is your grandfather's pocket watch that he wanted
you to have. It could be your grandmother\'s necklace or photograph.
Your family \"safekeeps\" this item until you can understand its
importance for you and your family. These items tell a story about your
family. You will want to keep these \"special\" family items to pass
down to your children.

The National Park Service has the same role your parents do in
safekeeping your \"special\" family items. The National Park Service
protects places that have a story to tell about the land, wildlife, or
history. These sites are protected because they are "special places" for
the people of the United States. The role of the National Park Service
has been to protect and preserve (safekeep) these places for the future.

Where George Washington was born is a \"special place" for the people of
the United States. The birthplace is important because George Washington
was the "Father of Our Country." Visitors have traveled to the
birthplace of George Washington since 1815. George Washington Birthplace
National Monument became a part of the National Park Service in 1930.
Across the United States, almost 400 places that tell a story are in
safekeeping by the National Park Service. This means that your children
and your children's children will be able to visit these sites just as
you can.

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## 

##  

## **Pre-Visit Preparatory Lessons to be completed before the park visit**

## 

## **Pre-Visit Lesson "A"**

**Subject**: **The Institution of Slavery and Influence on Colonial
Chesapeake Culture**

**Time:** 1-2 class periods

**Objectives:** students will be able:

\- To describe the institution of slavery and its influence on Colonial
Virginia culture.

\- To correctly use vocabulary that the students should know prior to
their visit to George Washington's Birthplace, and from the SOLs.

**Purpose**: To prepare the students for a visit to George Washington's
birthplace and give the students a basis of understanding of what they
will see and do during their field trip.

**Materials**:

> Pre-visit lesson plan
>
> Large piece of paper
>
> KWL chart
>
> Vocabulary sheet
>
> Highlighters for each child
>
> Index cards (set for each student)
>
> *Introduction to Slavery* reading
>
> Classroom Map

**Procedure:**

**Opening - KWL chart**

1.  **Preparation.** Tell the children you are going on an exciting
    field trip to George Washington's Birthplace in Westmoreland County,
    Virginia. Ask the students to [locate Westmoreland County on a
    Virginia Map]{.underline} and review north, south, east, and west.

2.  **KWL Chart.** [Create a KWL chart]{.underline}. Ask the students to
    list what they know about slavery and what they want to know.
    Organize their knowledge on a large sheet of paper. Also provide the
    students with individual student KWL charts. Students fill their KWL
    charts in with your guidance. Students keep the KWL charts in their
    folders to use for the post-lesson.

3.  After the class completes the appropriate sections of their KWL
    chart, distribute the [vocabulary sheets]{.underline}. Review the
    vocabulary and the definitions with the class.

***[Introduction to Slavery]{.underline}* Reading**

4.  **Reading**. Distribute the reading and ask students to use a
    [highlighter to pick out key words]{.underline} from the SOLs that
    have been covered, and vocabulary words. As you read to the class,
    pause at key ideas or key words and ask students to highlight those
    items. Pause and discuss the items as appropriate.

5.  **Discussion Questions**. Discuss the questions at the end of the
    reading as a whole class.

6.  Guide students in [adding any new information]{.underline} learned
    from the reading to the [KWL chart]{.underline}.

**Vocabulary Flash Card Game**

7.  **Vocabulary flash card preparation**. Give the children index cards
    to make vocabulary flash cards. On one card write the word and on
    the other card write the definition. Write the number of the
    definition in the top right hand corner of both the word and the
    definition card. For example:

> **NOTE: You can choose to do all cards or can choose to do a few at a
> time. The recommendation is to take a few definitions at a time and
> gradually add to the game.**

8.  **Vocabulary game.** When the children have completed the cards
    divide the class into teams of four and play a game with the
    vocabulary. Students may use the vocabulary sheet with the
    definitions to assist them in the game. There should be one set of
    cards for each group. Turn all cards facedown and each child turns
    over a card. The child turns the card back over and tries to
    remember where the card is located. This continues until the child
    can match the word with the definition. The child with the most card
    sets is the winner of the game. This game is based on the idea of
    the Memory Game, but uses the vocabulary presented in the lesson.

**Closure**

9.  [Review concepts]{.underline} of the day. Go back to the [KWL
    chart]{.underline} and ask the children to remember what they will
    be looking for on their field trip and a question they would like to
    ask when they visit the site. Tell the children they will soon visit
    the George Washington Birthplace.

# 

# 

# K W L

## **What I know What I want to know What I have learned**

**Directions: Use your vocabulary sheet to highlight key ideas and key
words as you are reading with the class. Raise your hand if you have any
questions about the information you are reading. Remember to look for
information to add to your KWL chart!**

**[Introduction to Slavery]{.underline}**

**Imagine what it would be like to lose your freedom.** The first
Africans in the Chesapeake colonies were brought to Jamestown in 1619.
These Africans were probably servants, and worked in the tobacco fields
along with white servants.

Work was hard for servants, but at the end of a period of years, they
could become free and work for themselves. Even so, the white servants
came by choice. The black servants were most likely forced into
servitude and into coming to the colony.

At that time, slavery already was well established throughout the
Caribbean and Central and South America. The loss of freedom often
started when Africans were kidnapped and sent by ship across the
Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. Latitudes are the lines going
horizontally across maps and globes that divide them into equal
divisions. Because slave ships sailed in the middle latitudes, the
Africans' long, terrifying journey was called the Middle Passage.

Slavery was when someone else had control over a person's life without
their consent, and they were held against their will for their whole
life. It was when someone owned another person, as if they were
property. A slave was made to work, did not have a choice and their
freedom was taken against their wishes.

As time passed, less white people agreed to be servants, but the
planters still needed human resources to work in the fields and produce
goods. The laws changed to limit the freedoms and choices of African
servants. Rules were made so Africans could not carry guns, marry who
they wanted, or do business, whether they were free, servant, or slave.

![](media/image5.jpeg){width="1.9493055555555556in"
height="2.925in"}Some people began to think all people with dark colored
skin were slaves. Sometimes, Native Americans were kidnapped and forced
to work because they had dark colored skin. The tribes the Native
Americans belonged to would rescue them and it was hard to keep Native
Americans in slavery. Africans were a long way from their homeland and
any potential rescuers, so it was easier to keep them enslaved.

**Slaves' loss of freedom provided the labor for plantations.** Slaves
were human resources because they were used to do work or make a
product. Slaves did many kinds of work on plantations, such as working
in the house of a wealthy person, cooking, weaving, or working in the
fields. Some were skilled craftsmen who made tools, barrels, shoes,
bricks or other products needed on the plantation. Others were employed
as lumberjacks, dockworkers, and ironworkers. The tools and workshops
needed to perform these crafts are known as capital resources.

Planters who owned slaves made an economic choice to pay money to buy a
slave instead of using their money for other things they needed or
wanted. This is called opportunity cost. Planters counted on the value
of the slave's labor to make up for the money they had to pay to buy the
slave.

Plantations owners in southern colonies especially turned to slaves as
the human resources they needed to work their plantations. There were
also slaves in the northern colonies, but not as many.

Different areas specialized in different natural resources to grow to
trade or sell. People who grow crops are called producers. They focused
on growing one crop to sell, often using the labor of slaves, who did
not have a choice. In the Caribbean, slaves were used to grow sugarcane.
In the Carolina colonies, slaves grew rice, indigo (a plant used for
blue dye) and sea-isle cotton.

The Chesapeake colonies of Virginia and Maryland specialized in growing
tobacco to sell and trade. Later, they grew more grain, hemp (plant used
for rope), and flax (plant used to make linen cloth) and raised animals.
Because there are so many tasks involved in growing tobacco, there was a
greater need for labor. The slavery system became entrenched by the late
1600s when more and more colonists were growing tobacco.

Not all white people who lived in the south owned slaves or thought
slavery was acceptable. Slaves cost a lot of money and many poor people
could not afford to buy slaves. Wealthier colonists had enough money, or
capital resources, to buy slaves. The wealthy people who owned slaves
said that equality was based on the color of a person's skin. We know
that this is *not* true today, but in the 1700's people had different
beliefs.

**Profits for some meant loss of liberty for others.** There were not as
many slaves in the northern colonies as there were in southern colonies.
However, some Northern businessmen still profited from slavery. Some
made money building the ships that carried kidnapped Africans across the
Atlantic Ocean or by supplying the rough cloth that slaves wore. In New
England, businessmen made rum to trade for Africans to be brought to
this country to be sold as slaves.

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Even if African Americans lived in the North they did not always have an
easy life. African Americans, whether free or slave, were segregated and
were could not go to the schools, churches, or neighborhoods they
wanted. African Americans could not vote or in some places, own
property. In both the North and South, Africans had limited freedom.

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was a law that said slaves were the
property of the men that owned them. Today we own property such as a
car, house, land, clothes, or toys. This law said that the slave was the
property of another person.

In 1794, Eli Whitney invented a machine called the cotton gin. This
machine separated the cotton fiber from the seeds much faster than it
could be done by hand. Southern plantations specialized in growing
cotton and when the cotton gin was invented there was a need for more
people to pick cotton. The invention of the cotton gin meant the slavery
system that had become so widespread when tobacco growing increased
would not stop: now the plantation owners needed even more human
resources to pick cotton.

**Today George Washington is a symbol of our country's freedom from
England, but he lived with slavery from his youngest years**. The
Washingtons were slaveholders, so young George was raised around slaves.
At first he seemed to think about slaves as property, like most white
people did at that time. As an adult, when his slaves ran away,
Washington advertised and tried hard to get them back. Washington's
views toward his slaves may have changed throughout his life. During the
Revolutionary War, his trusted slave William Lee fought by Washington's
side. When he died, Washington left instructions in his will for his own
slaves to be freed after his wife Martha died. Very few of the founding
fathers or other people of his time did this.

**Choices and freedoms are something we value in America today.**
Slavery ended in this country during the Civil War in the 1860s. There
was dishonor in the system, but it's part of our country's past, and
shaped our country's development.

## 

**[Questions for class discussion:]{.underline}**

1.  If you were to lose your freedom, what would you miss the most?

2.  How did slavery affect the opportunities that George Washington had
    in life?

3.  George Washington was trying to set an example by freeing his slaves
    when he died. What do you think people of his time thought of his
    example and why?

## 

**Slaves George Washington inherited**

George inherited 10 of the following 15 slaves when he was 11 years old:

Ned Dick Toney Steven Jo London Hannah

George Jcumy Jack Judy Nan Betty Jenny

Phillis

## 

## **From George Washington's Will, 1799**

## "Upon the decease of my wife, it is my Will & desire that all the Slaves which I hold in my own right, shall receive their freedom." 

## **[Vocabulary Sheet]{.underline}**

1.  ***Banjar***: African banjo-type instrument made from gourd, with
    wooden neck and strings added.

2.  ***Bell:*** African percussion instrument, often played with a
    stick. May be a double or single bell.

3.  ***Capital Resources:*** machines, tools, and buildings used to
    produce goods and services. The hoes the slaves used to work in the
    fields are examples of capital resources.

4.  ***Colony:*** a country or area that is ruled by another country

5.  ***Cotton:*** a bush producing soft white downy fibers and oil-rich
    seeds. 

6.  ***Cotton gin:*** machine invented by Eli Whitney in 1793 to
    separate cotton fibers from the seeds. It was an important machine
    in the history of slavery because it increased the production of
    cotton and which increased the need for slave labor.

7.  ***Craftsman:*** a person who makes decorative or practical objects
    skillfully by hand. An example of a craftsman is an ironworker.

8.  ***Djembe:*** West African drum, hour-glass shaped, played with the
    hands.

9.  ***Economic Choice:*** how a person chooses to spend his or her
    money or resources. Some men made an economic choice to buy a slave.

10. ***Fiddle:*** wooden stringed instrument, descended from African
    banjar instruments. Today some versions are called violins.

11. ***Flax:*** the plant that is used to make the fiber cloth called
    linen.

12. ***Foodways:*** Foods from a particular culture. Includes ways that
    certain foods are traditionally made or served, and foods that are
    traditionally served at special times.

13. ***Hoe:*** garden tool used for weeding or turning over soil. It is
    a compound machine that has a long pole (lever) and a small flat
    metal blade (wedge) set into one end of the pole.

14. ***Human Resources:*** human resources are people at work. The
    slaves were human resources because they worked and produced a good
    or service.

15. ***Interdependence:*** depending on others in the production of
    goods and services. The colonies were dependent on England for
    refined goods such as spices, fine clothing, glass and medicines.
    England depended on the colonies for raw materials such as tobacco,
    and further south, rice, indigo (a dye) and cotton.

16. ***Master:*** boss or person in a position of authority, for
    example, over a business, slave, servants, or an animal.

17. ***Master's Time:*** the time of the slave's day when he or she
    worked for the master.

18. ***Middle Passage:*** journey across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa
    in slave ships.

19. ***Natural resources:*** things found in nature such as water, soil,
    wood, and coal. Slaves used their knowledge of natural resources
    such as soil and land to produce crops.

20. ***Negro:*** the term used for a black person in historical times.

21. ***Okra:*** a vegetable from Africa that is used in soups and stews
    to make it thicker.

22. ***Opportunity Cost:*** something given up when making a choice of
    what to buy. Money masters paid to buy slaves couldn't be spent on
    other items the planter needed or wanted. So the opportunity cost
    was the other items the planter couldn't buy because they bought
    slaves.

23. ***Plantation:*** a large estate or farm where crops such as
    tobacco, rice, cotton, coffee, or tea are grown.

24. ***Producer:*** a person, company, or country that produces goods or
    services for sale.

25. ***Quarters:*** a living space: a building or rooms where people
    live, especially military personnel or servants.

26. ***Shekere:*** African percussion instrument made from gourd with a
    net of beads strung over it.

27. ***Slave:*** a person forced to work for another: in former times,
    one person who was forced to work for another person for no payment
    and was regarded as property.

28. ***Slave's Time:*** the time of the day when the slave was not doing
    work for the master.

29. ***Specialization:*** being an expert in one job. Could also mean a
    plantation that grows only one cash crop, such as tobacco.

30. ***Tobacco:*** a plant grown for its leaves for smoking. It was used
    as money in colonial days.

31. ***Yams:* **vegetable that resembles a large white potato and is the
    root of a tropical vine.

32. ***Wool:*** yarn spun from the short curly hair of sheep or other
    mammals, used in knitting or weaving. Sometimes the sheep are killed
    to get the wool, other times it's shorn off while they're alive.

## **Pre-Visit Lesson "B"**

## 

## **Subject:** **Slavery in Early Virginia and Maryland Colonies**

**Time:** 1 class period

**Objectives:** students will be able to:

\- Complete a sequence chart for the beginnings of slavery in America.

\- Compare and contrast the life and lifeways of slaves and planters.

\- Identify the importance of the arrival of Africans to early Jamestown

**Purpose:** To introduce students to the beginnings and defining
characteristics of slavery. To help students gain a rudimentary
understanding of the life of a slave and planter in early Virginia. To
help students understand the relationship of the colonial tobacco
economy and slavery.

**Materials:**

Sequence chart

Venn Diagram

*Colonial Slave Life* and *Colonial Slave Housing and Community Life*
readings

*Planter Life* and *Colonial Planter Housing and Community Life*
readings

**Procedure:**

**Opening - Sequence Chart**

1\. **Preparation.** [Explain the following reasons for English
colonization in America]{.underline}:

-   England wanted to establish an American ***colony*** to increase her
    wealth and power,

-   England hoped to find silver and gold, and

-   An American settlement would furnish ***raw materials*** that could
    not be grown or obtained in

> England, while opening new markets for ***trade***.

As a result, explain that the first permanent English settlement in
America was Jamestown, founded

in 1607 as an ***economic*** venture.

-   ***Colony***: a settlement ruled by a distant country

-   ***Raw materials***: resource in its natural state, such as wood,
    that can be used to manufacture a product.

-   ***Trade***: the buying or selling of goods.

-   ***Economic***: of or relating to money matters or concerns.

2\. [Tobacco]{.underline}: John Rolfe, a colonist, began to grow a new
kind of tobacco that proved to be very popular in

England. Consequently, tobacco soon became a valuable ***cash crop***.

-   ***Cash Crop***: a crop people grow to sell rather than to use
    themselves.

> 3\. [Slavery]{.underline}: Explain that Africans arrived in Jamestown
> against their will in 1619. It is believed that they
>
> were taken forcibly from their homes in Africa, and arrived as
> baptized Christians and therefore were labeled ***indentured
> servants***. In reality, their servitude closely resembled slavery.
> The popular conception of a race-based slave system did not fully
> develop until the 1680\'s.

-   ***Indentured Servants***: a person who agrees to work without pay
    for a certain length of time in

> exchange for some benefit.

4\. [Explain:]{.underline} The success of tobacco as a cash crop
[transformed life in the Virginia colony]{.underline} and encouraged

slavery. In 1661, the Virginia General Assembly [legalized
slavery]{.underline}.

5\. [Explain]{.underline} how the successful planting of [tobacco
depended on a reliable and inexpensive source of labor]{.underline}.

As a result, large numbers of Africans were brought to the colony
against their will to work as slaves

on the ***plantations***. Furthermore, the Chesapeake colonies became
dependent on slave labor, and the

dependence lasted a long time.

-   ***Plantation***: a large farm.

6\. **Sequence Chart**. Distribute the sequence chart. Ask students to
[complete the sequence chart]{.underline} using the

following events:

# Slave Life Comparison

7\. [Read]{.underline} *Colonial Slave, Colonial Slaves' Housing and
Community Life, Planter Life, and Colonial*

*Planter Housing and Community Life* readings to or with your students.

# 

**Venn Diagram**

8\. **Venn Diagram**. Ask students to complete the Venn Diagram
comparing and contrasting the life and

housing of slaves and planters.

9\. Ask students to [share their Venn Diagram]{.underline} with the
class. Optional- while the students are sharing,

> incorporate some of their elements into a larger Venn Diagram or chart
> on the board or overhead transparency.

**Closure**

10. [Review concepts]{.underline} of the day. Looking at the [Venn
    Diagram]{.underline}, ask the children to remember what

> differences they will be looking for in slaves' and planters' lives on
> their field trip.

**[Sequence Chart]{.underline}**

# [Colonial Slave Life]{.underline}

**Work is a relentless part of life if you are a slave.** The daily life
of colonial slaves was usually hard. Slaves were often only given the
bare essentials for life: a place to sleep, basic clothing, and enough
food to keep them healthy enough for work. They worked six or seven days
a week from sun-up to sun-down, from \"can see to can\'t see\" in
slave\'s lingo. Slaves were worked as hard as a body can physically
tolerate to ensure a good crop.

**Being a slave does not mean you had no skills**. Slaves on plantations
such as the one at Popes Creek where George Washington was born, were
agricultural and skilled workers. Africans brought numerous skills from
their native lands, including agricultural experience. In the Chesapeake
colonies, most new African slaves arrived between June and August when
tobacco plants had been moved from the seedbeds and were growing in the
fields. The slaves' first task was to weed between the tobacco rows,
using their hands, axes, or hoes. Field laborers' daily lives were
determined by agricultural rhythms. On large plantations, slaves were
divided into groups depending on their abilities. Tobacco, however,
could be grown profitably on smaller plantations, where an overseer
directed small groups of slaves.

![](media/image7.jpeg){width="2.2493055555555554in" height="3.375in"}
When George Washington was a boy, in addition to agricultural workers,
plantations had many skilled workers. Although most black women were
field hands, by the 1770\'s a small but growing number were employed in
weaving, making clothes, dairying, and household and child care. Black
men had already become more diversified, joining white artisans as
skilled craftsmen. Initially, many of these Africans had learned their
trade through an apprenticeship. As the number of African blacksmiths,
carpenters, coopers, shoemakers, tanners, spinners, weavers and other
artisans grew on the plantations, these slaves were increasingly able to
train their fellow slaves, often passing along skills to their children
or kinsmen. These slaves' skills and talents made the plantation
economically self-sufficient.

**Today we try to make things fair for everyone, but in colonial times
opportunities were limited for slaves.** Slave children did not attend
school because of special laws in the colonies that outlawed slaves from
being taught to read and write. Instead, the slave children usually
began to work part-time in the tobacco fields around the age of seven.
Tasks for children varied greatly from plantation to plantation; often,
they spent the rest of their day running errands, watching the younger
children, doing odd jobs, or playing.

**[Colonial Slave Housing and Community Life]{.underline}**

**How do you feel when you're treated differently than someone else?**
In colonial times, slaves were not always treated the same. Even on the
same plantation, slave quarters varied considerably. Separate quarters
were a luxury generally enjoyed only by favored house slaves or those
with special skills or duties. Household and skilled slaves often lived
in a quarter near the main house complex, generally in better
constructed dwellings than those provided for the average slave. As a
boy, George Washington probably was cared for by the household slaves
and knew them well. Other slaves lived in quarters out of sight of the
main house. Although their dwellings were usually more primitive, field
slaves at least enjoyed a certain measure of privacy from the constant
intrusion of their master and his family.

![](media/image9.jpeg){width="1.9159722222222222in"
height="2.875in"}**Family is something we're all born with.** For most
of the colonial period, slaves increased in number by having children at
about the same rate as whites. Relationships between male and female
slaves were encouraged and something resembling marriage or a family
unit was occasionally recognized; however, masters could choose to sever
marriages because of economic and other conditions. Splitting up and
selling partners and children away from the plantation to another
location was common. As an adult, George Washington determined that he
would not split up slave families.

Family units generally occupied slave quarters, although this was not
always the case. The houses in a typical quarter formed what sometimes
appeared to be a small village. Most slave houses were very small, with
one room and possibly a loft above. There was usually a wooden chimney
lined with clay and a dirt floor. The slave holder spent little time or
expense outfitting these dwellings. A built-in bed was common, and
sometimes the only, comfort provided.

**Every cultural group has customs.** When African slaves first arrived
in the colonies, their customs often clashed with those of the planters.
Slaves' religion, foods, weaving, arts, medicine and speech was
different than that of their masters' families. By maintaining elements
of African culture and customs, slaves built a sense of community and
self worth. By using their skills, some slaves developed a spirit of
self-reliance and a measure of autonomy. Eventually, the different
cultures adapted to each other. Slaves often picked up colonial speech,
manners and lifeways, while elements of slaves' traditional African
crafts, skills, speech, superstitions and ideas became part of colonial
culture. When George Washington was young, slave culture in the
Chesapeake region still had many elements of African culture and
customs.

Slaves knew how to make musical instruments from materials found in
nature in Africa, such as gourds and logs. Slaves were able to continue
their traditions by making similar instruments with materials found in
the colonies. Call and response songs, intricate rhythms, dancing and
group participation were popular. Storytelling, legends, folklore and
songs helped slaves remember their history and culture, and songs set
the pace of field work.

![](media/image10.jpeg){width="2.6708333333333334in"
height="2.2694444444444444in"}**How do you learn the skills to
survive?** African agricultural techniques that slaves taught planters
helped planters survive in the colonies. Slaves taught planters how to
grow foods grown in Africa, such as rice, yams, beans, peanuts and
millet. One-pot meals such as stews that could simmer over a low fire
all day and be eaten after the day's work was done were common.
Eventually these elements of African and slave culture influenced the
culture of the colonies. For example, today peanut soup, roasted sugared
yams and sweet potato pie are popular southern foods. These influences
became part of who we are today.

# [Colonial Planter Life]{.underline}

**What responsibilities do you have today?** George Washington's family
were planters. The main responsibilities of the planter\'s family was to
watch over the work of the servants and slaves, to make sure the
plantation was run well, and to serve in public service positions such
as the House of Burgesses. The planter saw that crops were planted,
harvested, stored, and shipped. He kept records in order to run the
plantation like a successful business.

The planter\'s wife had the same responsibilities as other colonial
women. She ran the household and supervised the care of the
plantation\'s slaves. It was up to the planter's wife to see that
everyone had food, clothing and medical care. Sometimes a plantations
slaves numbered in the hundreds. When George Washington was a boy, his
father owned 20-25 slaves at the Popes Creek plantation. George
inherited 10-11 slaves when he was just 11 years old. As an adult,
George Washington owned over 300 slaves, more than anyone in his county.

![](media/image11.jpeg){width="2.234722222222222in"
height="3.3569444444444443in"}

**An important responsibility for children today is to study hard to get
a good education.** In colonial times, there were few schools in the
southern colonies because people lived so far apart. As a result, large
plantations had their own small schools. The planter\'s children were
taught basic reading and writing. Planters often hired teachers from
Europe to teach their children. When children were about 12 or 13 years
old, they attended special town schools. After that, wealthier boys such
as George Washington's older half-brothers often went to college in
Britain or in the colonies. The planter\'s daughters were taught basic
reading and math, and how to take care of a plantation household. By age
12 or 13, girls stopped going to school.

**[Colonial Planter Housing and Community Life]{.underline}**

**What symbols of wealth and prestige do you wish for today? A nice car,
big house, distinguished career?** In colonial days, plantations were
laid out with formal gardens and landscape designs borrowed from English
manorial estates. Planters aspired to the gracious lifestyle of landed
British gentry, and gleaned ideas from English country estates and
architectural books as they designed their houses. Mansion houses were
typically surrounded by gardens and landscaped grounds that heightened
the visual effect of their elegance and importance. Most had several
service buildings close by. These included barns, stables, workshops,
and dwellings and gardens for slaves who worked in the mansion and on
the grounds surrounding it. From the big house, masters and mistresses
kept watch over the plantation to ensure that everything ran smoothly.

**The big house, usually a two or three-storied mansion, was a visible
symbol of the planter's wealth**. A wide entrance hall might lead into a
dining room, a parlor, a library, and one or more sitting rooms. Here a
planter could display wealth with European furnishings and imported
artwork. On upper floors, bedrooms for family members and guests
contained the most comfortable and luxurious decor available. Nurseries
for planters' children were on the uppermost floors, reached by the
servant's stairs at the back of the house. In addition to providing
housing, plantation houses also reflected colonists' difference in
status.

The Memorial House at George Washington Birthplace was built to look
like a typical planter's mansion. When George Washington was born at
Popes Creek, his family lived in a smaller plantation house. You will
see the foundation of this house when you visit the park.

**In colonial days, many aspects of daily life and culture provided
opportunities to display your status.** The planter's family ate fancier
foods than the slaves, and larger portions. The planter's wife kept
expensive items like sugar and spices locked up until the cook needed
them, to make sure no one took extra. The musical instruments that the
planter's family played, such as expensive harpsichords and violins,
were often brought by ship from England. By not allowing such refined
goods to be made in the colonies, England was able to keep the profit
from producing the goods for themselves. George Washington did not play
an instrument, but he loved music and dancing, which he did often.
Classical music, and Virginia reels (line dances) were popular with
planters in his time.**\
**

**[Questions for class discussion:]{.underline}**

1\. What makes up someone's culture?

2\. How did slaves affect the culture of the colonies?

3\. How did the culture of the colonies affect slaves' culture?

## **[Venn Diagram]{.underline}**

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**Pre-Visit Lesson "C"**

**Subject:** **Tobacco Economy and Triangular Trade**

**Time:** 1 -- 2 class periods

**Objectives:** students will be able:

\- To analyze and interpret maps of the Triangular Trade routes, West
Africa and the Chesapeake to explain the importance of shipping and
trading to economies of the Chesapeake colonies.

\- To draw conclusions about advantages and disadvantages to economic
specialization and interdependence as they relate to tobacco as a cash
crop.

\- To draw conclusions about cause and effect relationships among the
tobacco economy and slavery.

**Purpose:** To introduce and help students understand concepts of
economic specialization and interdependence, triangular trade and the
kingdom of West Mali, and the relationship of the colonial tobacco
economy and slavery.

**Materials:**

*Map of Africa*

*Map of West African Slave Trading Ports*

*West African Slave Trading Regions Fill-In Story* -- teacher and
student versions

Highlighters

*Map of the Original 13 Colonies*

*Map of the Chesapeake*

*Chesapeake Colonies Mapping Worksheet* -- teacher and student versions

*World Map*

*Triangular Trade Activity*

*George Washington and Plantation Economy Worksheet* - teacher and
student versions

Classroom atlas (not provided)

Virginia and Maryland state highway maps, or other maps showing Northern
Neck, Potomac River,

> Chesapeake Bay and state names (not provided)

**Procedure:**

# Opening - West Africa Slave Trading Regions 

1.  [Slave Trading Regions Fill-In Story]{.underline}: Explain that
    slaves in the colonies came from West Africa. Pass out the *Map of
    Africa*, the *Map of West African Slave Ports*, and the *West
    African Slave Trading Regions Fill-In Story* activity. The maps will
    be used during the story activity. Ask students to work in pairs or
    complete the activity as a class, reading the story and filling in
    the blanks as you come to them with words from the Word Bank.

**Triangular Trade**

3\. Discuss why map reading skills were important in colonial times and
why they are important today.

4\. [Mapping:]{.underline} Distribute copies of the [*Map of the
Original 13 Colonies*,]{.underline} the *[Map of the
Chesapeake]{.underline}*

> *[Colonies]{.underline}* and the *[Chesapeake Colonies Mapping
> Worksheet]{.underline}*. Students may work individually or in pairs to
> complete them. Discuss answers as a class before continuing.

5\. [Drawing triangular trade routes]{.underline}: Distribute copies of
the *[World Map]{.underline}* and [*Triangular Trade
Activity*]{.underline}

> sheet. Students may work individually or in pairs to complete them.
> Discuss answers as a class before continuing.

6\. [Classroom discussion]{.underline}: Discuss these questions as a
class.

-   Why was shipping and trading, such as the Triangular Trade, so
    important to the colonies' economic development?

-   What role did tobacco and the Triangular Trade have in the
    development of the slavery system in the American colonies?

-   Just like tobacco in the North American colonies, the sugar industry
    was critical to developing the slavery system in the Caribbean
    islands. Both required a lot of labor.

    -   Was it possible for the colonial tobacco and sugar industries to
        survive without slave labor?

    -   Was it possible for the Triangular Trade to survive without
        tobacco and sugar?

**Tobacco Economy, Economic Specialization and Interdependence**

7\. [Explain specialization and interdependence]{.underline}.

-   [Economic specialization]{.underline}: Growing only one cash crop
    for sale, such as tobacco.

-   [Interdependence]{.underline}: depending on others in the production
    of goods and services. The colonies were dependent on England for
    refined goods such as spices, fine clothing, glass and medicines.
    England depended on the colonies for raw materials such as tobacco,
    and further south, rice, indigo (a dye) and cotton.

8\. Ask students to [look at the triangular trade routes]{.underline}
they drew on their *World Maps*. Ask them to explain

> how the different countries involved in the triangular trade were
> interdependent -- which countries were dependent on which other
> countries for what products or services?
>
> 9\. [Expansion of slavery in the colonies]{.underline}: Explain that
> growing tobacco is very labor intensive, requiring a
>
> great deal of hand labor every month of the year. The increase in
> growing of tobacco in the Chesapeake colonies in the late 1600s
> increased the need for a cheap source of human capital or labor, which
> greatly expanded the slavery system in the colonies.

10\. [*George Washington and Plantation Economy* worksheet]{.underline}:
Distribute copies of the worksheet for

students to complete in pairs. After they finish, discuss the answers
with the class.

**Closure**

11. [Review concepts]{.underline} of the day. Looking at the worksheets
    and maps, ask students to think about the

[relationships among triangular trade, tobacco economy and
slavery]{.underline}. Ask students:

-   What evidence they think they might see of these relationships on
    their field trip

-   How they think George Washington and his society fit into these
    relationships

![](media/image12.png){width="7.75in" height="8.5in"}**Map of Africa**

**Map of West African Slave Ports**

![](media/image13.jpeg){width="5.465972222222222in"
height="9.400694444444444in"}

**[West African Slave Trading Regions Fill-In Story *-- Teacher's
Answers*]{.underline}**

**Colonial slavery was tied to West Africa through trade**. Slaves were
brought to the *[Caribbean]{.underline}* Islands from West Africa to
work on sugar plantations by the 1500s. As *[tobacco]{.underline}*
production in the Chesapeake colonies of North America expanded in the
late 1600s, the need for an inexpensive *[human]{.underline}* resource
for labor also expanded. To fill this need, colonists turned to
*[West]{.underline} [Africa]{.underline}*.

**Using your Map of West African Slave Ports, find and highlight the
name of each of these kingdoms and countries where slaves came from**:

Ghana Mali Ivory Coast Gold Coast

Guinea Slave Coast Senegambia Sierra Leone

During and before the colonial times, some of these areas such as Ghana
and Mali were kingdoms run by *[kings]{.underline}* that later became
modern countries.

**West Africa had its own cultures.** *[Storytelling]{.underline}* was
part of West African culture. It was a way of sharing information,
entertainment and passing history from one generation to another.
"Griots" is the term used even today in Mali for storytellers,
*[musicians]{.underline}* and historians who retold their country's
history. It means "Keeper of Memories." Our current knowledge of the
history of this region comes largely from such storytellers.

**Just as trading became important to the economy of North American
colonies, *[trading]{.underline}* was also important to the economy of
West Africa**. Each country had resources, such as *[salt]{.underline}*,
*[gold]{.underline}* or human labor. They usually had plenty of some
resources and not enough of others, so they traded. Many West African
counties that had gold were on *[trade]{.underline}*
*[routes]{.underline}* that ran north across the *[Sahara]{.underline}*
desert to the salt mines and *[Mediterranean]{.underline}* Sea, and east
to Egypt. The kingdom of Mali had gold, but not much salt to preserve
their food. Salt was needed in days before refrigerators to make food
last longer. It could be traded for gold. Look at your ***Map of
Africa***: the trade routes from Mali could be traveled by
*[camel]{.underline}* across the desert, or by boat on
*[rivers]{.underline}* to the ocean.

**The slavery that already existed in Africa became an object of trade
in colonial times**. In West Africa people were often captured in
*[wars]{.underline}* and made to be slaves. The Caribbean sugar trade in
the 1500s and the Chesapeake colonies' tobacco trade in the 1600s
created a market for selling and buying of *[slaves]{.underline}*.
Slaves were traded to the slave ships for tools, guns and
*[manufactured]{.underline}* *[products]{.underline}* that were in short
supply in most West African countries. Trading in slaves was an
*[economic]{.underline}* *[choice]{.underline}* for the countries
involved.

**It was time for change**. By 1808, the colonies in North America
stopped *[importing]{.underline}* slaves from Africa. Britain and other
countries had banned slave trade. Slavery still existed in the colonies,
but it was not legal to import slaves from other countries. The slave
trade ended, but slavery continued until the *[Civil]{.underline}*
*[War]{.underline}*.

**[Word Bank]{.underline}**

Trade Routes Slaves Kings Sahara Importing

Storytelling Trading Tobacco Civil War Caribbean

Mediterranean West Africa War Musicians Salt

Economic Choice Gold Importing Camel Rivers

Manufactured Products Human

**[West African Slave Trading Regions Fill-In Story]{.underline}**

**Colonial slavery was tied to West Africa through trade**. Slaves were
brought to the *[\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_]{.underline}* Islands from West
Africa to work on sugar plantations by the 1500s. As \_\_\_\_\_\_\_
production in the Chesapeake colonies of North America expanded in the
late 1600s, the need for an inexpensive \_\_\_\_\_ resource for labor
also expanded. To fill this need, colonists turned to \_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_.

**Using your Map of West African Slave Ports, find and highlight the
name of each of these kingdoms and countries where slaves came from**:

Ghana Mali Ivory Coast Gold Coast

Guinea Slave Coast Senegambia Sierra Leone

During and before the colonial times, some of these areas such as Ghana
and Mali were kingdoms run by \_\_\_\_\_ that later became modern
countries.

**West Africa had its own cultures.** \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ was part
of West African culture. It was a way of sharing information,
entertainment and passing history from one generation to another.
"Griots" is the term used even today in Mali for storytellers,
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ and historians who retold their country's history. It
means "Keeper of Memories." Our current knowledge of the history of this
region comes largely from such storytellers.

**Just as trading became important to the economy of North American
colonies, \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ was also important to the economy of West
Africa**. Each country had resources, such as \_\_\_\_, \_\_\_\_ or
human labor. They usually had plenty of some resources and not enough of
others, so they traded. Many West African counties that had gold were on
\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_ that ran north across the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ desert to
the salt mines and \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Sea, and east to Egypt.
The kingdom of Mali had gold, but not much salt to preserve their food.
Salt was needed in days before refrigerators to make food last longer.
It could be traded for gold. Look at your ***Map of Africa***: the trade
routes from Mali could be traveled by \_\_\_\_\_ across the desert, or
by boat on \_\_\_\_\_\_ to the ocean.

**The slavery that already existed in Africa became an object of trade
in colonial times**. In West Africa people were often captured in
\_\_\_\_ and made to be slaves. The Caribbean sugar trade in the 1500s
and the Chesapeake colonies' tobacco trade in the 1600s created a market
for selling and buying of \_\_\_\_\_\_. Slaves were traded to the slave
ships for tools, guns and \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ that
were in short supply in most West African countries. Trading in slaves
was an \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_ for the countries involved.

**It was time for change**. By 1808, the colonies in North America
stopped \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ slaves from Africa. Britain and other
countries had banned slave trade. Slavery still existed in the colonies,
but it was not legal to import slaves from other countries. The slave
trade ended, but slavery continued until the \_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_.

**[Word Bank]{.underline}**

Trade Routes Slaves Kings Sahara Importing

Storytelling Trading Tobacco Civil War Caribbean

Mediterranean West Africa War Musicians Salt

Economic Choice Gold Importing Camel Rivers

Manufactured Products Human

**Map of Original 13 Colonies**

![](media/image14.png){width="7.718055555555556in" height="8.25in"}

**Map of Chesapeake Colonies**

![](media/image15.png){width="5.911111111111111in"
height="9.57638888888889in"}

**[Chesapeake Colonies Mapping Worksheet -- Teacher's
Answers]{.underline}**

You should have 2 maps.

Look at the [Map of the Original 13 Colonies]{.underline}.

1\. Label each of original 13 colonies. You may use a classroom atlas if
needed.

Look at the [Map of the Chesapeake Colonies]{.underline}. This map is
from the year 1812.

The map was drawn after the city of Washington D.C. was built.

> 2\. Who is Washington D.C. named for? (*George Washington)*
>
> 3\. Find Washington D.C. on the map. What river is the city beside?
>
> *(labeled on the map -- Potomac River)*
>
> 4\. Find the body of water that the Potomac River flows into. What's
> its name?
>
> *(Chesapeake Bay, labeled)*

5\. Find the Northern Neck of Virginia. This is where George Washington
was born.

> The Northern Neck is the peninsula just south of the Potomac River.
> It's not labeled on your map, so write it in. (M*ay or may not be
> labeled on modern highway maps).*

6\. Use a modern highway map to find and mark the location of George
Washington

> Birthplace National Monument.

7\. Use a modern highway map to find and mark the location of your own
town.

8\. What was the advantage was of living along a waterway? (Hint: think
about how

> people traveled in colonial times). *(easy transportation access,
> shipping and trading).*

9\. Use a modern highway maps to label the states of Virginia and
Maryland.

10\. What river separates Virginia from Maryland?

> *(Potomac River -- it was a very important shipping lane in colonial
> times. Ships from England came*
>
> *up the river to plantations like the one where George Washington was
> born, loaded with goods that*
>
> *colonists bought with the credit they got from their tobacco crops)*.

Shipping and trading were important to the economic development of the
colonies.

Triangular Trade between the American colonies, Africa and Europe was a
significant

example.

Each country has different natural resources. Countries often have more
of a particular

product than they need, but don't have enough of other products.

By shipping and trading each country can get items they need: they sell
some goods so they

have the money or credit to buy other types of resources and goods they
don't have.

11\. What are some resources and goods that countries ship and trade
today?

**[Chesapeake Colonies Mapping Worksheet]{.underline}**

You should have 2 maps.

Look at the [Map of the Original 13 Colonies]{.underline}.

1\. Label each of original 13 colonies. You may use a classroom atlas if
needed.

Look at the [Map of the Chesapeake Colonies]{.underline}. This map is
from the year 1812.

The map was drawn after the city of Washington D.C. was built.

> 2\. Who is Washington D.C. named for?
>
> 3\. Find Washington D.C. on the map. What river is the city beside?

4\. Find the body of water that the Potomac River flows into. What's its
name?

5\. Find the Northern Neck of Virginia. This is where George Washington
was born.

> The Northern Neck is the peninsula just south of the Potomac River.
> It's not labeled on your map, so write it in.

6\. Use a modern highway map to find and mark the location of George
Washington

> Birthplace National Monument.

7\. Use a modern highway map to find and mark the location of your own
town.

8\. What was the advantage was of living along a waterway? (Hint: think
about how

> people traveled in colonial times)

9\. Use a modern highway maps to label the states of Virginia and
Maryland.

10\. What river separates Virginia from Maryland?

Shipping and trading were important to the economic development of the
colonies.

Triangular Trade between the American colonies, Africa and Europe was a
significant

example.

Each country has different natural resources. Countries often have more
of a particular

product than they need, but don't have enough of other products.

By shipping and trading each country can get items they need: they sell
some goods so they

have the money or credit to buy other types of resources and goods they
don't have.

11\. What are some resources and goods that countries ship and trade
today?

![](media/image16.png){width="8.03888888888889in"
height="9.32638888888889in"}**World Map**

**[Triangular Trade Activity]{.underline}**

1\. ***Find these triangular trade points on the [World
Map]{.underline}***:

England Caribbean Islands West African slave trading region

France North American colonies

2\. Below is a list of resources and the countries or colonies where
they were found or produced in large supply. ***Mark the names of these
resources on their corresponding countries or colonies on the [World
Map]{.underline}*:**

[Resource]{.underline} [Country or Colony]{.underline}

Tobacco Virginia and Maryland colonies

Sugar, Molasses Caribbean Islands

Rice, Indigo (dye) Carolina and Georgia colonies

Rum, Iron New England colonies

Slaves West coast of Africa

> Manufactured goods, tools & guns England, France

3\. Today we know that people should not be treated like products. In
colonial times some people thought it was ok to treat slaves that way,
but today we know that is not acceptable.

***Draw arrows on your [World Map]{.underline} to show where countries
that needed the resources below could get them shipped from***:

England needs sugar. France needs tobacco.

France needs iron. England needs rum. France needs molasses. France
needs rice. England needs tobacco. England needs indigo.

West Africa needs guns and tools. West Africa needs manufactured goods.

Virginia and Maryland need manufactured goods and tools.

The Caribbean Islands need people to work on sugar plantations.

Virginia and Maryland need people to work on tobacco plantations.

The Carolinas and Georgia need people to work on rice and indigo
plantations.

The Caribbean Islands need tools.

**You have now mapped out the shipping routes of the triangular trade.**

Can you see the problem with the triangular trade system? We do trading
like this today with non-human products, but the slaves didn't have any
choice. Slaves were taken forcibly from their home countries.

People have always moved around to where there is a need for labor, but
it's different if they are slaves and don't have a choice.

**[George Washington and Plantation Economy -- *Teacher's
Answers*]{.underline}**

![](media/image17.jpeg){width="2.75in" height="2.063888888888889in"}Like
any planter, George Washington had to learn math to run a plantation. He
became very good at math. Tobacco was the Washingtons' only **cash
crop**. When only one product or service is produced to sell, it is
called **economic specialization**.

**[Economic Specialization]{.underline}**

There are about 1000 pound of tobacco in a barrel. Tobacco is a
**natural resource**. If 1 pound of tobacco sells for 1 pound of British
sterling (money, something like our dollars), how many pounds of British
sterling would you get for a barrel of tobacco?

*[1 pound sterling x 1000 pounds tobacco = 1000 pound British
sterling]{.underline}*

You won't know what price you got until the ship returns from England
the next year. What if the price drops (and this is your only cash
crop)?

*[You'll earn less than you thought you would, you'll go into
debt.]{.underline}*

What options did the colonists have if they didn't like the price they
got for their tobacco?

*[Write a letter to complain, protest, eventually they started a
revolution (American Revolution)]{.underline}*

Describe one problem with **economic specialization**:

*[If anything goes wrong with the one crop (low prices, insects,
disease, poor growing year, drought, etc), you'll lose money/have
nothing to fall back on.]{.underline}*

**[Diversification]{.underline}**

Colonists like the Washingtons sent along a list on the ship to England,
of things they wanted to buy. What happens if the total cost of the
goods you requested from England cost more than you earn from the
tobacco for the year?

*[You'll go into debt.]{.underline}*

As an adult, George Washington eventually decided to **diversify** his
crops. He grew corn, wheat and other grains to sell, in addition to
tobacco. Why would it be better to grow several different crops to sell?

*[If anything goes wrong with the one crop, you'll have the others to
fall back on (example: an insect or disease might strike one crop, but
not the others).]{.underline}*

**[Economic Interdependence]{.underline}**

England depended on the colonies for raw materials and goods like
tobacco, iron, indigo for dye-making, and cotton for cloth. The colonies
depended on England for finished goods like glass, medicines, tools,
spices and clothes. Depending on each other is called **economic
interdependence**. What problems can you think of with this system of
economic interdependence? *[England could take advantage of the
colonies. Colonies were dependent on England, did not have freedom to
determine their own destiny. Economic dependence solidified political
dependence. This was one cause of the American Revolution.]{.underline}*

**[Human Resources]{.underline}**

Growing tobacco required lots of hand labor every month of the year. The
plantation economy depended on the labor of slaves. Slaves were a
**human resource**. Eventually George Washington decided he didn't like
this system, and provided for many of his slaves to be freed after he
and Martha Washington died. Throughout his life though, George
Washington, like his neighbors, used slaves to work his plantations.

What type of work do you think the plantation owners did?

*[Oversaw things, managed the work, kept track of the finances, made
decisions]{.underline}*

What type of work do you think the slaves did?

*[Physical labor, working in tobacco fields or other physical tasks on
the plantatio]{.underline}n*

When slaves were working on plantations, who got the profit from their
labor?

![](media/image18.jpeg){width="2.7958333333333334in"
height="1.85625in"}*[Plantation owners]{.underline}*

Was it fair?

*[No, but that is the social system in which George Washington
lived.]{.underline}*

Why do you think the slavery system expanded so much when tobacco became
the primary cash crop in the Chesapeake colonies? *[Growing tobacco
required a great deal of inexpensive labor by hand, every month of the
year.]{.underline}*

**[George Washington and Plantation Economy]{.underline}**

![](media/image17.jpeg){width="2.75in" height="2.063888888888889in"}Like
any planter, George Washington had to learn math to run a plantation. He
became very good at math. Tobacco was the Washingtons' only **cash
crop**. When only one product or service is produced to sell, it is
called **economic specialization**.

**[Economic Specialization]{.underline}**

There are about 1000 pound of tobacco in a barrel. Tobacco is a
**natural resource**. If 1 pound of tobacco sells for 1 pound of British
sterling (money, something like our dollars), how many pounds of British
sterling would you get for a barrel of tobacco?

You won't know what price you got until the ship returns from England
the next year. What if the price drops (and this is your only cash
crop)?

What options did the colonists have if they didn't like the price they
got for their tobacco?

Describe one problem with **economic specialization**:

**[Diversification]{.underline}**

Colonists like the Washingtons sent along a list on the ship to England,
of things they wanted to buy. What happens if the total cost of the
goods you requested from England cost more than you earn from the
tobacco for the year?

As an adult, George Washington eventually decided to **diversify** his
crops. He grew corn, wheat and other grains to sell, in addition to
tobacco. Why would it be better to grow several different crops to sell?

**[Economic Interdependence]{.underline}**

England depended on the colonies for raw materials and goods like
tobacco, iron, indigo for dye-making, and cotton for cloth. The colonies
depended on England for finished goods like glass, medicines, tools,
spices and clothes. Depending on each other is called **economic
interdependence**. What problems can you think of with this system of
economic interdependence?

**[Human Resources]{.underline}**

Growing tobacco required lots of hand labor every month of the year. The
plantation economy depended on the labor of slaves. Slaves were a
**human resource**. Eventually George Washington decided he didn't like
this system, and provided for many of his slaves to be freed after he
and Martha Washington died. Throughout his life though, George
Washington, like his neighbors, used slaves to work his plantations.

What type of work do you think the plantation owners did?

What type of work do you think the slaves did?

![](media/image18.jpeg){width="2.7958333333333334in"
height="1.85625in"}When slaves were working on plantations, who got the
profit from their labor?

Was it fair?

## 

## Why do you think the slavery system expanded so much when tobacco became the primary cash crop in the Chesapeake colonies? 

## **Post-Visit Followup Lessons to be completed after the park visit**

## **Post-Visit Lesson "D"**

**Subject:** **I'm a Slave!**

**Time:** 1 class period

**Objective:** students will be able:

\- To complete a word search in order to view and review some of the
vocabulary used at George Washington Birthplace National Monument.

\- To write a fictional, personal narrative based on their experience as
a slave in colonial times at George Washington Birthplace National
Monument, evaluating and discussing issues in writing.

\- To compare and contrast their life as a slave and their lives in the
present.

**Purpose:** To help students reflect on their experience at George
Washington Birthplace National Monument and make connections to the
present.

To help students interpret ideas and lifestyles from the historical
perspective of a slave.

**Materials:**

Word Find (provided), Paper, and Pencil

Vocabulary sheet from pre-visit lessons

**Procedure:**

# Opening - Word Find

1\. Distribute copies of the [Word Find]{.underline} to your students.

2\. [Review the Vocabulary Words]{.underline} from the pre-visit lesson
with your students and discuss how they relate to what was observed at
George Washington Birthplace National Monument.

3\. Allow students to complete the word find.

# Writing "I Was a Slave" Narrative

4\. [Discuss]{.underline} with students the difference between writing a
story from a [1^st^ person point of view and a 3^rd^]{.underline}

> [person]{.underline} point of view. A first person story is told by a
> character in the story and uses the words *I* and *me*. A third person
> story is told by someone outside of the story.

5\. Ask students to [write a paper from a 1^st^ person point of
view]{.underline} completing the following writing prompt:

*One day, I woke up, and I was a slave in Virginia. I...*

6\. [A well-written personal narrative]{.underline}:

-   Is written in the first person,

-   Contains descriptive details that tell about the significance of the
    event, and

-   Has an ending to make it feel complete.

Ask students write for 20-25 minutes. Remind students to:

-   Use as many descriptive words as possible to describe their
    experience as a slave

-   Include details based on their experience at George Washington
    Birthplace National Monument

-   Use some of the vocabulary in the word find.

7\. Ask for volunteers to [share their writings orally]{.underline} with
the class.

# Compare and Contrast: Slaves Lives vs. Our Lives

8\. Make a [two-column chart]{.underline} on the board. Label the
columns [*Alike* and *Different*.]{.underline}

9\. Discuss and list with your students [ways in which the lives of
slaves were alike and different to our]{.underline}

[lives today]{.underline}.

**Closure**

10. Ask students what they learned about slavery and the Washington's
    time (colonial time) that was

different than they thought it would be. Post the Alike and Different
Chart in your classroom.

[Slave Life!]{.underline}

Teacher's Answers

> **N** F ***T*** M **Y** C B **S** Y **E** S H C **N** O
>
> H **O** P **O** I **N** **Y** **B** O **O** F G **R** **E** D
>
> X D **I** U **B** **A** **O** E **E** ***H*** J **E** K **M** E
>
> J W U **T** **W** **A** R **L** B **L** **T** J X **S** S
>
> D W I **D** **A** W **C** U **O** **S** **L** **F** S **T** R
>
> L G **O** Y G **T** A **C** **A** ***C*** X **L** ***S*** **F** H
>
> P **O** H Z K ***B*** **N** ***M*** **O** I **E** **A** **H** **A** F
>
> ***F*** E Y ***W*** **A** W O **A** I E **L** **X** **E** **R** C
>
> I D **O** **N** V H N J **L** B **D** F **K** ***C*** A
>
> E **O** **J** **E B M E J *D*** ***P*** **D** **A** **E** V K
>
> L **A** ***S* L A V E** J U G **I** S **R** X Z
>
> **R** J J B J B B X L H ***F*** G **E** **K** A
>
> ***Q* U A R T E R S** G M X P I J ***O***
>
> S **E G A S S A P E L D D I *M*** Q
>
> P L X W N X C B D **S M A *Y*** Y N
>
> BANJAR BELL COLONY CRAFTSMEN
>
> DJEMBE FIDDLE FLAX FOODWAYS
>
> HOE MASTER MIDDLE PASSAGE OKRA PLANTATION QUARTERS SHEKERE SLAVE
>
> TOBACCO WOOL YAMS
>
> [Slave Life!]{.underline}
>
> N F T M Y C B S Y E S H C N O
>
> H O P O I N Y B O O F G R E D
>
> X D I U B A O E E H J E K M E
>
> J W U T W A R L B L T J X S S
>
> D W I D A W C U O S L F S T R
>
> L G O Y G T A C A C X L S F H
>
> P O H Z K B N M O I E A H A F
>
> F E Y W A W O A I E L X E R C
>
> I D O N V H N J L B D F K C A
>
> E O J E B M E J D P D A E V K
>
> L A S L A V E J U G I S R X Z
>
> R J J B J B B X L H F G E K A
>
> Q U A R T E R S G M X P I J O
>
> S E G A S S A P E L D D I M Q
>
> P L X W N X C B D S M A Y Y N
>
> BANJAR BELL COLONY CRAFTSMEN
>
> DJEMBE FIDDLE FLAX FOODWAYS
>
> HOE MASTER MIDDLE PASSAGE OKRA PLANTATION QUARTERS SHEKERE SLAVE
>
> TOBACCO WOOL YAMS

## **Post-Visit Lesson "E"**

**Subject: Reflections on Slavery**

**Time**: 1-2 class periods

**Objective**: students will be able:

\- To demonstrate what they have learned from their visit to George
Washington's Birthplace.

**Purpose**: To reflect on their visit to George Washington's birthplace
and the information they learned from the visit.

**Materials**:

> KWL chart created in pre-visit lesson
>
> Each child should have their individual KWL chart
>
> Paper and pencils for students
>
> Long paper to create a mural
>
> Markers, paint, crayons for the mural

**Procedure**:

**Opening - Writing Activity**

1.  [Reflect on the trip to George Washington's Birthplace.]{.underline}
    Ask the children what the term ***hard labor***

> means to them after the visit to the Birthplace. Ask the children:

-   To give examples of what the slaves did during "Master's Time" and
    how this was hard labor.

-   How they would feel if they were slaves?

-   Why they would or would not have wanted to live during this time?

-   What would they change? What would they keep the same? Allow time
    for discussion.

2\. **Writing Teams.** Divide the class into teams. A suggestion for the
teams would be as follows:

-   Slave time

-   Master's time (hard labor)

-   Economic specialization

-   Economic interdependence

> Ask each team to brainstorm as a group about their topic and what they
> learned at George Washington's Birthplace. Give teams time to
> brainstorm, discuss, and write in their own words what they learned.
> Then ask teams to share what they learned with the class.

**Mural**

2.  Ask the students to use what they wrote to create a mural of their
    trip. The mural should "go back in

> time" to show how the slaves lived. Divide the mural into the same
> number of sections as the writing teams. Label the paper at the top
> with the same headings (slave time, master's time (hard labor),
> economic specialization, economic interdependence.) Ask the teams to
> create a picture based on what they wrote. The mural can be displayed
> in the classroom with the writings or in a central location of the
> school to share what they learned on their trip to George Washington's
> Birthplace.

**Closure**

3.  Add information to the class KWL chart and guide students in
    completing their individual charts.

> Answer the student questions and reflect on what has been learned from
> the visit and how it relates to the Virginia Standards of Learning.
> Share the mural with the class or the school.

## **Post-Visit Lesson "E"**

**Subject:** **Interpreting Slave Artifacts and Lifeways**

**Time:** 1 class period

**Objective:** students will be able:

\- To discuss and predict how groups share and borrow from other
cultures, in relation to Africans' forcible immigration to the east
coast of America as slaves.

\- To identify and interpret artifacts and lifeways related to colonial
slavery.

**Purpose:** To help students apply what they have learned on their park
visit, to better understand the influences of African slaves on Virginia
and Maryland culture.

**Materials:**

*Artifacts and Lifeways* worksheets

**Procedure:**

**Opening - Discussion**

#  1. [Discussion]{.underline}: As a class, discuss how the forced immigration of slaves and their lifeways affected the 

# VA and MD colonial culture. Ask students if and how they think the slaves' culture was affected by colonial culture.

**Writing Paragraphs**

2.  [*Artifacts and Lifeways* worksheets]{.underline}: Ask students to
    follow the instructions on the worksheets to write

> paragraphs about slave tools, artifacts and lifeways and their
> cultural influence.

-   You can choose whether to have each child write each of the four
    paragraphs, or only distribute one worksheet / paragraph assignment
    per student. (For example, one row or group could each be assigned
    the plow paragraph, one row or group each assigned the tobacco
    paragraph, and so on). Or students could be given a choice of which
    paragraphs to write.

3.  After students have written their paragraphs, ask for volunteers to
    share their writings by reading their

> paragraph aloud.

**Closure**

4\. [Discuss]{.underline} as a class what students liked best about
their slavery studies and the national park visit.

[Artifacts and Lifeways Worksheet - Hoe]{.underline}

![](media/image19.png){width="2.46875in" height="2.1666666666666665in"}

This is a hoe used to chop weeds, to hill up dirt around crops, and to
cook.

Write a paragraph about this tool.

Include details such as:

-   the main crops hilled up with this tool

-   who used it

-   who supervised the people using this tool

-   how do we use this tool today

```{=html}
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```
-   do you think this tool was originally an African tool or a colonial
    tool? Why?

[Artifacts and Lifeways Worksheet -]{.underline}
![](media/image20.jpeg){width="2.3152777777777778in"
height="2.875in"}[Tobacco]{.underline}

### This is a tobacco plant. See how the dirt is "hilled up" around the plant to keep moisture near the roots. 

### Write a paragraph about tobacco. Include details such as:

-   why the colonists raised tobacco,

-   who worked the tobacco in the fields

-   who sold the tobacco

-   who bought the tobacco

-   how the growing popularity of tobacco affected the number of slaves
    in the colonies

[Artifacts and Lifeways Worksheet -- Slaves' Music]{.underline}

![](media/image21.jpeg){width="3.125in"
height="2.084722222222222in"}This woman is playing African percussion
instruments. She is holding a banjar, and has a djembe drum, shekeres,
rattles, and other percussion on the blanket. Slaves played instruments
like these when they were not on Master's time.

Write a paragraph about slaves' music.

Include details such as:

-   how did music help slaves maintain their African culture

-   why were slaves' instruments made from materials like gourds and
    logs

-   how were African instruments different from the planter family's
    instruments

-   which of our instruments today are similar to the slaves'
    instruments

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   what other types of things do you think slaves did on Slaves' time,
    when they were not on Master's time

[Artifacts and Lifeways Worksheet --]{.underline}

[Slaves' Foodways]{.underline}

![](media/image22.jpeg){width="2.4993055555555554in"
height="3.75in"}This woman is teaching her daughters to cook African
foods, such as black-eyed peas, yams and okra. Slaves were given a
ration of foods to cook for themselves. They were often allowed to grow
vegetables and herbs for their own use as well. Slaves' foods often were
a mixture of extras or leftovers, such as extra animal parts, food
scraps, and leftover spices. Some slaves also had to cook meals of
usually fancier foods for the planter's family.

Write a paragraph about slaves' foodways.

Include details such as:

-   describe your favorite ethnic foods -- where do you think they come
    from

-   how were slaves' foods different from the planter family's foods

-   how did foods help slaves maintain their African culture

-   besides foods, what other ways did slaves keep their African culture

-   which of our foods today are similar to the slaves' foods