Footsteps articles from May 2002

Footsteps archives from May 2002

`In the service of several planters': Virginia's early Africans.
May 1, 2002... England established its first permanent colony in the New World in Virginia in 1607. Twelve years later, in August 1619, a Dutch ship arrived in Virginia, at Point Comfort (present-day Hampton), carrying "20. and odd Negroes." This is the...

A practice begins.
May 1, 2002... The first European colonists to settle in North America did not intend to become slave owners. They did, however, intend to become successful farmers, craftpersons, and businessmen. Very soon after their arrival they discovered that in...

Studying African history.
May 1, 2002... Using Primary Sources Historians use primary sources to help them learn about the past. Examples of primary sources include: Documents: Firsthand accounts (such as letters, diaries, newspaper articles, business and government records,...

Laws promote the practice.(slavery in the United States)
May 1, 2002... The laws governing slavery that were passed by the Colonies provide a window on the fears, troubles, and challenges of the early American experience. In order to hold men, women, and children in bondage for their entire lives, colonists...

Slaves at work.
May 1, 2002... Today, when Americans think about slavery, they usually envision enslaved African Americans toiling in the fields from sunup to sundown--boeing, plowing, planting, weeding, and harvesting crops. For the majority of slaves during the...

A `working' puzzle.(word game)
May 1, 2002... In Colonial America, many slaves worked as field laborers on plantations. But there were also many slaves who worked at skilled trades and were considered craftsmen. They worked as gardeners, weavers, carpenters, spinners, blacksmiths, cooks,...

Freedom beckons.(slavery in the United States)
May 1, 2002... Most Africans and their descendants in Colonial America were slaves their entire lives, but slaves sometimes won their freedom. Here are the stories of four who did: YARROW MAMOUT Yarrow Mamout, a Muslim, was born in Africa in the...

Slave quarters in Virginia.
May 1, 2002... When the first slaves landed at Jamestown in the Virginia colony, they did not live in separate quarters or houses built especially for them. Instead, the few hundred slaves who lived in the Virginia colony usually resided in the same...

A mystery `root.(class learning activities)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Fill in the blanks. Then unscramble the letters in the circles to discover the mystery "root." (Hint: It is the name of a root vegetable.) Answers are below. 1. Most slave quarters were of -- () -. 2. Even when buildings are no longer...

`Black and white' in Colonial Virginia.
May 1, 2002... The year is 1775, and every other person on the streets of Williamsburg, Virginia, is an enslaved or free black resident. How did African Americans and whites interact in Colonial Virginia? Documents and archaeological finds have provided...

Richard Allen.
May 1, 2002... Richard Allen's life is representative of the challenges faced by many African Americans living during Colonial times and the early years of the American republic. Born in Philadelphia on February 14, 1760, to an African father and mulatto...

From obscurity to fame.
May 1, 2002... There were many slaves in Colonial America who not only won their freedom, but also gained fame as well. Among them were: BANNAKA In the 1690s, a Maryland tobacco farmer named Molly Welsh bought two slaves from a ship in the Chesapeake...

New York City's African Burial Ground.
May 1, 2002... When it comes to studying the lives of Colonial America's enslaved people, their burial sites can become classrooms, answering questions found in few other places. In many instances, native Africans lived near European immigrants during...

Slave graveyard at Monticello.
May 1, 2002... Ten years after the African Burial Ground was discovered in New York, a much smaller burial ground from the Colonial and Early Republic period was found at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's museum home in Charlottesville, Virginia. It had long...

A bit of a scramble.
May 1, 2002... Read the stories on pages 36-38 to help you unscramble the words below. Then match each numbered letter with its numbered blank space in the phrase at the end of the puzzle. Answers below. 1. Howard University students uncovered 400 of...

A forgotten story: comes to light.
May 1, 2002... Open a United States history book and rarely is there much mention of the living quarters and beliefs of enslaved people in the North. The first on-site evidence of enslaved persons in a house setting in New York City was uncovered at the...

Keeping the memory alive. (Reflections and Memories).
May 1, 2002... In 1943, a private in the United States Army was on maneuvers in Louisiana at a place called Cane River Lake. He was so impressed by the people he met there that he wanted to learn more about them. But when asked who they were, these people who...

Your pages.
May 1, 2002... Still a Slave As I plant onions in America I dream of Liberia and its freedom. There is a lot to eat and plenty of homes. Someday I will go and be free forever. Winter Ann Desmarais Vernon, Connecticut...

Books. (More About).
May 1, 2002... A Kid's Guide to African American History by Nancy I. Saunder (Chicago Review Press, 2000) includes more than 70 constructive and informational activities, divided into chapters: The Glories of Africa, Colonial America, Life on a Plantation,...

On the net. (More About).
May 1, 2002... For a time line of early slavery in America, and a good starting point on the subject, try: http://home.earthlink.net/~gfeldmeth/slave.html For information of the origins of slavery and the immigration of slaves and other Africans to...