Guiding Questions:

• How did African Americans participate in the Revolutionary War?
• How did their actions reflect a desire to enjoy their natural rights?

Objectives:

• Students will be able to connect actions taken by African Americans during the Revolutionary War to an understanding of natural rights of equality and justice.
• Students will summarize the main ideas of historic texts.
• Students will create an argument supported by evidence from primary sources.

Student Resources:

• Glossary
• Background Essay
• Background Slides (PPTX download)
• Primary Sources:
  • Student Graphic Organizer 
  • Suggested required documents:
    • The Boston Massacre engraving by Paul Revere, 1770
    • The Phillipsburg Proclamation, 1779
    • “Soldiers at the siege of Yorktown,” by Jean-Baptiste-Antoine DeVerger, 1781
    • James Armistead’s Petition to the Virginia General Assembly, November 30, 1786
  • Suggested additional documents:
    • Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation, 1775
    • “An act directing the emancipation of certain slaves who have served as soldiers in this state, and for the emancipation of the slave Aberdeen,” Virginia General Assembly, October 20, 1783
    • George Washington’s Last Will and Testament, July 9, 1799
• Assess and Reflect: Paths to Freedom: African Americans and the Revolutionary War

Teacher Resources:

• Answer Key

Facilitation Notes:

• Glossary terms for this lesson are provided on a separate handout. The terms are also defined on each source prior to the historical context or introduction for each source.
• Some components of this lesson contain terminology that is no longer used because the terms are recognized to be offensive or derogatory. These terms have been retained in their original usage in order to present them accurately in their historical context for student learning, including understanding why these are not acceptable today.