Introduction 

    As a seventh grade class, you are about to embark on a course of study in American History that has been the subject of much controversy and concern for many years. It is a very sensitive subject and one that requires a sensitive approach. As students you should be open to the fact that history is not just a study of the past, but about people  who lived in the present--their present day. A true student of history should keep an open mind and an open heart. We should look at the facts in light of the day and times in which they occurred.

    Slavery is defined as a social institution based on ownership, dominance, and exploitation of one human being by another. Slavery has been with us since the dawn of man. It was an accepted way of life in Greek and Roman history. For many people it became a way of life, a justifiable economic necessity. Yet human rights dictate that every person has the natural right to be a complete person--an individual. It becomes necessary, therefore, to look at the morality of slavery, specifically the enslavement of Black Africans in American History, and to understand how this issue became an integral part of American life.

    Goals:  

• Students will understand the role slavery played in causing divisions within the United States.
• Students will understand the meaning and morality of the slavery issue in American History up to 1860.
• Students will understand the economic benefits of slavery to the Southern plantation owner.
• Students will develop a better understanding of the political, social and economic factors that caused the Civil War.
• Students will develop an understanding of the role music played in providing an outlet for the slaves’ feelings and how folk music reflects what is going on in society.
• Students will understand that slavery denies social and human justice.