Format
1. Discuss the historical context of slavery during the life of George Washington.
2. Introduce six, real life enslaved people and discuss the true events of their lives.
3. View a wide variety of images that support the topic.
4. Discuss the complexity of ownership at Mount Vernon to understand that George Washington owned some of the 317 enslaved people (freed through his will) and Martha Washington owned some of the enslaved (who could not be freed).
5. Discuss the archeological dig and see images of the current project taking place at Mount Vernon to locate unmarked graves in the Slave Cemetery.
Objectives
1. The participant will have a better understanding of what life was like for enslaved people in the 18th century.
2. The participant will connect emotionally with the true-life events of six specific enslaved people.
3. The participant will achieve a better understanding surrounding the complexity of history.
4. The participant will learn how and why Mount Vernon is conducting an archaeological survey of the cemetery where many enslaved were buried in unmarked graves.
Standards Alignment
National Standards
Civics/ What Is Government?; Values and Principles of Democracy; Other Nations and World Affairs;Economics/ Gain from Trade; Cost of Government; U.S. History/The History of the United States: Democratic Principles and Values and the People from Many Cultures Who Contributed to Its Cultural, Economic, and Political Heritage;U.S. History/The History of Peoples of Many Cultures Around the World; U.S. History 5-12/ Era 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820); World History/ Expanding Zones of Exchange and Encounter;Global Expansion and Encounter, 1450-1770