African Americans in the American

Revolution

Kevin Bartell, Brian Papenheim, Bill Turgeon

Brief Description of Topic-and-

Why We Chose It

• A brief overview of two African Americans and their contributions to the cause of American independence.

• We chose this topic because it is an “outside the box” topic that, due to pacing, is often overlooked and/or gone over very quickly.

Phyllis WheatleyTo the King’s Most Excellent Majesty

YOUR subjects hope, dread Sire--The crown upon your brows may flourish

long,And that your arm may in your God be

strong!O may your sceptre num'rous nations

sway,And all with love and readiness obey!

But how shall we the British king reward!Rule thou in peace, our father, and our

lord!Midst the remembrance of thy favours

past,The meanest peasants most admire the

lastMay George, beloved by all the nations

round,Live with heav'ns choicest constant

blessings crown'd!Great God, direct, and guard him from on

high,And from his head let ev'ry evil fly!

And may each clime with equal gladness see

A monarch's smile can set his subjects free!

Library of Congresswww.poemhunter.com

1. What important details do you see in the picture on the left? (Close Reading)

2. What is the point of view of the poem on the right? (Sourcing)

3. What was going on when these sources were created? (Contextualizing)

Crispus Attucks

ushistory.org

1. What event is taking place in the picture on the right? Who is the person in the picture on the left? (Contextualizing)

2. When do you think the picture on the right was created? (Sourcing)

3. What is different about the picture on the right from other pictures of this event? What is the overall message of the picture? (Close Reading)

Corroborating

1. What do these two people have in common?

2. What contributions did these people make to the cause of American independence?

3. What can you know about these people, given these sources?

Assessment (Exit Ticket)

• Without these sources, would these two African Americans have been remembered by future generations in history?

• How did source #1 (Phyllis Wheatley) affect the buildup to the American Revolution?

• How did source #2 (Crispus Attucks) affect the perception of the Boston Massacre?