A panel of scholars responds to the second part of the PBS miniseries Slavery and the Making of America, which focuses on the Northeast, and includes the story of Mum Bett, who sued for her freedom in Massachusetts and whose victory led to the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1783.
Three scholars present papers on the history of slavery and the African slave trade in New England. The papers are "The Removal of 'Cannibal Negroes' from New England to Providence Island," "A Colonial Tale of Slavery, Freedom, Contract, and Harvest," and "Unruly Slaves, Uneasy Masters, and Unmerited Favor: Wielding Discipline, Wrestling with Conscience, and the Construction of Race in Puritan New England."
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Three scholars present papers on the history of Native American and African slavery and the slave trade in New England. The papers are "Another Face of Slavery: Indentured Servitude of Native Americans in Southern New England," "Freedom and Conflicts over Class, Gender, and Identity: The Evolving Relationship between Indians and Blacks in Southern New England, 17501870," and "Enslavement and Indians in Southern New England: Unraveling a Hidden History."
Historian Anthony Sammarcora follows the history of molasses in the 18th-century United States, looking at its importance to the world economy, its connection with the slave trade, and the Boston molasses flood.
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From the Gilder Lehrman Institute:
Historian Philip D. Morgan explores the core experiences of slavery itself, including life on the African coast and on sugar plantations in the new world. He discusses the wide range of experiences that an enslaved person might experience in different countries during the height of the transatlantic slave trade.
Created as a companion to the PBS series of the same name, this well-produced site traces the history of Africans in America through Reconstruction in four chronological parts. The site provides 245 documents, images, and maps linked to a narrative essay.
"The Terrible Transformation" (14501750) deals with the beginning of the slave trade and slavery's growth. "Revolution" (17501805) discusses the justifications for slavery in the new nation. "Brotherly Love" (17911831) traces the development of the abolition movement. "Judgment Day" (18311865) describes debates over slavery, strengthening of sectionalism, and the Civil War. In addition to the documents, images, maps, and essay (approximately 1,500 words per section), the site presents 153 brief (150-word) descriptions by historians of specific aspects on the history of slavery, abolition, and war in America. The site provides a valuable introduction to the study of African-American history through the Civil War.
Emily James, a Jamaican interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, talks about the roles she has played over the years, discussing the slave trade and the movement of slaves between the British West Indies and the North American colonies.
Bill White, Executive Producer and Director of Educational Program Development at Colonial Williamsburg, discusses the range of the slave trade and its importance to the colonial and global economy, as well as Colonial Wiliamsburg's efforts to educate on the slave trade and slavery in general.
Colonial Williamsburg actor-interpreter James Ingram details the life of Matthew Ashby, a free black man who purchased his wife and two children in order to set them free.
Migration, both forced and voluntary, remains a prominent theme in African American history. This website is built around the history of 13 African American migration experiences: the transatlantic slave trade (1450s1867), runaway journeys (1630s1865), the domestic slave trade (1760s1865), colonization and emigration (17831910s), Haitian Immigration (17911809), Western migration (1840s1970), and Northern migration (1840s1890).
Twentieth-century migrations include the Great Migration (19161930), the Second Great Migration (19401970), Caribbean immigration (1900present), the return South migration (1970present), Haitian immigration in the 20th century (1970present), and African immigration (1970present). More than 16,500 pages of texts, 8,300 illustrations, and 67 maps are included. An interactive timeline places migration in the context of U.S. history and the history of the African Diaspora.