Submitted by: Submitted by ibarra60
Views: 868
Words: 5164
Pages: 21
Category: US History
Date Submitted: 03/29/2011 11:47 AM
A Study Guide for Stephen B. Oates'
The Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion
Ron Briley
Sandia Preparatory School
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|THE SUBJECT OF SLAVERY is a difficult one for many teachers of American history, who, seeking to avoid controversy and |1 |
|contemporary racial antagonism, sometimes give less than satisfactory attention to this central chapter of the American | |
|past. Slavery may be shortchanged in favor of Civil War battlefield heroics as teachers attempt to avoid the phone call from| |
|a parent who is concerned that dredging up this dark chapter of American history will exacerbate racial conflict among | |
|students and provide them with a negative image of the United States. Some white teachers and students suggest that studying| |
|slavery only stirs up resentment by black students and guilt by young whites who have nothing to do with slavery. However, | |
|this very argument demonstrates why the institution of slavery must be at the core of the history curriculum, for the shadow| |
|which slavery continues to cast upon American society and race relations raises serious questions about the American dream | |
|which young people must address as they become active participants in a democratic society. The aftermath of Hurricane | |
|Katrina in New Orleans underscores this point only too well. | |
| If we accept the study of slavery as a given, then what should be covered in this curriculum? Certainly, the role |2 |
|played by slavery in the political debates leading to the Civil War deserves attention, but the institution of slavery and | |
|the issues of racial control accompanying American slavery must remain the focus of the curriculum. Consequetly, American | |
|history courses in the schools must address topics such as the introduction of slavery into the Americas and Colonial |...