Teaching a People's History of Abolition and the Civil War

Zinn Education Project - Teaching People's History

NEW BOOK FROM RETHINKING SCHOOLS

Teaching a People's History
of Abolition and the Civil War

Edited by Adam Sanchez

Teaching a People's History of Abolition and the Civil War is a collection of 10 classroom-tested lessons on one of the most transformative periods in U.S. history. These lessons encourage students to take a critical look at the popular narrative that centers Abraham Lincoln as the Great Emancipator and ignores the resistance of abolitionists and enslaved people.

The collection aims to help students understand how ordinary citizens ---- with ideas that seem radical and idealistic ---- can challenge unjust laws, take action together, pressure politicians to act, and fundamentally change society.

Testimonials

"A valuable blueprint for teaching the history of abolitionism and the end of slavery. . . . Coming at a moment of activism by modern descendants of the struggle for freedom, the book could not be more timely."

---- Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor Emeritus of History,
Columbia University

"By debunking the false history of lone great men and restoring the role of diverse coalitions of ordinary people working together to make extraordinary change, these lessons provide a factual basis for hope and inspiration amid oppressive circumstances."

---- Chenjerai Kumanyika, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media Studies, Rutgers University

TEACHING ACTIVITY

'If There Is No Struggle...': Teaching a People's History of the Abolition Movement

By Bill Bigelow

In this role play, students become members of the American Anti-Slavery Society, facing many of the real challenges to ending slavery.

PROFILES

Black Abolitionists

Brief biographies of 25 Black abolitionists.

Reconstruction Teach-In

Washington, D.C.

Join the Howard University School of Education, D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice (a project of Teaching for Change), and the Zinn Education Project on Saturday, April 13 for a teach-in on Reconstruction as part of the Teach Reconstruction campaign.

COORDINATED BY:

PO BOX 73038, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20056

202-588-7205 | zinnedproject.org

STAY CONNECTED: