Readings for Students
The readings here are primary sources that can be used in the unit, either as part of a student’s original research or included in the shared class readings.
“1779 Petition for Freedom from enslaved people in Fairfield, Connecticut” – Original Document and a transcription of the text are included. https://teachitct.org/lessons/a- petition-for-freedom-in-1779. This is an excellent supplemental source taken from the time of the American Revolution.
Banneker, Benjamin. “To Thomas Jefferson from Benjamin Banneker, 19 August 1791,” Founders Online, National Archives, [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 22, 6 August 1791 – 31 December 1791, ed. Charles T. Cullen. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986, pp. 49–54.] This reading should be used in the first or second week and demonstrates Banneker’s dissatisfaction with the hypocrisy of the Declaration towards the matter of slavery.
Bingham, Caleb, ed. The Columbian Orator. Thirded. Boston, MA: Manning and Loring, 1800. https://digital.library.pitt.edu/islandora/object/pitt%3A00acf6728m/viewer#page/245/mo https://www.archives.gov/education/research/primary-sourcesde/1up This is the collection of speeches that Frederick Douglass read as he was learning to read and was part of his intellectual pathway to freedom.
Douglass, Frederick. The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass. Edited by Philip S. Foner. New York: International Publishers Co, 1950. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2927t.html This online resource of Frederick includes Douglass’s “What to the Slave is Fourth of July?” a seminal text on the memory of the Revolution and the Declaration of Independence and its relevance to abolitionism.
Douglass, Frederick. My Bondage and My Freedom. New York: Miller, Orton, and Mulligan, 1855. https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/douglass55/douglass55.html Douglass has several versions of his autobiography, but I selected this one because it has the most extensive descriptions of his encounters with the Columbian Orator. Otherwise, the story of his learning to read is largely the same.
Douglass, Frederick. A Friendly Word to Maryland: a Lecture. Baltimore: John W. Woods, 1864. https://www.mdhistory.org/resources/a-friendly-word-to-maryland-a-lecture-delivered- by-frederick-douglass-esquire-in-bethel-church-on-the-17th-of-november-1864/ This speech gives students and readers insight into abolitionist views during the Civil War. We can see an evolution of Douglass’s views on the Declaration.
Easton, Hosea. A treatise on the intellectual character and civil and political condition of the Colored People of the U. states and the prejudice exercised towards them. Boston: Isaac Knapp, 1837. Easton ably defends against racial injustice in this text and argues for the political equality of Black people in America.
Grimke, Charlotte Forten. The journals of Charlotte Forten Grimké. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988 Charlotte Grimke’s journal can offer students extensive insight into her reactions to the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act in Massachusetts.
Grimke, Sarah. Letters on the Equality of the Sexes. Boston: Isaac Knapp, 1838. Grimke’s political writing demonstrates the intersection of the movement for women’s rights and abolitionism.
Haynes, Lemuel. Black preacher to white America: The collected writings of Lemuel Haynes, 1774-1833. Edited by Richard Newman. Brooklyn, N.Y: Carlson Pub, 1990. Haynes’s writings examine the Declaration of Independence’s language of equality during the time of the Revolution. It is especially valuable given his service in both the ministry and the Continental Army.
Jefferson, Thomas. Writings: Autobiography, a summary view of the rights of British America, notes on the State of Virginia, public papers, addresses, messages, and replies, miscellany, letters. New York, NY: Literary Classics of the United States, 1984. Jefferson’s writings include his omitted section on slavery in the Declaration, as well as the debates and his reflections on its eventual exclusions.
King Jr., Martin Luther. “Dr. Martin Luther King on the Emancipation Proclamation.” National Parks Service, April 2015. https://www.nps.gov/anti/learn/historyculture/mlk-ep.htm. Dr. King’s speech is an excellent insight into his beliefs on the foundational documents of the country.
King Jr., Martin Muther "I Have a Dream." Speech, Washington, DC, August 28, 1963. American Rhetoric, http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm. Dr. King’s most famous speech, which includes substantial rhetorical usage of the Declaration of Independence.
Locke, John. Two Treatises on Civil Government: Preceded by Sir Robert Filmer. United Kingdom: George Routledge and Sons, 1884. John Locke was highly influential on the ideas found in the Declaration of Independence. The text can be dense, so using selections is recommended.
“Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation, 1775,” Document Bank of Virginia, accessed August 14, 2024, https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/dbva/items/show/268. Dunmore’s proclamation offered freedom to enslaved people who abandoned their rebellious enslavers and in exchange for fighting for the British.
Rakove, Jack N. The annotated U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap, 2012. Rakove’s annotations allow students further and deeper insights into the text and language of the Declaration of Independence.
Smith, Tracy K. "Declaration." Poetry Foundation. Accessed March 24, 2020. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53210/on-the-grasshopper-and-cricket. Smith’s erasure poem deletes sections of the Declaration to create an entirely new meaning and commentary relevant to the modern political situation in America.
Truth, Sojourner. “Women’s Rights Convention,” Anti-slavery bugle. (New-Lisbon, Ohio), 21 June 1851. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83035487/1851-06-21/ed-1/seq-4/ Truth’s speech has two major versions, with this one being considered the more accurate of the two. The speech, in its second more famous form, is popularly known as “Ain’t I a Woman?” Sadly, a complete transcript does not exist.
Vox Africanorum, Letter to the Maryland Gazette, May 15, 1783 - http://storage.gilderlehrman.org/dec250/Vox%20Africanorum,%20Letter%20to%20the% 20MARYLAND%20GAZETTE%20(May%2015,%201783).pdf – A Revolutionary Era Document detailing the apparent contradictions in slavery and the Patriot’s fight for independence from an anonymous letter to the Maryland Gazette.
Whipple, Prince, et al. 1779 Petition to the New Hampshire Government for the Abolition of Slavery by Prince Whipple & 18 Other "Natives of Africa" National Parks Service,. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/inde-1779-petition-new-hampshire-prince- whipple.htm – Whipple and a group of other enslaved people petitioned for their freedom using the language of liberty and equality as found in the Declaration.
X, Malcolm. By Any Means Necessary: Speeches, Interviews, and a Letter by Malcolm X. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1970. These speeches show Malcolm X.’s evolution as a thinker and an activist, from his opinions on revolution to the return to Africa.
X., Malcom The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: Ballantine Books, 1965. This reading includes a substantial and critical account of the importance of literacy for Malcom X’s development as an activist.
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