Courses/Lectures
Each of the 34 courses available can be enrolled in individually, or in packages. Each course is an approximately 1-hour session that consists of the opportunity for the students to interact with the associated artifacts, and a discussion exercise tailored for your specific class in accordance with your teacher's curriculum/recommendations. If the Course List below doesn’t fit your needs, we can work together to develop the presentation you desire – from control of the discussion topics to selection of items to be presented.
(Ex)Slaves and the Civil War
This course examines the financial and legal side of slavery, as a way of understanding the dehumanizing of the slave. Reviewing these artifacts, students will gain a better understanding of the devastating effects these business decisions could have on slaves and their families – as well as the financial impact slave ownership had for the slave master.
Artifacts: Slave Want Ads, Property Tax Receipts, slave schedules, will transferring ownership of slaves, slave bill of sale, other relevant documents.
The Massacre at Fort Pillow - When black troops, many of them former slaves, joined the Union, they did so knowing the possible reception they would receive from the soliders of the Confederacy. The true extent of their lust for superiority was on display at what became known as the Massacre at Fort Pillow. After a Union defeat, more than 300 African-American troops were slaughtered after Union forces surrendered to Confederate troops. Rather than accept them as prisoners of war - the standard practice during the war - Confderate soldiers slaughtered unarmed Black troops mercilessly. Instead of deterring Black troops, the incident ignited an even stronger spirit of resistance - with Black troops shouting "Remember Fort Pillow" when going into battle. Here, we have an engraving of the Fort Pillow Massacre on April 12, 1864. Afterwards, an official report of the incident was created, a copy of which is in this collection.
$100 Confederate Currency, December 1862 - To say that slavery formed the economic backbone of the South would be a gross understatement. This is reflected in the currency shown above. For the South, the $100.00 bill is emblazoned with working slaves in its center - reflecting the fact that money made in the South was in many cases off the backs of slaves.