Discover the Mary Ann Shadd Cary House: A Lightning Lesson from Teaching with Historic Places

Photo of Cary and the house she lived in (located in Washington, D.C.).

Before the 13th Amendment, laws like the Fugitive Slave Act and court rulings like the Dred Scott Decision affected all people of color in the United States. Many moved North, some as far as Canada, to escape racist laws. Publisher, activist, teacher, and lawyer Mary Ann Shadd Cary was born free in a slave state. She was exceptional, but her migrations between the U.S. and Canada were typical. They are evidence of where African Americans moved in North America during the 19th Century and her surviving D.C. home is evidence of where and how a woman of her status lived. Click here for the full lesson plan.

Essential Question

Were free African Americans, living in the US before the Civil War, truly “free”?

Objective

1. Explain connections between African American migration patterns in the 1800s and events including the Fugitive Slave Act, Dredd Scott decision, and Reconstruction;
2. Describe Mary Ann Shadd Cary’s accomplishments and the cultural barriers she broke;
3. Write a persuasive speech, Reproduce 19th c. domestic technology in art project OR Propose a solution to a local history challenge.

Full Lesson Plan