Frederick Douglass Archives

The Fugitive's Song | Zinn Education Project

Frederick Douglass Fights for Freedom

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 7 pages.
A lesson to introduce students to the numerous and varied ways African Americans resisted their enslavement, using the autobiographical Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

Who Freed the Slaves (Material) | Zinn Education Project

Timeline on the Civil War and Abolition

Student Handout. By Bill Bigelow. 3 pages.
This timeline can be used as a resource for lessons on the Civil War, President Lincoln, the 54th Regiment, and the end of slavery.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

Growing Up in Slavery: Stories of Young Slaves as Told by Themselves

Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Yuval Taylor. 2005. 230 pages.
Ten individuals tell stories of their childhood and teenage years in slavery.

Mural by Blake Chamberlain on an interior wall of the Women's Rights National Historical Park Visitor Center depicting influential people of the women's suffrage movement.

Seneca Falls, 1848: Women Organize for Equality

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 17 pages.
A role play allows students to examine issues of race and class when exploring both the accomplishments and limitations of the Seneca Falls Convention.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

A depiction of two panels from The Great Wall of Los Angeles, a mural by Judy Baca. These panels show depictions from the Mexican-American War.

U.S. Mexico War: “We Take Nothing by Conquest, Thank God”

Teaching Activity. Lesson by Bill Bigelow and student reading by Howard Zinn. Rethinking Schools. 21 pages.
Interactive activity introduces students to the history and often untold story of the U.S.-Mexico War. Roles available in Spanish.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Written by Himself: A New Critical Edition by Angela Y. Davis

Book — Non-fiction. By Frederick Douglass and essays by Angela Davis. 2009. 254 pages.
The classic biography of Frederick Douglass with an introduction and critical analysis by Angela Davis.

Frederick Douglass | Zinn Education Project

Frederick Douglass: “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro”

Film clip. Voices of a People's History.
Frederick Douglass' speech "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" (1852) is read by Danny Glover.

The North Star (News Clipping) | Zinn Education Project

Jan. 21, 1848: North Star Publishes Editorial on War with Mexico

The North Star published an editorial against the U.S. war with Mexico. Listen to an excerpt read by Benjamin Bratt.

collage of six Black abolitionists in the United States.

‘If There Is No Struggle…’: Teaching a People’s History of the Abolition Movement

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools. 16 pages.
In this lesson, students explore many of the real challenges faced by abolitionists with a focus on the American Anti-Slavery Society.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

Oct. 22, 1883: Frederick Douglass Denounces Supreme Court Ruling

In this speech, Frederick Douglass denounced the Civil Rights Cases of 1883, in which the Supreme Court held that the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments did not empower Congress to outlaw racial discrimination by private individuals.