Lesson Plan #: CC-0056
Lesson 2: The Promise of the Declaration of Independence



Objectives: The student will be able to:

1. understand that at the time of the writing of the Declaration of Independence the promise of "unalienable rights" did not apply to African Americans.

2. understand that enslavement of African Americans existed at the end of the Revolutionary War.

3. understand that many free African Americans fought for the colonies in the American Revolution.

Description of lesson/activities:

1. There are several sources of information about African Americans in the American Revolution. Black Heroes of the American Revolution , by Burke Davis could be read to students or may be read by them. This gives accounts of many different African Americans.

2. Students should discuss how "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" did not apply to all Americans at the time of the Revolution. Either in groups or individually, students could suggest how the Declaration of Independence might be worded to in clude all Americans.

Resource for Lesson 2:

Davis, Burke. Black Heroes of the American Revolution . (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976).