Discussion Questions for use with Video Series

Part One: Slavery

#1: From the beginnings of the American republic, there was an inherent contradiction between the ideal of freedom for its citizens and the system of slavery for its economic development. What laws and belief systems were developed to manage this contradiction? In what ways did it inform events leading up to the Civil War?

#2: Slavery required a structure that insured that enslaved people would actually work. What were some of these systems and how did they evolve between the early 1600's and the mid-1800's? What were the different forms of resistance to slavery that arose?

#3: The dismantling of slavery was a long and difficult process. What were some
of the different strategies for emancipation proposed at various times before the Civil War? How did slaves and free blacks contribute to this debate over ending slavery? Did slaves and free blacks embrace different ideas than those advanced by white abolitionists?

Part Two: Segregation and the Meaning of Freedom

#1: There is a sense that the Civil War created an opportunity to reform the South, to make it a place in which black and white people both enjoyed full participation in American life. In what ways did the federal government's Reconstruction policy fail to meet this promise of full participation? How did the political context of the 1860s and 1870s frustrate efforts to achieve black equality?

#2: At the end of the 19th century African Americans sought to improve their economic conditions by building institutions within the black community. What organizations did African Americans create in this drive for greater economic self-sufficiency? How did these institutions interact with the emerging system of industrial manufacturing?

#3: In 1914, at the start of World War I, slightly more than 90 percent of African Americans worked in agriculture. How did blacks respond to the increasing mechanization of agriculture after 1914? What role did African-Americans economic institutions play in this response?

Part Three: The Struggle for Equality

#1: What role will the institutions of the black community play in shaping the agenda of the black community in the future?

#2: How will this agenda fit in to a rapidly changing society in the economic front, on the educational front, on the social front, on the political front?

#3: Are these institutions able to lead the black community into the 21st century, or do they need modification? Do we need new institutions? Do we need to change and if so, how?