Laurie Hartwick

1
Olaudah EquianoAbolitionist Leader

• Laurie Hartwick
• Teaching American History
• July 2009

2
Olaudah Equianoteacher notes

• This presentation invites low English Proficiency
  (LEP) adolescent newcomers (newly arrived
  immigrants) to consider what the qualities of a
  leader are through reading excerpts about and by
  Olaudah Equiano and answering questions about the
  dilemmas and opportunities he encountered
• Students are enrolled in sheltered U.S.
  History I classes which deliver foundation
  content following the Massachusetts Curriculum
  Frameworks while developing English language
  skills in order to eventually enroll in
  mainstream history content classes with some
  basic knowledge of content
• Students have a 0-2 level of English thus, they
  have a limited vocabulary and limited reading
  comprehension in English and all Tier 2 3
  vocabulary must be explicitly taught
• In addition to limited English skills, students
  generally have minimal knowledge of U.S. History
  and limited awareness (if any) of a U.S.
  historical perspective on world events and
  history therefore, students will need prior
  instruction to build background knowledge on the
  Slave Trade and the Abolitionist movements in the
  United States and in Great Britain
• All quotes should be reduced to plain English as
  full class activities
• The presentation is interactive in that students
  take notes and respond to questions in a notebook
  which will be collected as part of their
  assessment developing note-taking skills is an
  integral component to their sheltered history
  class
• The presentation can be used full class or
  students may work through it individually or
  combinations of both

3
What are the qualities of a leader?

• If your actions inspire others to dream more,
  learn more, do more and become more, you are a
  leader.
• -John Quincy Adams
• True leadership must be for the benefit of the
  followers, not the enrichment of the leaders.
• -Robert Townsend
• Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you
  want to test a man's character, give him
  power. - Abraham Lincoln
• The final test of a leader is that he leaves
  behind him in other men the conviction and will
  to carry on. - Walter J. Lippmann
• In matters of style, swim with the current In
  matters of principle, stand like a rock. -
  Thomas Jefferson
• Not everything that is faced can be changed. But
  nothing can be changed until it is faced. -
  James Baldwin
• What do these quotations tell us about leaders?

• These are three famous leaders in U.S. history
  that you probably know
• George Washington
• Abraham Lincoln
• Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Why were they leaders? What do you know about
  them?

4
A young child in Africa

• Olaudah Equiano was born in West Africa in 1745.
• He was kidnapped by another tribe in 1755. He was
  11 years old.
• Olaudah was next sold to white slave traders who
  put him on a ship for the Americas. This was the
  first time he saw the ocean.
• The slave ship crossed the Atlantic Ocean and
  arrived in Barbados in the West Indies in 1756.
• Equiano did not speak English. He did not know
  how to read or write.
• He did not know where he was going or what was
  happening to him.
• Imagine you are Olaudah. Write down what you see
  and talk about your fears

5
The Middle Passage

• The first object I saw when I arrived on the
  coast of West Africa, was the sea, and a slave
  shipwaiting for its cargo. These filled me with
  astonishment, soon terror I wished for the
  last friend, death, to relieve meI would have
  jumped over the side, but I could notthe shrieks
  of the women, and the groans of the dying, made
  the whole a scene of horror almost
  inconceivable. (chapter 2)
• Dilemma Olaudah saw other slaves throw
  themselves overboard to escape the horrors aboard
  the slave ship. The Middle Passage was so
  horrible, Olaudah wanted to kill himself
  sometimes. Olaudah decided not to try to throw
  himself overboard.
• Why do you think he made the choice to survive
  slavery at this point? What were his options?

6
Travels as a slave

• The slave ship arrived in Barbados. Olaudah had
  survived the Middle Passage.
• No one bought Olaudah in Barbados. He went on
  another ship to an English Colony in Virginia.
• A British Navy officer, Michael Henry Pascal,
  bought Olaudah and was his master for 7 years. He
  brought him to England.
• When in England, Olaudah learned to read and
  write. Olaudah also learned to speak English.
• Later, Olaudah traveled all around the world with
  Lt. Pascal.
• Lt. Pascal promised to give Olaudah his freedom,
  but he never did. In 1763, Lt. Pascal sold
  Olaudah to a new master, Mr. King.
• Olaudah made himself very useful to Mr. King and
  learned more about commerce and trade.

7
Dilemmas and opportunities

• By chance, Olaudah was bought by a man who
  allowed him to learn to read and write. What kind
  of opportunity was this for Olaudah? If he could
  learn to read and write in English, what other
  opportunities might he find?
• By chance, Olaudahs owner traveled the world.
  This was an opportunity for Olaudah to learn
  about what?
• Lt. Pascal had promised to give Olaudah his
  freedom but didnt. Olaudah wanted to be free.
  What are some possible things he could do in this
  dilemma?
• Mr. King was a businessman. This was an
  opportunity for Olaudah to do what?
• Olaudah had many opportunities to try to escape.
  One of his dilemmas was to escape or not. Why do
  you think he chose not to escape from either Lt.
  Pascal or Mr. King?

8
How did events from 1756-1763 influence Olaudah?
Did these events help to form him as a leader?
Explain your answers.

• Important Events
• He learned to read and write and speak in English
• He traveled the world and saw many different
  people and places
• He was promised freedom, but was not given it
• He learned about trade and commerce
• What did Olaudah gain from his situation as a
  slave with Lt. Pascal?
• How might this have helped him eventually to
  become an abolitionist leader?
• What did he gain from his situation as a slave
  with Mr. King?
• How might this have helped him eventually to
  become an abolitionist leader?
• How do you think the unfulfilled promise of
  freedom motivated Olaudah?

9
Freedom

• In 1766, Olaudah bought his freedom and worked in
  the trade business
• He lived in England and became an abolitionist
• He lectured against the cruelty of British slave
  owners
• He spoke out against the English slave trade
• He worked to resettle freed slaves in Sierre
  Leone
• Olaudah published a narrative about his life in
  1789
• His narrative was a great influence on the
  abolition of slavery in England and in the United
  States
• Olaudah Equiano died in 1797
• In 1807, Great Britain abolished slavery

10
Dilemmas and opportunities

• When Olaudah bought his freedom from Mr. King, he
  faced the dilemma of where to go so that he could
  live his life as a freed man. Why do you think he
  went to England instead of staying in the West
  Indies or the United States?
• Olaudah had many abolitionist friends who
  supported his abolitionist work in England. Why
  do you think he took the opportunity to write a
  narrative about his life?
• Olaudah worked to help freed slaves move back to
  Sierra Leone in Africa. He faced the dilemma of
  not moving back himself. Why do you think he
  chose not to return to Africa?

11
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah
Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African (1789) by
Olaudah Equiano

• Olaudahs principal reason for writing his
  narrative was to evoke compassion for the
  miseries suffered by Africans in the slave trade
• An English abolitionist said that Olaudahs book
  was more use to the Cause Abolition than half
  the people of the country.
• Olaudah said he hoped his book would promote the
  interests of humanity

12
Olaudah tried to convince others that the slave
trade was wrong.Do his words persuade you? How?

• It violates that first natural right of
  mankind, equality and freedom, and gives one man
  a dominion over his fellows which God could never
  intend! For it raises the owner to a state as far
  above man as it depresses the slave below it
  and, with all the presumption of human pride,
  sets a distinction between them, immeasurable in
  extend, and endless in duration!
• When you make men slaves, you deprive them of
  half their virtue, you set them, in your own
  conduct, an example of fraud, rapine, and
  cruelty, and compel them to live with you in a
  state of war, and yet you complain that they are
  not honest or faithful!
• As the inhuman traffic of slavery is to be taken
  into the consideration of the British
  legislature, I doubt not, if a system of commerce
  was established in Africa, the demand for
  manufactures would most rapidly augmenta
  commercial intercourse with Africa opens an
  inexhaustible source of wealth to the
  manufacturing interests of Great Britain, and to
  all which the slave trade is an objectionThe
  abolition of slavery would be in reality a
  universal good.

13
Olaudah Equiano

• Olaudah was intelligent, quickly learned English,
  studied to read and write and learn about the
  laws and business of his enslavers
• Olaudah converted to Christianity which may have
  influenced how he told his story and who became
  his friends and supporters
• Olaudahs autobiography was the first slave
  narrative and the first book published in English
  by an African
• His narrative was very effective in behalf of
  abolitionism
• Olaudah knew how to convince his readers that
  slavery was inhuman
• Olaudah survived horrible situations and overcame
  them
• Olaudah was willing to work hard for what he
  wanted

14
Dilemmas, Luck, or Opportunities? Use your notes
and online resources to answer these questions.
When you look for the answers, can you find more
dilemmas and opportunities that Olaudah faced?

• Who was Olaudah Equiano?
• When did he live?
• Where was he born and where did he die?
• What were some things happening during this time
  in the United States?
• What were some things happening in Great Britain
  at this time?
• Why didnt Olaudah try to escape from his African
  kidnappers or the whites who enslaved him?
• If Olaudah Equiano did not become the slave to
  Lt. Pascal, would he have become an abolitionist?
• When Mr. King bought Olaudah, in what ways might
  Olaudahs life have been different from his life
  with Lt. Pascal?
• When Olaudah bought his freedom and moved to
  England, he converted to Christianity. How might
  this have influenced his perspective?
• Olaudah had several opportunities of good luck.
  What were they? How did he use them to his
  advantage?
• In your opinion, which event or period of time
  most influenced Olaudah to become a leader? Why?

15
Cause and Effect OrganizerCopy in your notebook
and write 10 causes and 10 matching effects

• Important event or experience in Olaudahs life

• How the event or experience formed his leadership
  qualities

• 1. he was kidnapped when he was 11

• 1. he was too young to figure out how to escape
  and go back to Africa so he had to learn how to
  make the best of his situation

16
Olaudah Equiano Does he qualify as a leader?

• Now that you have learned a little about Equiano,
  do you think he had leadership qualities?
• In your notebook, EXPLAIN your opinion and answer
  in 1-3 paragraphs.
• Use evidence from the presentation, your notes,
  and any information from other sources in your
  answer.

17
Summary

• Olaudah Equiano had no choice in his life as a
  slave. However, he took advantage of every
  opportunity to enhance his life and make himself
  useful. In fact, he learned a new language,
  reading and writing, English law, and trade and
  commerce. He became a self-educated man. With his
  education and his desire for freedom, Olaudah
  overcame his enslavement by buying his freedom.
  He gained power over his own life and destiny.
  Now he was able to live the life he chose. His
  choice was to work hard to abolish the practiced
  that allowed for humans to enslave each other. In
  doing so, he wrote his narrative and convinced
  many that slavery was inhuman. His abolition work
  influenced not just Great Britain which abolished
  slavery in 1807, but also influenced the growing
  abolitionist movement in the United States.
  Because Olaudah was intelligent, educated,
  hardworking and diligent, he was well-respected
  and people listened to him. If you return to
  Slide 3 and the 6 quotes about leaders, can you
  agree that Olaudah Equiano certainly meets the
  criteria to be a leader?

18
Sources and further readingDuring your free lab
time, search for more facts and information on
Olaudah Equiano, The Slave Trade, The Middle
Passage, and The Abolitionist Movements

• PBS resource guide, Africans in America
  http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p276.html
• University of Michigan http//wmich.edu/dialogues/
  texts/lifeofolaudahequiano.htm
• Brycchan Careys website for Olaudah Equiano
  http//www.brycchancarey.com/equiano/index.htm
• Equiano Foundation Online http//www.atomicage.com
  /equiano/index.html
• University of North Carolina Documenting the
  American South http//docsouth.unc.edu/neh/neh.ht
  ml
• Library of Congress The African American
  Odyssey, Slaves and the Courts
  http//memory.loc.gov/ammem/sthtml
• Selections of Olaudah Equianos narrative
  http//wsu.edu/dee/Equiano.html
• The Mariners Museum, Captive Passage
  http//wsu.edu/dee/Equiano.html
• Understanding Slavery http//www.understandingslav
  ery.com/citizen/explore/activism/gallery/?id1376
• African American Odyssey, Anti-Slavery Movements
  and the Rise of the Sectional Controversy
  http//memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart
  3.html
• The African American Mosaic http//www.loc.gov/exh
  ibits/african/afam007.html
• The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American Slavery
  http//www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/online/wil
  berforce/index.html
• History Matters http//historymatters.gmu.edu/d/63
  72/