PRELIMINARY COURSE SYLLABUS Quarter: Winter 2021

Course Title: Black Activists and the Fight against Course Code: HIS 60 Instructor: Andy Hammann, PhD

Course Summary

“The degradation, the wrongs, the vices, that grow out of slavery, are more than I can describe. They are greater than you would willingly believe.”

Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Many activists in the fight against slavery were enslaved or formerly enslaved Americans. Because they experienced, firsthand, slavery’s terrible and, in a sense, indescribable realities, they opposed its persistence with singular conviction and urgency. This course examines several aspects of their prolonged fight, focusing on Black Americans who self-emancipated via the ; established clandestine (“maroon”) communities in the South; published narratives of enslavement; founded and edited antislavery newspapers; and led organizations like the American Anti-Slavery Society.

We will read selections from primary sources including Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by ; Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy, by Moses Grandy; and The North Star newspaper, founded by ; and we will dig into Stanford’s vast “Black Abolitionist Papers” online archive. We will also consider connections between the historical fight against slavery and the current Black Lives Matter movement.

Grade Options and Requirements

NGR (no grade requested) is the default option. No credit is given.

CR/NC is an option for students who wish to receive credit. The only requirement is that you attend at least 5 of the 6 lectures.

Readings

All assigned readings, except for the last one, will be primary documents from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. I will make them available in PDF form on the Canvas site.

For the last week, students will need to purchase a copy of the following book.

Please contact the Stanford Continuing Studies office with any questions 365 Lasuen St., Stanford, CA 94305 [email protected] 650-725-2650

PRELIMINARY COURSE SYLLABUS Quarter: Winter 2021

Donald Yacovone, ed., Freedom’s Journey: African American Voices of the Civil War (Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books, 2004.

For each week, I will also offer a short list of scholarly works that students with particular interest in that week’s topic might want to read in the future.

Please contact the Stanford Continuing Studies office with any questions 365 Lasuen St., Stanford, CA 94305 [email protected] 650-725-2650

PRELIMINARY COURSE SYLLABUS Quarter: Winter 2021

Tentative Weekly Outline

January 26

TOPIC: Wartime I – American Revolution and

Assigned Readings • None

February 2

TOPIC: Self-Emancipation

Assigned Readings • Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass – excerpts (or My Bondage, My Freedom) • Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl – excerpts • Moses Grandy, Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy – excerpts

February 9

TOPIC: Underground Railroad

Assigned Readings • Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass – excerpts (or My Bondage, My Freedom) • Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl – excerpts • Moses Grandy, Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy – excerpts

February 16

TOPIC: Organizations and Newspapers

Assigned Readings • Frederick Douglass, My Bondage, My Freedom – excerpts

February 23

TOPIC: Revolts

Assigned Readings • Excerpts from The North Star, Frederick Douglass’ Paper, and Douglass’ Monthly

Please contact the Stanford Continuing Studies office with any questions 365 Lasuen St., Stanford, CA 94305 [email protected] 650-725-2650

PRELIMINARY COURSE SYLLABUS Quarter: Winter 2021

March 2

TOPIC: Wartime II – Civil War

Assigned Readings • Elijah P. Marrs, The Life and History of Rev. Elijah P. Marrs – excerpts

Please contact the Stanford Continuing Studies office with any questions 365 Lasuen St., Stanford, CA 94305 [email protected] 650-725-2650