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September 2003 SE Social Education 67(5), pp. 261-266 © 2003 National Council for the Social Studies The Escape of the Pearl Teaching about slavery with primary source documents = Susan Hoffman Fishman As an education consultant to the Harriet Beecher Stowe On April 15, 1848, seventy-six (or seventy-seven, depend- Center in Hartford, Connecticut, I was conducting research dur- ing on the version) slaves from forty-one of the most promi- ing the summer of 2000 in preparation for a Teacher Institute to nent families in Washington, D.C., and Virginia (for example, be held the following July. The one-week institute, entitled “‘This both Sen. Daniel Webster and Dolly Madison owned slaves Question of Slavery’: Perspectives from Primary Sources,” was to aboard the Pearl) boarded the Pearl in the dark of night. take place at the nineteenth century home where Stowe lived from The ship set sail. There were three hands on board: Captain 1873 until her death in 1896. The institute was intended to expose Sayres, who owned the ship, Captain Daniel Drayton, who middle and high school teachers to primary source documents was in charge of “the cargo,” and Chester English, the on slavery and innovative strategies for using the documents in cook/mate. The Pearl was forced to drop anchor during American history classes.1 the evening at the mouth of the Potomac River because of In my research, I was specifically looking for materials that a “contrary wind” that prevented the ship from entering the would illustrate the enormous complexities that fueled the passions Chesapeake Bay.4 The slaveholders awoke the next day to of abolitionists, politicians and pro-slavery advocates in America find their slaves gone. Someone revealed the whereabouts before the Civil War, as well as engage teachers and students in an of the slaves to the frantic slaveholders. The slaveholders intriguing story involving conflict and a host of characters from all boarded a ship posthaste and captured the Pearl, which was levels of American society. In August, I came across a little docu- then towed back to Washington. The crew was shackled and mented but highly controversial event, described in the summer led through the streets of Washington, which were lined with issue of the magazine American Legacy, which proved to be the an angry and violent mob of several thousand persons. They perfect vehicle for achieving these goals. were placed in jail under heavy guard and charged with 77 Written by novelist Thomas Fleming, and entitled, “The Flight counts of theft. The slaves, who had also been shackled of the Pearl,” the piece referred to a dramatic incident that occurred and marched through the angry mob, were also taken to in our nation’s capital on April 15, 1848, involving the attempted jail. Most were given over to slave traders and sold. escape of seventy-six slaves hidden aboard a ship called the Pearl. A series of trials took place in which Drayton and Although the plot itself failed, many of the most prominent mem- Sayres defended the charges against them amidst an bers of American society at the time became involved in the ensuing atmosphere of public outrage. (English was released after public debate surrounding the ultimate fate of the captured slaves four months in jail, when it was determined that he had and crew of the Pearl. The event became a rallying cry for aboli- no knowledge of the plot.) Horace Mann, one of the most tionists; it enraged slaveholders and pro-slavery advocates; and it prominent lawyers of the time, defended Drayton at no cost. ensnared Congress in ugly rhetoric and innuendos.2 He claimed the charges of theft made against Drayton were Given the list of important national figures involved, I won- erroneous because it was not possible to “steal” a person dered why the Pearl had never become a chapter in the official who desired to leave of his own free will. Despite Mann’s history of antebellum America. I began to conduct further research eloquent defense, Drayton and Sayres were sentenced to and found three significant primary sources relating to the Pearl the Washington jail where they remained for more than four and, in addition to the Fleming article, three secondary sources years until President Millard Fillmore pardoned them in written in the twentieth century, all of which were based, in large 1852. part, on the same few primary documents.3 In reading these sources, Harriet Beecher Stowe was so moved by the fugitives I was puzzled that each version of the story was slightly different. of the Pearl that she included the incident in the pages of The facts of the incident that were consistent in all of the sources Uncle Tom’s Cabin,5 the anti-slavery novel that stirred the are as follows: nation in 1852 and was referred to by Abraham Lincoln as the book that started the Civil War.6 September 2003 261 To this day, many of the basic facts about the Pearl incident remain in question: Who hired Captain Drayton? When and where was he hired? How did the slaves commu- nicate with each other and organize such a daring plan? Who betrayed the slaves and for what reason? The story of the Pearl and the subsequent furor it raised in antebellum America is a microcosm, an encapsulated illus- tration of the conflict that arose in this country over the existence of slavery in what was considered a free and democratic society. The event also provides us with the opportunity to pose questions about the nature of history itself: How is “official” his- tory recorded? Historical versions of events such as this are based on available information. If the points of view of important witnesses are not gathered, the “official” version of the story is only partially complete. In this case, Drayton, Sayres, English and more than seventy slaves were the principal participants of the escape plot. Even though Drayton was offered $1,000 and was guaranteed “to be let off easy” if he divulged the history of the expe- dition, he adamantly refused to reveal who had contracted with him.7 When he published his memoir five years after the incident, Drayton main- tained his silence on that issue. The other two members of the crew did not have access to the information that Drayton possessed. The fugitive slaves were never officially interviewed and, D.C. Washington, of Society Historical The in accordance with the law, were not allowed to testify in court. Their point of view was not considered valid and is missing from the historical record. Only Harriet Beecher Stowe Teaching Teachers: bothered to get such information. She gathered data on six of the Storytelling Using Primary Source Documents slaves, members of the Edmonson family, because the father of the Storytelling is one of the most basic and most compelling forms of fugitive slaves appealed to her brother, Henry Ward Beecher, for communication, dating back to a time when history was transmitted financial help. She recorded that material in A Key to Uncle Tom’s orally from generation to generation. Our objective in utilizing the Cabin, a compilation of facts and research on slaves and slavery that format of storytelling was to immerse the teachers in an intriguing she published to prove the validity of her novel.8 story (one with a gripping plot, colorful characters and a riotous Using the story of the Pearl and the intriguing issues it raises, setting) as an effective and innovative way of teaching about the fol- master teacher Liz Devine and I designed an activity for the Teacher lowing subjects: (1) the conditions of slavery in antebellum America Institute entitled, “Storytelling Using Primary Source Documents.” and the effect on its human victims; (2) the extreme passions gener- ated on all sides of the slavery debate; (3) the consequences of an Social Education September 2003 262 263 attempted escape from slavery on those who assisted the escape and Legree, as enslaved by the system as those who were physically on those who fled; (4) the origins of “official history” or the ways in enslaved? which history is documented and written; and (5) the qualities that During the month of November, students received the packet drive some individuals to risk their lives for freedom and justice. of primary and secondary source documents related to the Pearl The twenty teachers from urban, rural and suburban middle incident and participated in the activity “Storytelling Using Primary and high schools in Connecticut who participated in the 2001 Source Documents.” They examined seven versions of the story (six Summer Teacher Institute were divided into seven small groups. excerpts of which are included on the next page) in small groups and Each group was asked to read one of seven versions of the Pearl analyzed the reasons for the conflicting facts and approaches. Many incident. After electing a spokesperson or ‘storyteller,’ each group students expressed a sense of excitement, passion and even intrigue constructed the story of the Pearl, using only the facts contained in as a result of being confronted for the first time by an historical event the group’s assigned source material as well as guideline questions that was not presented as an “absolute truth” in a textbook. that we prepared for them. The point of this activity was to demonstrate that historical Taking on the persona of the original author, the seven sto- events cannot be accurately documented if all of the relevant infor- rytellers recited their versions of the April 15, 1848 event and the mation is not gathered, as was the case in the question of who hired related events that occurred during the next year.
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