Begin the month of February with the first African Americans to step into the country. In 1619, a small number of Africans were brought to Virginia to work in the tobacco fields. Among these was a man named Anthony Johnson. Slavery at this point was not legal in America and there were no official indentured servants. The agreement was that after a few years of servitude the Africans would be considered free men. Johnson earned his freedom in 1623 and made a similar servitude arrangement with another African named John Casor. At the end of seven years, Johnson refused to let Casor go free. Johnson insisted that Casor was his servant for life. Thus, the first officially designated slave in America was owned by a black man.
The second week could be used to teach on the black heroes of the Revolutionary War. James Armistead was the first African-American spy who served during the American Revolution. He posed as an escaped slave and obtained the trust of the British General Cornwallis. Benedict Arnold, the well-known America traitor, trusted Armistead and appointed him as a guide for the British troops through the local roads. Of the many spies sent to gather information, Armistead was the most successful. Armistead was freed in 1786 and bought 40 acres of land and began farming.
Peter Salem enlisted in the Colonial army. In 1775, a 25-year-old Peter Salem was at Bunker Hill when British Major Pitcairn ordered the people to surrender to British forces. Salem shot Pitcairn, a move that was highly unorthodox even in a battle that has already begun. Shooting commanders was a strictly forbidden rule in British warfare rules. During the mass confusion, Salem and the colonists routed the unprepared British soldiers and conquered Bunker Hill. It is Peter Salem in the painting entitled “The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill.”
The last week in February can be used to examine the life of Wentworth Cheswell, who some refer to as the black Paul Revere. Wentworth became the first black elected to public office in America in 1768 as the selectman of his hometown of Newmarket. Cheswell was the town messenger, responsible for alerting the communities in the North on his own midnight ride about the impending invasion of the British. Revere rode west, and that’s where the British began their invasion.
The last few days in February can be used to explore the lives of the first black politicians in America. In a historical illustration of irony, in 1870 Hiram Rhodes Revels became the first black senator and took over the seat vacated nine years earlier by the president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis.
In 1870, Joseph H. Rainey became the first black member of the House of Representatives. He came from South Carolina, where he had served as a member of the state senate.
In 1872, P.B.S. Pinchback became the first black governor in the United States. He was elected governor of Louisiana.
Pictures of these heroes of history are easily obtained online. Create a picture chart of these men and add a spinning arrow. Have a student spin the arrow and name three facts about the man the arrow lands on. Feel free to add pictures of more modern black figures to challenge the students.
Write 30 questions in six categories based on the lives of these men and assign a point value to each question in the style of the Jeopardy game show. Divide the students into three teams and have each team compete for points. Add a bonus round with 30 more questions for the Double Jeopardy portion of the game.
Create a series of cards with the men’s pictures on them. Create more cards with a picture representing something that the man is known for. For Wentworth Cheswell, it would be a picture of him on a horse, Paul Revere-style. Have the students match each man to his accomplishments.