Teaching the History of Slavery in the United States with Interviews: Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936–1938

Abstract

THIS ESSAY OFFERS a practical approach to teaching with the Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers Project, 1936–1938 collection available on the Library of Congress’s American Memory website. The essay begins with background on the Works Progress Administration (WPA) interviews and proceeds to a discussion of the historical debate about their reliability. The essay concludes with two instructional methods: an individual activity and a group activity. It attempts to reach a broad audience that includes postsecondary and K–12 educators. The WPA slave interviews offer an innovative approach to engage students with the history of slavery in the United States. History educators at all levels rely on primary sources, and well-planned implementation of the WPA interviews has tremendous potential to develop analytical and writing skills. Instructors should encourage students to question the sources, contextualize them with the secondary literature, and develop interpretations. The overall goal of the activities outlined in the following pages entails the facilitation of active student learning in history; that is, “doing history.”