Welcome to the WebQuest on African-American Spirituals!

After a brief introduction to American slavery in the nineteenth century, we will now turn our attention to the study of African-American spirituals for the purpose of gaining a better understanding of the meaning of those spirituals in the black community. Also, the student will learn about the conditions and impact of slavery on African-Americans. In order to begin to search for the meaning of those spirituals, we must collect data on "What slave conditions were like?," "What role did religion play in the slave community?" and "What purpose did African-Americans spirituals serve in the black community?" After collecting the data from several documents, the student should be able to state the spiritual and psychological function of those songs in a slave community.

Reading Material:

Before we can begin to understand the voices of sorrow and pain in African-American spirituals, we need to learn about the conditions on Southern antebellum plantations, so we must first begin by doing some reading. Second, we must collect data on what slave condition were like . . . so let's begin by reading the following letters: "We Lodged in Log Huts," "My bedstead consisted of a board wide enough to sleep on," "The Slaves are put in stalls like...Cattle," "There is but...little scruple of separating families," and "It was never our wish to be separated." After the readings have been completed, answer the following questions or complete the list:

• Provide a list of all the slave food items
• Describe the living conditions of a slave
• Describe the items of clothing that each slave was given
• Write a brief summary of the most powerful reading and tell me why it was so impacting
• Describe the different roles the slave owner played in a black community
• Describe the physical forces that severed personal ties within the family

Religion:

After answering the questions, read the following document on the role of religion in the African community: " An introduction to African Traditional Religions" by Rev. Dr. Abraham Akrong (begin reading after the title African religion from within).

Spirituals: Excerpts from the African-American spirituals "Go Down, Moses":

Your foes shall not before you stand,

and you'll possess fair Canaan's land,

This would's a wilderness of woe,

O let us on to Canaan go,

O let us all from bondage flee,

and let us all in Christ be free.

Click after the first, second, and fifth line from "Go Down, Moses." After reading the three electronic text materials, explain the meaning of the song.

Student Task:

After all the readings have been completed, write an analysis paper (4-5 pages long) that focuses on the conditions of slavery and the meaning of black spirituals in the African-American community. Please, cite all your sources.

Students will be working with five primary sources (such as slave narratives) and websites (such as one called "Connections: A Culturally Historical Prospective of West African to African America) that gives students the opportunity to gain a greater insight into the meaning of African-American spirituals. After completing this webquest, the students will have understood that music is very much a part of history. Students will have also discovered that music is an expression of the inner soul of a group of people or individual; hence, music can be used as a tool to better understand the economic, political, and cultural fabric of a group.