Embedded Files
Note to Teachers
Note to Teachers
The documents and short essays have been divided into six sections. Each section also contains vocabulary words, text-based questions, and discussion questions.
The text-dependent questions are meant to encourage close reading and require students to provide evidence directly from the text to answer the question. The discussion questions connect the documents to students’ experiences and beliefs, their understanding of history, their knowledge of other texts and to events happening in the larger world.
The document sets are intended for use in conjunction with existing lessons on sectionalism, antebellum United States, slavery, the Industrial Revolution, and the abolition movement. Visit this page for more information on integrating these documents into your curriculum and additional activity ideas.
National Events That Influenced Lowellians' Views on Slavery and Abolition
National Events That Influenced Lowellians' Views on Slavery and Abolition
To provide background and context for the other collections, these documents pertain to state and federal laws that upheld the institution of slavery and supported its spread into western states and territories.
Economic and Political Connections between Lowell and Southern States
Economic and Political Connections between Lowell and Southern States
The letters, books, and statistics included in this collection show how Lowell and other northern states were economically dependent upon slave-holding states and vice versa. The documents also show how Massachusetts politicians and businessmen supported maintaining the institution of slavery in southern states to keep the union together and avoid a civil war.
Life on a Cotton Plantation: The Cotton Gin and Lowell Cloth
Life on a Cotton Plantation: The Cotton Gin and Lowell Cloth
Cotton farmed by enslaved laborers was the lifeblood of Lowell’s textile mills. The documents in this collection explore life and work on a southern cotton plantation, the spread of the cotton gin, and the cruel irony of “Lowell cloth” – produced from slave-picked cotton, turned into coarse cloth by Lowell’s mills, and then sold back to plantations to clothe enslaved people.
11: Lowell Manufacturing Company, Statistics of Lowell Manufactures, January 1, 1835
12: “The Negro Law of South Carolina,” 1848
13: Growth of Cotton and Slavery Graph, 1800-1860
15: Cloth Purchases, Evans Plantation, Louisiana, 1858-1859
16: Photograph – “Picking cotton near Montgomery, Alabama,” J.H. Lakin, c.1860
17: Map of Enslaved Population, United States, 1860
18: Slave Narrative Excerpts, Works Progress Administration, 1936-1938
Black Abolitionists' Activism in Lowell
Black Abolitionists' Activism in Lowell
Lowell’s Black population – many of whom were active in the abolitionist cause – included native-born, immigrants from the Caribbean, and self-emancipated people who escaped bondage on southern plantations. These documents show how they engaged in the radical abolition movement, including writing articles for prominent abolitionist newspapers, convening antislavery society meetings, harboring self-emancipated people, and raising funds to purchase the freedom of people who ran from enslavement – all in service to immediate abolition of and equality for people of African descent.
19: “H.W. Foster” Barbershop Advertisement, The Lowell Advertiser, 1838
20b: “Constitution of the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society,” 1834.
21b: “A Wife Redeemed,” Letter from John N.H. Fountain, The Middlesex Standard, January 2, 1845
22a: “Manstealers in Lowell!”, Lowell Tri-Weekly American, October 2, 1850
22b: “Manstealers,” Lowell Daily Journal and Courier, October 4, 1850
22c: “Purchase of a Slave’s Freedom,” Lowell Daily Journal and Courier, April 7, 1851
23: List of Hairdressers (barbers), Lowell City Directory, 1851
24a: “A Dred Scott Case in Lowell!,” The Liberator, 1858
24b: Elizabeth (Betsy) and Caroline Cornwell Census Record, Lowell, 1860
Antislavery Activism in Lowell
Antislavery Activism in Lowell
Although their numbers were relatively small compared to the total population of the city, antislavery activists appeared in every corner of Lowell’s population – from mill girls and mill bosses to business owners and clergymen. This collection contains petitions, articles, poetry, sermons, and literature that support the antislavery cause.
26: “The Diary of Rev. Theodore Edson,” March 19, 1839
27: “The Clergy of Middlesex County,” The Liberator, October 29, 1841
29: “Our Colored Citizens,” Lowell Courier, August 13, 1844
30: "The Black Man," The Stranger in Lowell, John Greenleaf Whittier, 1845
31: "The Whip of Necessity," The Voice of Industry, September 18, 1845
32: “Anti-Texas Meeting at Lowell,” The Liberator, November 28, 1845
34: “Ayer’s Cherry Pectoral” Advertisement, The Liberator, May 3, 1850
36: Anti-Fugitive Slave Act Petition, Lowell, 1851
37: “A Call to Kansas!,” Lucy Larcom, 1855
38: “A Report on School Desegregation,” The Liberator, March 30, 1855
Anti-abolitionists in Lowell
Anti-abolitionists in Lowell
Even though Massachusetts was a northern, “free” state, not all of Lowell’s residents supported antislavery or abolitionist movements. Many of the mill owners/investors and other wealthy businessmen who had ties to the textile industry were actively engaged in the anti-abolitionist movement that sought to suppress and discredit the rhetoric of antislavery activists and discourage any action that went against the Constitution to maintain slavery and preserve the union.
40: “Citizens of Lowell” [Anti-Thompson Handbill], Lowell, December 2, 1834
41: “Public [Anti-Abolition] Meeting” Broadside, Lowell, August 21, 1835
42: “Anti-Abolition Meeting,” Lowell Patriot, August 28, 1835
43: Letter from “A Planter” to the Editor, Lowell Patriot, August 28, 1835
Middle and High School Mini-lessons
Middle and High School Mini-lessons
Activity 1. Southern Cotton Plantations: Students examine life on a cotton plantation for enslaved people who picked cotton for norther textile mills.
Activity 2. Connections Between North and South: Students continue to explore the lives of enslaved people and begin to examine the connections between northern textile mills and southern cotton plantations.
Activity 3. Lowell's Response to Slavery: Students learn about the actions of Lowell's abolitionists, antislavery activists, and anti-abolitionists and make note of the tactics they used to advance their views.
These primary source documents can support and enhance your teaching of Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.
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