Last updated: February 19, 2025
Lesson Plan
Slatersville, Slave Cloth, and the Slater Fund
Enslaved laborers in cotton field
Christian de Rezendes
- Grade Level:
- High School: Ninth Grade through Twelfth Grade
- Subject:
- Social Studies
- Lesson Duration:
- 90 Minutes
- State Standards:
- SSHS.USI.5.4: Effects of early industrialization on workers
SSHS.USI.5.6: Expansion of slavery and the lives of enslaved people
SSHS.USI.7.6: Management of Reconstruction
SSHS.USI.7.7: The effects of Reconstruction on Black Americans - Thinking Skills:
- Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words. Analyzing: Break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts. Evaluating: Make informed judgements about the value of ideas or materials. Use standards and criteria to support opinions and views.
Essential Question
How do individuals make a difference and leave a lasting legacy?
Objective
1) Students will use primary sources and review clips from the documentary Slatersville (episode four, entitled "Conscience Money") to learn about the connections between Northern industry and slavery in the South.
2) Students will consider the long-term impact of the Slater Fund.
3) Students will complete a hands-on activity that will provide a tactile experience and connection to the history of textile production.
Background
In the 19th century, millions of enslaved workers freed themselves. Some of those workers were from the state of Rhode Island, but many lived in the southern United States. With the growth of industry in the northeast, some mill owners, including the Slaters of Smithfield, became more, not less, dependent on systems of slave labor. In the community of Slatersville, located in what is now North Smithfield, workers processed cotton picked by enslaved people. Some also made clothing for enslaved people to wear in Mill No #3. One member of the Slater family, John Fox Slater, became an outspoken abolitionist and gave a considerable amount of his fortune to a fund that paid for schools and the education of Black leaders. A historian in this series asks: “Why did he do it?” Consider this question and the interconnectedness of the economies in the North and the South as you complete the activities in this lesson plan.
Preparation
This lesson uses clips from the documentary series Slatersville, available online courtesy of Rhode Island PBS. You will need access to the internet and a screen to show the clips. Please note that a full transcript of this episode is available online, for your review.
Gather your materials for the hands-on portion of the lesson. You will need at least two pieces of paper, per student, and a pair of scissors. The art activity, paper weaving, is meant to demonstrate the interconnectedness of the “free” northern industrial economy with that of the South. You may wish to use pictures, printed on your pages, to represent each of these, such as a mid-19th century map of Rhode Island and this picture of a cotton field.
Materials
Lesson Hook/Preview
This lesson uses clips from the documentary series Slatersville as a starting point for understanding the evolution of the country’s first planned mill village in North Smithfield, RI. Students will learn about the complex connections between northern industry and the Southern slave economy through the story of John Fox Slater.
Procedure
1) Introduce the community of Slatersville, America’s first planned mill village.
2) Show the introductory clip to Slatersville episode 4, “Conscience Money,” which includes a portion of the poem “Picture of a Factory Village” by Rhode Islander Thomas Man. Play from the beginning of the episode through to 4:44.
3) Screen clip two (timestamp: 19:45-28:11) to introduce John Fox Slater and the Slaters’ approaches to community leadership and management.
4) Continue with clip three, a segment on slave cloth and the Civil War (timestamp: 29:09-41:08). Please note: a historic photograph in this segment has a racial epithet written on the back. That photograph is shown at 30:43.
5) Discuss the previous clips and complete the hands-on weaving activity. You will need at least two pieces of paper and a pair of scissors for each participant to use. Start by cutting slits in your first piece of paper one half inch apart. This paper will be the warp. Make your weft by cutting up another piece of paper into ½ inch strips. Weave the ½ strip pieces of paper into the cuts on the warp sheet by going over and over. As needed, move your warp papers down the sheet to create a neat weave. Experiment as desired.
6) Take a break to discuss your art pieces.
7) Continue your exploration by showing a clip on the Reconstruction (41:09-48:42) and conclude with a discussion on the impact of the Slater Fund after showing the final segment (48:43-52:33).
Assessment Materials
1) Historian Morgan Grefe explains that in the 19th century, “the north and the south economically don't exist without each other.” How were the people of Smithfield, and more specifically the village of Slatersville, connected to global commerce? Make a list as a group for further discussion.
2) Talking about John Fox Slater and his Fund, Barbara Tucker asks: “Why did he do it?” Later, she has viewers consider this question: “Why didn’t he treat his workers better?” What are some of the motivations for the Fund that you can identify after watching these clips? How would you answer her second question?
3) Consider the long-term impact of the Slater Fund. Who were some of the notable people who benefited from the Fund?
4) Reconstruction is described as an “incomplete” process in this documentary. Pair off and make a list of some of the successes during the period of Reconstruction mentioned in this series. Consider the ways that Reconstruction remains unfinished in a separate list.
5) Charles Roberts explains: “An entire nation gets affected by John Fox Slater's donation. And history is about the choices you make.” What do you think of Slater’s choices?
6) This series weaves primary sources with the voices of a number of historians and experts. How do you see different perspectives about Slater, slave cloth, and the history of Reconstruction coming together?
Enrichment Activities
- Take an in-person, self-guided tour of Slatersville or book a tour/visit with a ranger.
- Visit Clouds Hill in Warwick, Rhode Island, or the Norwich Free Academy, which includes the Slater Memorial Museum in Norwich, Connecticut.
- Listen to an audio tour of Slatersville on the NPS App.
- Read selections of Man’s poem about factory life.
- Take a deeper dive into the Slater Fund and industrial education in the north with this digital newspaper resource or by reading through primary sources on the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA).