AP African American Studies Resource Archive | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

1808 Engraving of the deck and hold of a slave ship illustrating how little space enslaved people had on board

The Middle Passage

1749

Scrutinize an image and a letter that address the experience of kidnapped Africans on a slave ship.

Primary Source

Scan of a letter from Nelson Allyn to his brother Joseph in Connecticut, dated September 25, 1831.

Nelson Allyn to Joseph Allyn

1831

Read a firsthand account of the retaliation against African Americans in North Carolina after Nat Turner’s Rebellion.

Primary Source

Scan of Dunmore's Proclamation as printed on December 6, 1775.

Lord Dunmore's Proclamation

1775

Learn more about the proclamation offering freedom to enslaved people who joined the British army.

Primary Source

Scan of a signed contract engaging a captain to oversee a set of men acting as a slave patrol, with manuscript accomplishment, signed by Obadiah Woodson and Horace L. Robards.

Slave Patrol Contract

1856

Explore an effort to enforce North Carolina’s slave codes in 1856.

Primary Source