African Americans in South Carolina: Gullah
Read maps, use charts, and go to various sites to discover facts about the Gullah culture.
Lesson Created By: Leigh Jordan
Lesson Partners: Lancaster County School District, Knowitall.org
Grade(s):
- 4
- 8
Recommended Technology:
Computer/Tablets with internet access.
Other Instructional Materials or Notes:
Lesson Progression
Look at this South Carolina population chart:
1790
White Africans
140,178 108,895
1820
White Africans
237,440 265,301
1840
White Africans
259,084 335,314
1860
White Africans
291,300 412,320
From http://www.sciway.net/afam/slavery/population.html
1. Is the number of Africans decreasing or increasing over the years from 1790 to 1860? ____________
2. Look at the 1790 data. Who has the greater population: Whites or Africans? ______________
3. Look at the 1860 data. Who has the greater population: Whites or Africans? ______________
Use this site to answer these questions:
http://www.census.gov/history/www/reference/maps/distribution_of_slaves_...
4. Which state has the highest concentration of slaves? ____________________________
5. How would having a thriving port in Charleston affect South Carolina’s African population? Think about how
slaves were transported from Africa to South Carolina ___________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
With a large population of slaves in South Carolina, a new culture developed called Gullah. Gullah is the group of African Americans from West Africa and the language they speak.
Use this site https://www.knowitall.org/series/gullahnet to answer these questions:
6. Click on the map. Name the region of South Carolina in which the Gullah primarily live. _____________
7. Close the map. Describe the two theories for the origin of the word Gullah.
___________________________________ ___________________________________
8. Click Learn More About Gullah History. Why did the English settlers bring Africans to South Carolina?
_________________________________________________________________________________
9. What three crops did the African slaves help farm? ____________ ____________ _____________
10. Click Learn More About Gullah People, Learn More About Gullah
Language, Listen to Gullah and click Listen to Gullah.
What do these Gullah words mean in English? Complete this chart.
Gullah English
Gal
una
tank you
smaat
Click your Back button twice, click Learn More about Gullah Tradition, click on the picture of baskets, and click View Video. Use the video to answer these questions.
11. Why do the Gullah people make sweetgrass baskets?
_________________________________________________________________________________
Click on Gullah Net. Click Gullah Music. Click Music Activities. Click Secret Code. Use this site to answer these questions:
12. Based on what you hear, describe the two codes that helped Africans escape to The Underground Railroad.
13. Describe why you think these codes worked so well.
Gullah History | Gullah Net
From West Africa During the late 1600s, English settlers in the new colonies needed more workers to farm thousands of acres of land on Sea Island plantations. Although some of the workers were Native...
View AssetGullah Traditions | Gullah Net
Gullah traditions are the customs, beliefs and ways of life that have been passed down among Sea Island families. Making sweetgrass baskets, quilting, and knitting fishing nets are a few of the crafts...
View AssetListen to Gullah Language | Gullah Net
INSTRUCTIONS: Click on an English word to see and hear the Gullah word. About Gullah Language Gullah is also a language. It was developed among Africans as a way to communicate with people from other...
View AssetMaking Fishnets | Gullah Net
In the video, St. Helena resident Frank Brown weaves a net while singing a song rich in the Gullah dialect. This clip was extracted from Palmetto Places - St. Helena Island. After the Civil War and...
View AssetSongs | Gullah Net
Music is another important part of life on the Sea Islands. Most of the Gullah music is found in religious practices. Although spirituals had a Christian message, they were heartfelt expressions of...
View AssetStorytelling (Night Before Christmas in Gullah) | Gullah Net
Native Islanders share their folklore and history through storytelling and singing. Gullah storytellers often perform folktales that feature animals as the main characters. Much like tales heard in...
View AssetMaking Baskets | Gullah Net
The Gullah tradition of creating coiled grass baskets is a craft that has been handed down from generation to generation. Instead of weaving the baskets, a needle made from a spoon handle, bone or...
View AssetDistribution of Slaves in 1860
In 1861, in an attempt to raise money for sick and wounded soldiers, the Census Office produced and sold a map that showed the population distribution of slaves in the southern United States. Based on data from the 1860 census, this map was the Census Office's first attempt to map population density. It is a precursor to population density maps that have been produced since the 1870 census and especially forshadowed the work published in the Statistical Atlas of the United States by Francis Walker in 1874.
View ResourceKnowitall.org Gullah Net
In the past, people have described the Gullah culture as quaint and the language as unintelligible. A closer look reveals a complex history and language with direct links to West Africa that survived slavery and thrived on the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia. The Gullah experience has many variables that make it unique to each family and community.
Gullah Net along with its host, Aunt Pearlie Sue, was designed to introduce Gullah culture and language to children on the web.
Standards
- 4.1.CO Compare the interactions among cultural groups as a result of European colonization.
- 4.1.CX Contextualize the experience of Africans, Europeans, and Native Americans in South Carolina.
- 4.1.CE Identify the effects of changing economic systems on the diverse populations in British North America.
- 4.1.CC Identify patterns of change and continuity in the development of economic systems in British North America.
- 4.1.E Analyze multiple perspectives on the economic, political, and social developments of British North America and South Carolina.
- 8.1.CO Compare the three British North American colonial regions economically, politically, socially, and in regard to labor development.
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into how the three British colonial regions developed in terms of their culture, economies, geography, and labor. The indicator was also developed to encourage inquiry into the unique story of the development of South Carolina.
- 8.1.CE Analyze the factors that contributed to the development of South Carolina’s economic system and the subsequent impacts on different populations within the colony.
- This indicator was designed to encourage inquiry into the geographic and human factors that contributed to the development of South Carolina’s economic system. This indicator was also written to encourage inquiry into South Carolina’s distinct social and economic system as influenced by British Barbados.
- 8.1.E Utilize a variety of primary and secondary sources to examine multiple perspectives and influences of the economic, political, and social effects of South Carolina’s settlement and colonization on the development of various forms of government across the colonies.
