MassachusettsHISTORY EXPLORERS GRADES 3–8
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Quick glossary
evidence
Information from a source that helps us test a claim.
source
A document, object, image, or account we can examine.
inference
An explanation based on clues; it still needs checking.
migration
Moving from one place to another to live.
immigrant
A person who moves to another country to live.
estimate
An approximate amount, based on available information.
oral history
A recorded interview about someone’s memories and experiences.
community
People connected by a place, relationships, or shared activities.
ancestry
Family origins across generations.
primary source
Evidence created by someone who experienced a time or event.

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Abolition, slavery & women’s rights

David Walker

c. 1796–1830

Boston’s African Meeting House, a center of the Black community and antislavery organizing in David Walker’s time. This is a place photograph, not a portrait.
Boston’s African Meeting House, a center of the Black community and antislavery organizing in David Walker’s time. This is a place photograph, not a portrait. Image source & credit ↗
Massachusetts connection

Boston

Walker was a free Black Boston resident who wrote an Appeal demanding an end to slavery and racial injustice. Printed words traveled beyond the city and frightened defenders of slavery. Studying his work shows how writing can become a form of political action.

You can use your device’s reading tools or read with a partner.

Your turn, historian

Find a detail. Build an idea.

  1. What did this person or group do? Point to a detail in the reading.
  2. What unfair rule or practice did this person challenge, and how?
  3. What would you like to find out next? Which kind of source could help?

“David Walker mattered because ___. A detail that supports my idea is ___.”

Follow the evidence.

This short reading is an original classroom summary. Open the source with your teacher to check details and learn more.

Read the source: National Park Service ↗

Ask: Who made this source? What can it tell us? What might it leave out?

Keep exploring

Elizabeth Freeman →Frederick Douglass →Lucy Stone →Compare two lives →
Explore the six lessons →Image credits & sources →
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