Lesson 2.4 Notes (PDF) — LA AMISTAD & EARLY RESISTANCE TO THE SLAVE TRADE

Bring the history of Black resistance to life with this guided notes slide deck for Unit 2 of the AP African American Studies course. Lesson 2.4 explores how enslaved Africans resisted aboard slave ships, how slave ship diagrams shaped both the slave trade and the anti-slavery movement, how modern Black artists reclaim that imagery today, and how the 1839 revolt aboard La Amistad became a landmark Supreme Court case.

📝 What's Included:

• ✅ 53-Total Slide Guided Notes Slide Deck (PDF + printable)
• 🖥️ Link to Editable version (Google Slides)
• ⚓ Primary Source analysis of the "Brookes" slave ship diagram and its role in early anti-slavery activism
• 🎨 Primary Source analysis of Willie Cole's contemporary artwork "Stowage" (1997), plus additional modern slave ship art
• ⚖️ The Amistad Slave Revolt (1839), led by Sengbe Pieh (a.k.a. Joseph Cinque), and the U.S. v. La Amistad Supreme Court case
• 🖼️ Primary Source analysis of courtroom sketches of the Amistad captive survivors (1839)
• 🎥 Documentary video analysis on the La Amistad mutiny
• 🧠 Guided note-taking and source analysis prompts throughout

📚 Students Will Learn About:

• ⛓️ How enslaved Africans resisted aboard slave ships through hunger strikes, revolts, and other acts of defiance — despite language barriers
• 🚢 How resistance forced changes to slave ship design (barricades, nets, guns) and made the trade more dangerous and costly
• 📐 How slave ship diagrams commodified enslaved Africans while concealing the true scale of suffering aboard the ships
• ✊ How 18th- and 19th-century abolitionists used slave ship diagrams to expose the horrors of the Middle Passage
• 🎨 How modern Black artists repurpose slave ship imagery to process historical trauma and honor their ancestors
• 🌊 The 1839 revolt aboard La Amistad, led by Sengbe Pieh, and its two-year journey through the U.S. court system
• ⚖️ The outcome and lasting significance of the U.S. v. La Amistad Supreme Court ruling

🎯 Perfect For:

• ✔ AP African American Studies (Topic 2.4)
• ✔ 9th–12th Ethnic Studies, African American History, or U.S. History enrichment
• ✔ Black History Month or African American history lessons
• ✔ Visual art and primary source analysis
• ✔ Lessons exploring African resistance and the early anti-slavery movement

📎 Formats:

✅ Ready-to-print PDF
✅ Includes link to Editable Google Slide Deck
✅ Class-ready in 15 minutes or less
✅ Download once. Use every year.

🖥️📝 LESSON 2.4 NOTES PREVIEW:

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