Unit 9 6-8: Learning Plan

Content Background for Paintings

The intrepid abolitionist Frederick Douglass famously wrote, “Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, the U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny he has earned the right to citizenship.” Douglass was familiar with the ancient Greek and Roman Republican tradition that all male citizens must be willing to risk life and limb from the city. In the Greek poleis (city-states), all males who served in the Ekklesia (Assembly) were voting citizens. Slaves did not fight or vote. In Rome, all landholders fought in legions and voted. The landless and slaves did not fight or vote. This is the prime reason the U.S. did not allow Blacks to fight in the Army until the Civil War and the Confederacy would not allow slaves to fight for their freedom in the Confederate Army until the last days of the war when all was already lost.

After the shots were fired at Ft. Sumter in April 1861, Douglass began to strongly lobby the Lincoln Administration to include African Americans in the Union Army. This pressure, commensurate with Douglass’ demands for the instant abolition of slavery, continued as the Army fought on.  Douglass knew including Black soldiers in the Union Army would significantly contribute to the Union War effort and African Americans’ struggle for freedom.

Eventually, 160,000 African Americans served in the Union Army, fighting to end slavery and becoming full citizens of the United States.

After the Civil War, some African Americans remained in the service.

In 1866, the Army Organization Act created six all-Black cavalry and infantry regiments from Civil War veterans that became known as the Buffalo Soldiers.  They were commissioned to help control the indigenous tribes of the Plains, capture cattle rustlers and thieves, and protect settlers, stagecoaches, wagon trains, and railroad crews along the Western Front. The Army mustered the 9th Calvery in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the summer of 1866. The soldiers trained during the winter and were sent to San Antonio, Texas, in April 1867. There, they most of their officers and a commanding officer, Colonel Edward Hatch. The Army had to train those inexperienced with frontier fighting. In addition, most were uneducated, recently emancipated soldiers of the 9th Calvary.  The regiment proved ready to face anything when they were ordered to the unsettled landscape of the West Texas frontier. They protected the road running from San Antonia to El Paso.

The 10th Cavalry billeted in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Colonel Benjamin Grierson commanded them. The 10th took longer to organize because Grierson wanted more educated men in the regiment and because there was a cholera outbreak in the summer of 1867. The regiment went to Fort Riley, Kansas, and was tasked with protecting the Pacific Railroad, then under construction.

The Buffalo Soldiers were famous warriors during the Indian Wars. They charged up San Juan Hill in Cuba with Teddy Roosevelt Roughriders during the Spanish-American War. They protected the hostile Mexican border during World War I and fought in the Second World War.

For more information about Buffalo Soldiers, see: https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/buffalo-soldiers

Learning Activities

1. Do Now
   1. Show students the PowerPoint slide #10.
      1. Ask them to write what they believe the message the flag conveys.
2. Direct Instruction
   1. Present the PowerPoint to students.
      1. Explain to them Visual Literacy.
   2. Ask students to examine Slide #9.
      1. What do they think it is about?
      2. Explain the Background Content to students and have them read the article from the Buffalo Soldiers link.
3. Guided Practice
   1. Hand out a copy of the Painting Images and Image Analysis Worksheet.
      1. Using the Image Analysis Worksheet, ask students to look at the Colored Troops Flag and answer questions 1-3 in aloud class.
         1. Observation.  Ask them: “What do you see in this artwork?”
         2. Inference.  Ask them: “Make some reasonable guesses about this image.
            1. When, would you guess, was the painting was made?
            2. Where was the painting made?
            3. Why are the people here doing what they are doing?
            4. Why was this painting made, would you guess?
         3. Inquiry.  Have them, “What questions were left unanswered by this painting.”
         4. Entertain the various answers
4. Independent Practice
   1. Hand out copies of the Painting Images and Image Analysis Worksheet.
   2. Using the Buffalo Soldiers Imans and the Image Analysis Worksheet, complete questions 1 – 3.
      1. Observation.  What do you see in this artwork?
      2. Inference.  Make some reasonable guesses about this image.
         1. When, would you guess, was the painting was made?
         2. Where was the painting made?
         3. Why are the people here doing what they are doing?
         4. Why was this painting made, would you guess?
      3. Inquiry.  Write a question that is left unanswered by this painting.
   3. Then, complete questions 4 – 9.
      1. Who was the artist?  Use Google Image
      2. For whom was the artist working?
      3. Do you think the artist has a message beyond simply documenting the moment?
         1. If so, what might the message have been?
      4. Write a question about the artist that is still left unanswered.
      5. What would be a good title for the artist?
      6. Write a question you would like to ask the people in the painting.
      7. Write a question that you would like to ask the artist.
5. Guided Practice
   1. Review answers in class.
   2. Have students answer the following questions in a class discussion.
      1. Describe the scene and the figures in each image.
         1. What are the similarities and differences?
      2. Compare the setting of each image.
         1. How does the setting contribute to the meaning of the image?
      3. Describe the mood of each work.
      4. How did the artist achieve that mood?
      5. Each painting is about 19th-century African American soldiers.
      6. How does the artist want the viewer to feel about the main subject?
      7. Find something in the painting that supports your opinion.
6. Closure
   1. Ask students how each lesson demonstrates why African Americans were due equal citizenship in the United States.
7. Homework
   1. Students will write a reflection essay on why Frederick Douglas would write, “Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, the U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny he has earned the right to citizenship” during the Civil War. They will also reflect on whether Douglass’ sentiments apply to the Buffalo Soldiers.

Suggested Pacing Guide

• The lesson can be run over two- 45-minute periods

Resources

• Milton B Hazzard. Secret of the Buffalo Soldiers.
• John P. Langellier. More Work than Glory: Buffalo Soldiers in the United States Army, 1866-1916. October 30, 2023.
• Kelly D. Mezurek. For Their Own Cause: The 27th United States Colored Troops (Civil War in the North). October 25, 2016.
• Charles River, editors Buffalo Soldiers: The History and Legacy of the Black Soldiers Who Fought in the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars. December 20, 2019.
• T.G. Steward. Buffalo Soldiers: The Colored Regulars in the United States Army.