Topic 2.12: Legacies of the Haitian Revolution

DBQ: The Haitian Revolution’s Impact on the United States

LO 2.12.A - Explain the global impacts of the Haitian Revolution.

Objective: Students will contextualize and analyze primary source documents in order to evaluate the extent of the impact of the Haitian Revolution on the history and culture of the United States.

LINK: Click here for an introduction to the DBQ which includes student and teacher guides, handouts, and slides.

Notes

Notably missing in these documents is a reference to the Louisiana Purchase (Essential Knowledge 2.12.A.2). This is by design as it is a simple concrete example that students could use for the outside evidence point.

The 5 documents include 4 required sources:

• Frederick Douglass’s 1893 World’s Fair Speech (2.12)

• Jacob Lawrence’s Toussiant Louvture painting (2.12)

• Jefferson’s Letter to Rufus King (2.13)

• David Walker’s Appeal (2.19)

The other document is a letter filled with rumors surrounding the Denmark Vesey trial in Charleston, South Carolina (required content 2.13). The letter is a historical example of the spread of misinformation, but that is not required knowledge. The significant aspect of the letter is the connection of the Haitian Revolution to slave rebellions and the impact of Haiti’s Revolution on the American psyche.

On the AP exam, students will have 45 minutes to read the documents and make a historically defensible claim based on their contextualization and analysis of at least 3 of the 5 documents.