Frederick Douglass, Slavery, and the Constitution, 1845 (Reacting to the Past)

Frederick Douglass, Slavery, and the Constitution, 1845 (Reacting to the Past) by Stewart, James Brewer. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780393680638.

Reacting to the Past is an award-winning series of immersive role-playing games that actively engage students in their own learning. Students assume the roles of historical characters to practice critical thinking, primary source analysis, and both written and spoken argument. Reacting games are flexible enough to be used across the curriculum, from first-year general education classes and discussion sections of lecture classes to capstone experiences and honors programs. Frederick Douglass asks students to confront an explosive question: How, in a nation founded on ideas of equal rights and freedom, could the institution of slavery become so entrenched and long-lasting? How was slavery justified, and how was it criticized? At a literary forum, students consider the newly-published Narrative of Frederick Douglass and hold a hearing on John C. Calhoun’s view of slavery as a “positive good.” Finally, players address the US Constitution, its original protections of the slaveholders’ power, and the central question: Are Americans more beholden to the Constitution, or to some “higher law”?