February, 2009 Workshop - National Archives, Waltham Mass

Documents for the "Two Friends" - slavery Sub-lesson...from the National Archives, Waltham, MA

These documents were found after a teacher in the cohort asked about materials to use for teaching about the "triangle trade" and slavery in New England. Our museum educator knew of a potential ship connected with the trade and asked the NARA staff about it. A deposition connected with a customs violation case revealed that the ship's captain was only able to buy as much sugar as the worth of the slaves he sold in Havanna. A quick query to the Beverly Historical Society gave light to Captain's orders and an account of slaves bought and sold between the island of Haiti and Cuba. While the ship brought back to the US only sugar and molasses, she held slaves for the short trip in the Caribbean. This reveals a slightly different take on New Englanders involvement with the slave trade.

• 
• Drawing of the Schooner Two Friends from Beverly, MA
• This drawing was for the Customs violation trial to show the "fill line" for the cargo of the vessel.

• 
• Deposition of the first mate, Osmon Gage (1793) - includes transcript
• The deposition refers to a Customs violation case that involves the ship and illegal off loading of sugar in Beverly. Special note should be taken of the section where Osmon states, "I did not know how Strict the Spanish would be, who would not allow any more cargo that what the Proceeds of the Slaves would produce..." - this was the clue that allowed us to know that the ship carried slaves at one point. Without this sentence, the NARA documents do not show that the ship was involved in the slave trade...

• 
• Outward Manifest of the Two Friends (1791)
• Transcript (pdf)
• An Outward Manifest lists the items that are being transported out of a port for sale somewhere else. This manifest shows that the Two Friends was bringing a cargo of fish, beef, S hooks, hoops, oil, candles, and vegetables to the West Indies.

• 
• Impost Book Entry, (1792)
• Transcript (pdf)
• Impost book entries list the goods being brought into a U.S. port and the tax rates that the importer must pay. Not all goods are listed, just those that require a tax. The entry for the Two Friends lists sugar, molasses, and honey in large quantitites, possibly for use in making rum.

Additional Documents ...from the Beverly Historical Society, Beverly, MA

• 
• Captain's Orders for the Two Friends, 1791, includes transcript in .pdf
• Orders were often given to ship captains from the owners or the merchants selling cargo. This document directs the captain to go to certain ports to obtain the best prices for the goods he carries. He is also instructed to take on a cargo of slaves to sell in Cuba and to state that he has bought the maximum number, even if he is actually unable to. The number of slaves to be traded dictated the amount of sugar and molasses that a ship could then buy and transport back to the home port of Beverly. Even though the manifests dealing with cargo leaving and returning to the United States would not show any slave trading activity - this document makes clear that Cape Ann ships carried slaves, if only between ports in the Carribean.

• Account of Sale of Slaves, Two Friends, 1791
• An additional document from the Beverly Historical Society shows a sale of the slaves which were purchased in Haiti and sold in Cuba. It indicates the price paid and the quantity of goods (mostly sugar and molasses, probably for use in the U.S. for making rum) which were purchased using that money. At present the museum educator is still working on transcribing and digitizing that source. It is not essential for the lesson - so may take some time. Please contact her for further information.

Documents for the "Electoral Vote Count " Sub-lesson

• 
• Worksheet for Examining Electoral Vote Counts
• Created for use with the electoral ballot counts of the 1860 election (see below), this worksheet asks students to examine the data provided thereon.

• 
• The Poor Voter on Election Day - a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier
• This poem, written in 1852, puts forth the idea that within the context of an election, all voters are equal. It is an interesting notion, given at the time, that people of color and women were not allowed to vote. Whittier, a well known abolitionist and poet, was an elector representing Essex County and Amesbury specifically, in the 1860 presidential election.

• 
• Ballot Counts of Electors for President & Vice President, 1860
• (Transcripts included in the .pdf)
• These documents from the National Archives are counts of the number of electors casting votes for particular candidates. They list the names of the electors, who were themselves elected at that time. The transcriptions contain some information about those electors in the footnotes. This election for which Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin won the seats marks the emergence of the Republican party.

• 
• Ballot Counts of Electors for President & Vice President, 1844
• (Transcripts included in the .pdf)
• This is another set of Ballot Counts. Henry Clay was the candidate who won the Massachusetts electoral votes for this year.

• 
• Various additional Ballot Counts for the 1840 & 1848 Elections
• These National Archives documents are addittional Ballot Vote Counts for 1840 and 1848 elections. They do not have transcriptions, however the wording of the documents is similar to the 1844 texts and could easily be adapted.

Additional Documents ...from the Gloucester Archives, Gloucester, MA

• 
• Act Directing the Mode of Choosing Electors (1828), Circular Specifying Polling Rules (1840), Act Regulating Electors (1844) -
• These documents give directions pertaining to voting and the choice of Massachusetts electors in the early to mid-nineteenth century. They could be used as background for students or to direct a student centered mock election.

Documents for the "Eagle Collage" Sub-lesson

• 
• Eagle Collage
• Created from documents below (all of which were obtained through the generosity of the National Archives in Waltham, Massachusetts), this collage of eagle images can be used in a "concentration" type matching game for young elementary students. This lesson directly links to the Massachusetts frameworks by helping students recognize the "eagle" as a symbol of the United States government. Additional photos of the Customs house and City Hall eagles from Salem were taken by our museum educator, Rebecca Zimmerman.

• 
• Transcript (pdf)
• Graves' Citizenship papers
• From the Early national period, directly following the American Revolution, until after the War of 1812, seamen were sometimes "impressed," or kidnapped, by members of the British or French navy. Many sailors carried papers that would allow them to prove their identity. This 1803 document for a 16 year-old from Marblehead, states that he is a citizen of the U.S.

• 
• Transcript (pdf)
• Citizenship papers for the Bark, Chalcedony
• This 1841 document certifies that all of the crew on board a specific ship are U.S. citizens. The vessel hails from Salem and is bound for Buenos Aires.

• 
• Transcript (pdf)
• List of Persons (crew list) for the Brig, Athens
• In 1841, the Brig, Athens, sailed to Havana from Newburyport. On board were men ranging in age from 12 to 47. Natives of Newburyport, Newbury, Salisbury, Amesbury, Seabrook, and Boston were included on this voyage. The document gives statistical data about their ages and physical characteristics as well.

• 
• Shipping Agreements for the Ship, Brookline
• Shipping Agreements are documents which give information regarding crew statistics and payments. The reverse side is featured because the eagle engraving is seen there. This ship sailed from Salem to the Port of Good Hope in November of 1840.

• 
• Shipping Agreements for the Brig, Leander
• Shipping Agreements are documents which give information regarding crew statistics and payments. The reverse side is featured because the eagle engraving is seen there. This brig sailed from Salem to the West Coast of Africa in November of 1840.

Click here to return to the Main Primary Resources page