The Forced Migration of Enslaved People

The Forced Migration of Enslaved People is an excellent resource for teachers focusing on topics like slavery, the Antebellum South, the American Civil War, or even gender roles in the American South. Forced Migration, like the other maps a part of the American Panorama website, creates digital maps of the United States by incorporating primary sources pertaining to any given subject. For Forced Migration, narratives of enslaved people from 1810 through 1860 are pinpointed on the digital map for students to analyze based on geography or the individual’s narrative. This crucial element of this map, developed by the staff of Stamen Design, reproduces different maps of the US based on the decade being studied. This allows students to see the progression and migration of enslaved people from 1810, 1820, through 1860.

The best part of this website is its exploratory aspect of the maps. Users have the option of selecting to follow the map with data points that explore the in-migration and out-migration patterns across the US or you can explore a narrative point. This allows users to follow one specific person’s forced migration patterns through any given state or states. While tracking their movement, users can read historical text on their life and learn about their legacy in the United States. A good example of this is the story of Madison Henderson, whose recollection of the events of her being resold to slave traders in Virginia to other locations in the US South is pinpointed on the map. By viewing her transcribed narrative parallel to the digital map and guide, users can geographically trace the life of an enslaved person through as little as one paragraph of text. 

This website is extremely beneficial for students and teachers learning about the early American Republic, the system of slavery, and incidents leading up to the American Civil War. Through visual storytelling and interpretation, students and teachers can better explore the way humans move in line with the history of North American slavery.