Seeking Freedom
44:26
Grades: 6 - 12
Video Description: Delve into the history of freedom suits in St. Louis courts prior to America’s Civil War.
Type of Video: Documentary*
Unique Video ID: US History-44**
Quick Ideas for Using the Video:
- This documentary and a number of other videos on the website deal with freedom suits. As part of your study of the causes of the Civil War, use this video in conjunction with those in a flipped learning activity or a jigsaw activity. Have different groups of students watch different videos and bring their learning to class for use in discussion and/or as part of an activity. Search for these videos with the keyword “freedom suits.”
- Use this video and our other freedom suit videos for a more extensive student investigation of the topic beyond the well-known Dred Scott case. Search for videos on our site using the keyword “freedom suits.” Freedom suit records are available online at http://digital.wustl.edu/legalencodingproject/.
- Use the video for a whole class activity as you study the history of slavery in America or provide it to students for extension or independent projects on the subject.
*Documentaries offer long form, in-depth exploration of a topic, location, person, etc. in the area of study.
**The unique Video ID can be used to quickly locate a single video in the ET collection. This search function is designed to let teachers assign students to watch a specific video and have only that video appear as a search result. Just click on Search and choose “By Video ID.” Then type in the Video ID as it appears above. Be sure to include the dash.
