AP African American Studies Resource Archive | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Detail from an 1805 broadside showing restraining devices used on enslaved peoples

Global Africans and Transatlantic Slaving to the United States

by Kwasi Konadu

Explore the origins of and predecessors to the transatlantic slave trade.

Essay

Map of the Kongo River.

Afonso and the Slave Trade

by John K. Thornton

Explore the origins and evolution of the slave trade in Kongo and Portugal.

Essay

A color print of Toussaint L'Ouverture, a Black soldier, wearing a Haitian cavalry uniform (black hat with a gold frill and white flower, blue jacket with gold trim and epaulets, white pants, and black boots) holding a sword atop a brown horse with a red and gold saddle.

Haiti and the Age of Abolition

by Marlene L. Daut

Understand the legacy of the Haitian Revolution and its global impact.

Essay

A photocopied cover of a curriculum catalog. At right, a black panther pouncing below the text "Black Studies Curriculum."

Black Studies: Its Origin and Place in the Twenty-First Century

by Abul Pitre

Develop an understanding of the birth and evolution of African American Studies, Black Studies, and other adjacent fields.

Essay

Front page of a newspaper, The Africo-American Presbyterian

African American Naming Conventions

by Claude A. Clegg III

Understand changes in nomenclature in the African diaspora.

Essay

Map of Africa in tan, with arrows in black, red, green, and yellow showing the spread of Christianity and Islam, Bantu migrations, and trade routes within and beyond the continent

Migrations in Ancient African History

from Exploring Africa, African Studies Center

Explore the spread of Bantu languages, Christianity, and Islam and trade routes throughout African kingdoms.

Thematic Map

Map of North America with routes on the Underground Railroad; The legend says that free states and territories are in green and slave states and territories are in tan. Underground railroad routes are in red, with arrows pointing north, west, and (from Georgia), south. The data is from the Atlas of African-American History and Politics.

The Underground Railroad in the Eighteenth Century

by Michael Siegel

Visualize the Underground Railroad in its earliest days through this map.

Thematic Map

Color print of a Black Union soldier in uniform (blue wide brimmed hat with an emblem, blue double-breasted coat with a black belt and gold US belt buckle and red sashes, blue pants, black shoes), holding a sword in his right hand and its sheath in his left; a large American flag flies over his head and there are military tents and a Black soldier in the background.

Martin R. Delany on Emigration

1852

Learn more about the many emigration and colonization pathways for formerly enslaved people.

Primary Source

Map of North America with routes on the Underground Railroad.

The Underground Railroad in the Nineteenth Century

by Michael Siegel and Rutgers Cartography

Visualize the Underground Railroad in the antebellum US through this map.

Thematic Map

A map of the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Atlantic Ocean with arrows noting African emigration from the United States to Canada, Europe, African, and the Caribbean and South America after the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 (post-Revolution in red, post-War of 1812 in blue).

African-American Migrations Post-Revolutionary War and War of 1812

by Michael Siegel

Visualize the trends in migration following two key moments in early American history.

Thematic Map

Map of the Caribbean, focused on Haiti, with arrows noting migratory trends from North America to Haiti, l'Il-a-Vache, and Hispaniola.

Emigration to Haiti, 1820s–1860s

by Michael Siegel, Rutgers Cartography

Explore another emigration pathway, and an aftereffect of the Haitian Revolution, through this map.

Thematic Map

Map of the East Coast of the United States featuring the sites of eight major maroon communities and nine revolts of enslaved people from New York City to the Louisiana bayous

Maroon Communities and Major Slave Revolts

by Michael Siegel, Rutgers Cartography

Visualize the major sites of marronage and uprising across the East Coast through this map.

Thematic Map