Introduction:

What is the first thing that comes to mind upon hearing the words African-American History? Probably the first thing that would come to mind would include, early events such as the Civil War, the Underground Railroad, Abolition, and the Emancipation Proclamation probably come to mind. You may also recall the story of Harriet Tubman or Frederick Douglass. However, it is important to remember that just because a person or event is one of the most famous, it is not necessarily the most significant. There are many "lesser known" stories that had a great impact on history. Quite often, all you have to do to find a piece of rich history is to look around the corner. This is just what you will do in this exercise (specifically, the history of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Lancaster City), and when you do, you will find that our corner of the country is deeply connected to many of the important events in African American History.

Background:

"...at the juncture of North and Strawberry Streets, stands a structure which has long been connected with Lancaster's Afro-American community: Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The church's exterior offers no indication of the role this congregation played in its community or the general community" (Hopkins 205).

Once completed, this church and its congregation played an instrumental role in history due in large part to its role (with the sister A.M.E. churches) as a stop on the Underground Railroad. But it is also extremely important to note that the conditions under which it was established here in Lancaster proved to be a great feat in itself for the free blacks who accomplished this. Ellis and Evans write of this historical event in History of Lancaster County, "On June 10, 1817, about fifty persons of color assembled at the house of James Clendenin(g), and expressed a desire that the Rev. Daniel Coker and the other circuit preachers of the Methodist denomination should visit the town and preach to them once every two weeks. These people also desired to have a place of worship, and decided to take steps to secure one. ...the church was completed in 1821 and consecrated on February 11th." (Hopkins 206).  To see a copy of the article from the Lancaster Intelligencer and Weekly Examiner June 28, 1817, regarding this event, click here: http://tweis.millersville.edu/ugrr/Clendeniegmeeting.gif.

As you might expect, however, the establishment of this church did not occur without strong white opposition, even in the northern state of Pennsylvania. This was expressed in 1867 by an early historian of black Methodism by the name of Benjamin Tanner. "The giant crime of the African Methodist Episcopal Church was that they dared to organize a Church of men, men to think for themselves, men to talk for themselves, men to act for themselves: A Church of men who support from their own substance, however scanty, the ministration of the Word which they receive; men who spurn to have their churches built for them, and their pastors supported from the coffers of some charitable organization; men who prefer to live by the sweat of their own brow and be free" (Nash 117).
 

Objectives: With the completion of this lesson the student will be able to:

• Describe the lives of free African Americans during the early to mid 1800ís
• Understand, through the creation of journal entries, the difficulty of the task of establishing the Bethel AME Church
• Extract important information from both online and print sources
• Analyze the importance of the church in the Underground Railroad and the black abolitionist movement
• Make a connection between local history and national history

• Compare and contrast family life now with family life in the local community or state long ago by considering such things as roles, jobs, communicationÖ (1A)
• The student understands the different ways people of diverse racial, religious, and ethnic groups and of various national origins have transmitted their beliefs and values. (1B)
• Identify historical figures in the local community and explain their contributions and significance. (2A)
• Identify a problem in the communityís past, analyzing the difference perspectives of those involved, and evaluate choices people had and the solution they chose. (2A)

Work together with your partner for 2-3 minutes to discover why YOU think that it was such an important accomplishment for blacks to secure their own place of worship? Develop a list of 5 social, economic, political, religious, or any other important considerations that African-Americans would have to deal with both in everyday life and when attempting to establish their own place of worship in the early to mid 1800ís. Although you have not researched this matter in depth, think about the conditions that existed for African-Americans at this time throughout nineteenth century America. How would you feel as one of the original members or even founders? Put yourself in their time and place. After you and your partner have listed your ideas, use the remaining 7-8 minutes to go to the following web site and learn more about "The History of Bethel AME Church" and take notes as you go.

Additional instructions before going to the site:

The Negro Entry book was an extremely important part of the lives of free blacks at this time, as it kept them "under that watch" of the local government. So, click on the link entitled "Negro Entry Book" at the bottom of the Bethel AME page in order to understand what this book required. Click on the site below to complete these tasks.

http://muweb.millersville.edu/~twstproj/HIST272/1999F/rbethel.html

Step 2 (25 minutes) Research:

One of the most important things to note in your study of Bethel AME Church in Lancaster, is that it was only the third of many A.M.E. Churches that would be established in the north throughout the 1800's (Nash). Each of these churches have histories that can be traced back to the local area of Philadelphia, where the original A.M.E. Church was established. "Mother Bethel A.M.E." as the church would come to be known, was established largely because of the determination of a man named Richard Allen. The next part of your "journey of local historical discovery" will help you to learn more about the Reverend Richard Allen and his founding of "Mother Bethel A.M.E." in Philadelphia. Through this exercise, you will be able to take a glance into the life of Richard Allen and briefly get a sense of his living experiences as well as all that he accomplished. Your research can be completed by using the web-sites below. Note: In the interest of time, you may want to focus specifically on the first 3 sites for your primary research, and go on to the others if time permits. As you conduct your research through these rich web sites, focus on the task of choosing 3 particular events in Allenís life that you believe to be turning points for him, perhaps giving him hope, strength, or even despair. Write these events down so you can refer back to them for part 3 of this activity. 

Richard Allen

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3p97.html

A brief biography of the life of Richard Allen

The Black Church

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3narr3_txt.html

History of the establishment of the black church and its influence. Focus on reading passages 1, 3, and 7 in order to learn more about Richard Allen.

Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3h474.html

Portrait of Mother Bethel Church and brief facts are featured.

The Causes and Motives for Establishing St. Thomasís African Church

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3h1588t.html

St. Thomasís Church was established by Absalom Jones, lifelong friend of Richard Allen. Although each went on to establish African Churches of different denominations (St. Thomasís was Protestant) their motives for doing so were much the same.

Black People's Prayer Meeting

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3h253.html

Step 3 Journal (15 minutes):

By conducting this research, you should be able to get a brief glance into Richard Allenís (as well as other free blacksí) life(ves) around the time of Mother Bethel's establishment. In order to make your picture of his life even more complete, your task is to outline 3 journal entries written from Richard Allenís point of view, each entry reflecting Allenís reaction, thoughts, feelings, to/about one of the 3 events you chose in step 2.

Bibliography of Print Sources:

Nash, Gary B. Forging Freedom: The Formation of Philadelphiaís Black Community, 1840. Harvard University Press. Cambridge: 1988. Hopkins, Leroy, Ph.D. "Bethel African Methodist Church in Lancaster: Prolegomenon to a Social History." LCHS Journal. 1986: 205-215. Extending the lesson by asking students to:

(Activities using both online and offline resources) 

1. Analyze African American life, and the broader community life, during the 1800ís by going to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3h467.html and analyze the painting "Fourth of July Celebration in Centre Square (1819). You might use a painting analysis worksheet based on the ones developed by NARA.

2. Write a speech from the point of view of Richard Allen or another free African-American (possibly just an ordinary man or woman) addressing the people of Philadelphia, Lancaster, or another local community arguing for the rights of the African-Americans to establish their own church.

http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground

Click on "Operating the Underground Railroad" and read the information provided about the Underground Railroad for background knowledge. Then, click on "List of Sites" at the bottom of that page to see the list of stops in the various states in U.S. Scroll down the page until you get to Pennsylvania, notice that there are six different stops listed. Divide the class into six different "research groups" of approximately four students each and assign each group to a different stop. Each group will then be responsible for going to the site provided on their stop, as well as going to the library to research, and if possible to the Historical Society of the county the stop is located. They will then write up a research article about their assigned place to be compiled into a classroom journal.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (40 minutes)

Meet with others who used these resources to share insights, ideas, and reflections on your experience of doing this activity. Begin by briefly sharing your ideas for the presentations and then discuss the activity, using the following questions as prompts:

• What could students learn from this activity about the historical significance of the AME church in the struggle for African American freedom? What kinds of background information would students need to effectively engage in this activity?

• Would this activity, or some variation of it, work in your classroom or site? How would you reshape it for your audience? How would you combine it with other resources or sequence it with other lessons?

• What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of this activity? Is it a good vehicle for developing skills in inquiry, exploring primary sources, and developing arguments?

• How would you describe the pedagogy (or principles of teaching/learning) that informs this activity? What aspects of the activity help to make it effective? What skills and modes of thinking does it support? Do the electronic resources suit the assignment's goals? What can we learn from this activity about the kinds of inquiry assignments that work best when using new media?