Teacher Resources
Beaufort
The Revolutionary War created a moment of crisis in the Sea Island plantation economy of South Carolina — and within that crisis, thousands of enslaved people made decisions about their own freedom. This lesson uses the Beaufort district Sea Islands as a case study for examining the Philipsburg Proclamation, the decisions enslaved people made in response to it, and what happened to those people when the war ended. Students analyze the gap between legal proclamation and actual freedom, consider how historians recover the history of people whose names were often not preserved, and evaluate what enslaved agency during the Revolution means for how we understand the war.
Grade Range
7-10
Duration
2-3 class periods
Included
3 Resources
What's Included
Everything
You Need
- 5 primary sources with analysis prompts
- Quiz with answer key (5 questions)
- 3 printable handouts
Lesson Overview
The Revolutionary War created a moment of crisis in the Sea Island plantation economy of South Carolina — and within that crisis, thousands of enslaved people made decisions about their own freedom. This lesson uses the Beaufort district Sea Islands as a case study for examining the Philipsburg Proclamation, the decisions enslaved people made in response to it, and what happened to those people when the war ended. Students analyze the gap between legal proclamation and actual freedom, consider how historians recover the history of people whose names were often not preserved, and evaluate what enslaved agency during the Revolution means for how we understand the war.
Essential Questions
- What does freedom mean when it is offered as a military incentive rather than a moral principle?
- How do historians tell the stories of people who left no documents of their own?
- What happened to the people who chose the "wrong" side — the British side — of the Revolution?
Primary Sources
5 Sources for Analysis
PRIMARY · TIER1
Lieutenant Governor William Bull II Papers: Beaufort District Correspondence, 1774-1776
South Carolina Department of Archives and History
PRIMARY · TIER1
Beaufort District Committee of Safety Records, 1775-1776
South Carolina Historical Society
PRIMARY · TIER1
Royal Navy Logs: Port Royal Station, 1779-1782
Public Record Office (National Archives, United Kingdom)
INSTITUTIONAL · TIER1
Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor: Revolutionary Era Resources
National Park Service / Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission
View SourcePRIMARY · TIER1
Pension Applications: Beaufort District Militia, 1820s-1840s
National Archives and Records Administration
Lesson Plan
In the Classroom
Learning Objectives
- 1Students will explain the Philipsburg Proclamation and analyze who it applied to, what it promised, and what its limitations were
- 2Students will trace the decisions made by enslaved people in the Beaufort Sea Islands in response to the British presence
- 3Students will identify the range of outcomes for people who sought British lines and evaluate why outcomes varied
- 4Students will assess what enslaved agency during the Revolution reveals about the war's social dimensions and the limits of the "freedom" narrative
Assessment
Beaufort in the American Revolution
Answer the following questions based on our study of Revolutionary history.
What makes Beaufort significant in Revolutionary history?
multiple choice
Primary sources are documents or objects created during the time period being studied.
true false
Name one event that occurred in Beaufort during the Revolutionary period and explain its significance.
short answer
+ 2 more questions in the full packet
Ready to Print?
The full teacher packet includes cover page, lesson plan, all primary source worksheets, quiz, answer key, and standards alignment — formatted for classroom printing.