John Dickinson Tour Guide Answers

1. Pick 2 main points that the tour guide covered and tell how each point differed or compared with what we learned in class?

The tour guide covered many points that compared and differed from the material we learned in class. One of the main points was Delaware in the textbook was classified as the Chesapeake and the “Old South” and was given the same slavery qualities which differed from what the tour guide covered. John Dickinson treated his slaves with compassion and good intentions. On the John Dickinson plantation many slaves were seen as a form of family. Slaves lived in the home and stayed to work for his family after they were freed. The family tried to bury some slaves with them because of the bond they felt with them. Also, Dickinson would buy the family members of slaves to keep their families together instead letting them be sold to separate states. One of the main points the tour guide covered was

The first thing I was taught by the John Dickinson plantation about slavery in Delaware was how the weather conditions effected the slaves. The quarters that slaves lived in were not insulated and very uncomfortable. They were extremely cold in the winter and extremely hot in the summer. Also, their beds made of materials that attracted bed bugs. The conditions were not ideal for Delaware’s location weather wise. The second thing I was taught was that the location of Delaware allowed for some of the owners to be Quakers, such as John Dickinson. John Dickinson’s Quaker beliefs guided him to manumit his slaves. Dickinson also bought the family of enslaved peoples and manumitted them. He manumitted them conditionally at first and eventually unconditionally. The arrangements of this plantation showed me that not all slave owners in Delaware agreed with each other morally on the slavery. John Dickinson showed that some believed slavery should not be a lifelong