Breakdown:

1. Introduction: The Distorted History of Slavery in Schools
   • Open by addressing how most white Americans have been taught a distorted, incomplete version of slavery in school.
   • Introduce the idea that many Americans are unaware of their deep, systemic connection to the history of slavery, both in the North and beyond.
2. Slavery in the North: A Hidden History
   • Discuss how slavery wasn’t confined to the South. Highlight that slavery was legal in northern states for over 200 years.
   • Explain how northern industries, from shipbuilding to finance, were deeply tied to the slave trade, and how northern mills processed cotton harvested by enslaved people.
3. The Midwest and West’s Connection to Slavery
   • Explore how regions like the Midwest and West were implicated in slavery by providing the food needed to feed the South, where cash crops like cotton, harvested by enslaved laborers, dominated the land.
   • Emphasize that the economic systems in these regions supported and were supported by the institution of slavery.
4. Slavery’s Reach Into Everyday Life: Consumer Products
   • Highlight how everyday consumers across the country were implicated in slavery by purchasing products like cotton clothing, coffee, sugar, rice, and tobacco—many of which were produced by enslaved labor.
   • Show how even mundane choices like what to wear or eat were deeply intertwined with the exploitation of enslaved people.
5. Immigrants and Their Involvement in Slavery’s Legacy
   • Discuss the role of European immigrants, many of whom arrived after slavery but still benefited from the economic boom created by unpaid labor.
   • Explain that despite facing struggles of their own, these immigrants, including Irish, French, and German ancestors, were granted access to the American Dream, which had been built largely on the back of slavery.
6. Why the Economy Boomed: The Role of Unpaid Labor
   • Analyze how the booming American economy of the 19th century, which attracted waves of immigrants, was fueled in large part by the unpaid labor of enslaved people.
   • Connect the opportunities available to white Americans and immigrants to the wealth generated by a system of racial exploitation.
7. Conclusion: A Call to Acknowledge the Full Scope of Slavery
   • Conclude by emphasizing the need to understand the full scope of slavery’s impact on all regions of the United States, not just the South.
   • Encourage readers to acknowledge this broader connection to slavery, which shaped not only the nation’s economy but also its social structures and opportunities for generations of white Americans.