Black Founders Big Ideas
Explore these short framing essays to discover the lives and legacies of free Black Philadelphian, Revolutionary War privateer, successful businessman, and stalwart abolitionist James Forten and his family.
Black Founders
Big Idea 1: Young James Forten's World
Learn more about Revolutionary-era Philadelphia where a young James Forten grew up and how the city shaped his formative years.
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Black Founders
Big Idea 2: Black Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolutionary War
Learn more about how with freedom, liberty, and equality at stake, people of African descent faced opportunities and risks in fighting on both sides of the Revolutionary War.
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Black Founders
Big Idea 3: African American Freedom and Community, 1780-1813
Learn more about how enslaved people and free people of African descent used the promises of the American Revolution to fight for their rights and freedoms as the young United States grew.
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Black Founders
Big Idea 4: James Forten and Entrepreneurs of African Descent
Learn more about how James Forten and other people of African descent managed to overcome many challenges to become successful in business at a time when most people did not consider them equal.
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Black Founders
Big Idea 5: The Forten Family: Abolitionists and Reformers
Learn more about how the whole Forten family, not just James Forten, became leaders in movements for education, suffrage, and abolition, and were generous philanthropists.
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Black Founders
Big Idea 6: Elder James Forten's World
Learn more about early 1800s Philadelphia where an elder James Forten witnessed how industrialization, new transportation options, and migration transformed the city.
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Black Founders
Big Idea 7: Continuing the Forten Family Legacy
Learn more about how following James Forten's death in 1842, the Forten family kept his spirit alive by pushing to make Philadelphia and the country a better place for people of African descent.
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Black Founders Teacher Resources
Access modular activities and ready-made worksheets to help your students dig deeper into the lives and legacies of free Black Philadelphia, Revolutionary War privateer, and successfull businessman James Forten and his descendants.
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Black Founders
Black Founders Glossary
This glossary provides definitions that may be useful as you explore the Black Founders: The Fortens of Philadelphia teacher resources, big ideas, and primary sources.
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Exhibits
Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia
February 11 - November 26, 2023Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia explored the story of James Forten and his descendants as they navigated the American Revolution and cross-racial relationships in Philadelphia to later become leaders in the abolition movement in the lead-up to the Civil War.
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