Caveat Academy course · Grades 9 to 12

African American History

Four centuries, from the kingdoms of West and Central Africa and the Atlantic crossing through slavery and resistance, emancipation and Reconstruction, Jim Crow and the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance and the civil rights movement, to the decades since. You read the sources historians read and learn to weigh them yourself, at your own pace, with a certificate at the end.

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$19one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $19

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the High school electives library, $119 for 66 items.

6 modules · 18 lessonsabout 13 hours$19

Six modules, eighteen lessons

Each module ends with a practice set that tracks mastery, an explain-it-back prompt, a short written response and a module exam. The final opens when every module is proficient; passing it earns a certificate with a verification code.

  1. Module 1: Africa, the Atlantic and colonial slavery

    Explain how West and Central African societies, the Atlantic slave trade and colonial law created hereditary, race-based slavery in North America, using estimates from the voyage database.

    • West and Central Africa before the Atlantic trade
    • The Atlantic slave trade and the Middle Passage
    • Slavery in the British colonies
    about 2.1 h

  2. Module 2: Revolution, the new nation and the growth of slavery

    Analyze how the Revolution, the Constitution and the cotton economy shaped slavery, and compare the strategies Black abolitionists and enslaved people used to resist it.

    • Black Americans in the Revolution and the Constitution
    • Cotton, the domestic slave trade and resistance
    • Free Black communities and the fight against slavery
    about 2.1 h

  3. Module 3: Civil War, emancipation and Reconstruction

    Explain how emancipation happened as a process and evaluate why Reconstruction's gains were overturned by violence, fraud and federal retreat.

    • War and emancipation
    • Reconstruction and Black political life
    • The end of Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow
    about 2.1 h

  4. Module 4: Jim Crow, migration and the Harlem Renaissance

    Compare responses to Jim Crow, analyze the push and pull factors of the Great Migration and interpret Harlem Renaissance works in their context.

    • Living under Jim Crow and fighting back
    • The Great Migration
    • The Harlem Renaissance and Black culture
    about 2.1 h

  5. Module 5: The civil rights movement

    Analyze the legal strategy behind Brown and the tactics of nonviolent direct action, and compare integrationist and Black Power approaches.

    • World War II and the road to Brown
    • Nonviolent direct action, Montgomery to Birmingham
    • Voting rights, Black Power and the movement's legacies
    about 2.1 h

  6. Module 6: Since 1970: power, culture and memory

    Evaluate sources on African American history by sourcing, contextualizing and corroborating them, including monuments and other acts of public memory.

    • Political power and persistent gaps
    • Culture, memory and public history
    • Doing African American history
    about 2.1 h

Try it before you start

This is how every lesson works: step through a worked example at your own pace, then answer a check and get the reason right away. Nothing here is saved; the course keeps your progress.

Module 1 · The Atlantic slave trade and the Middle Passage

Worked example: reading the numbers

  1. Start with the estimate: about 12.5 million embarked and about 10.7 million arrived.

A lesson check from each module

The checks need JavaScript turned on. The course itself works the same way.

What you get

Academics · High School$19 · included with the Academy pass and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A finished course in African American history: you can place the societies of West and Central Africa on a map and in time, work with the voyage database estimates of the Atlantic slave trade, explain how colonial law made slavery hereditary, read the Constitution's slavery clauses, trace the cotton economy and the domestic slave trade, compare abolitionist strategies, explain emancipation as a process and why Reconstruction was overthrown, analyze Jim Crow, the Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance, follow the legal and nonviolent strategies of the civil rights movement and its debates, and source, contextualize and corroborate evidence, including monuments. Passing the final earns a Caveat certificate of completion.
Who it is for
Students in grades 9 to 12 taking or preparing for a U.S. history, African American history or AP U.S. History course, students writing a research paper, and homeschool families who want a complete, carefully sourced course. Slavery, lynching and segregation are taught plainly and without graphic detail, and current debates are presented with their facts and the main arguments on each side.
Format
An online self-paced course: 6 modules and 18 lessons with worked examples you reveal step by step, 144 practice and exam items (multiple choice, numeric, fill-in and ordering), an explain-it-back prompt and a rubric-checked short response in every module, module exams with one retake, a 24-question final and a certificate with a verification code. About 13 hours in all; works on a phone or a computer.
Access
$19 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the course opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the High school electives library ($119) and the Academics Suite pass ($149), and 1 more bundle. Progress is saved in this browser on this device, and the certificate page lets you download your record.
Where it lives
The High School space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Access, a receipt, a refund or a correction to the course: team@caveatacademic.com.

How it works

  1. Open the course and start Module 1. Each lesson takes about 25 to 35 minutes; two or three a week finishes the course in about a semester.
  2. Answer the checks as you read. Every answer shows the reason, and a miss links you back to the lesson that covers it.
  3. Finish each module with its practice set and exam. Proficient on every module opens the final; 70 percent passes it.
  4. Print or download your certificate and record from the certificate page.

Start the course

Sources and accuracy

The lessons are original writing by Caveat Academic Services. Facts were checked against these free, open references, which are also good places to read further.

  1. SlaveVoyages, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, estimates and voyage records: slavevoyages.org
  2. Library of Congress, Born in Slavery: slave narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 to 1938: loc.gov
  3. National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution: nmaahc.si.edu
  4. National Archives, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Reconstruction amendments and civil rights records: archives.gov
  5. Equal Justice Initiative, Lynching in America: eji.org
  6. Constitution Annotated, Library of Congress, for the text of the Constitution and its amendments: constitution.congress.gov

African American History is a self-paced course from Caveat Academic Services. Population, voyage and registration figures are rounded estimates from the sources listed, and numbers marked as example numbers are for practice only. Quotations are paraphrased unless marked. It does not replace a school course and awards no credit. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.