Transcript Mark Twain - Teaching with Primary Sources ~ Governors

American Memory Project
Presenters and Creators:
Angela Brady
and
Abdelilah Mouayani
Mark Twain
The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn
"The man who does not read books
has no advantage over the man that
can not read them.” MT
Key Facts about the novel
• Written in Hartford, Connecticut and
Elmira, New York from 1876-1883
• First publication: 1884
• Publisher: Charles L. Webster & Co.
• Time: Before the Civil War, 1835-1845
• Setting: The Mississippi River town of St.
Petersburg, Missouri; various locations
along the river through Arkansas
Text and Context
•Themes · Racism and slavery;
intellectual and moral education; the
hypocrisy of “civilized” society
Slavery
• Prior to the Civil War,
America could be seen as
two territories with their own
cultures. The North was
thriving with industry,
immigrants, and various
commerce. The South, on
the other hand, was involved
with agriculture, especially
growing cotton.
• In 1800, there were a total of
893,602 slaves in the United
States: only 36,505 in the
North and by 1860, there
were 3,953,760 slaves in the
Southern states.
• http://www.nwctc.commnet.e
du/fox/melville/slavery.htm
The map above show the shifting
balance of power between the
"free" states and the "slave"
states in the United States from
1820 to 1860.
Website
• To inform and provide links to text and
context relating to Mark Twain and The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• To be used as a teaching aid
• Website