Learning About History With The Addy Walker Doll

"High Hopes For Addy" from
The American Girl Short Stories

       "Addy Walker was the fifth doll added to the Historical line and her year is 1864. Her character is a fugitive slave who escapes with her mother from a plantation in North Carolina to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War. Addy's stories explore themes of freedom, familial love, prejudice and racism. The six-book series was written by Connie Porter and originally illustrated by Melodye Rosales and Bradford Brown, but were later redrawn by Dahl Taylor. A stage adaptation of Porter's Addy book series was commissioned and produced by the Seattle Children's Theater in 2007. Addy: An American Girl Story was subsequently taken on a limited national tour from January through May 2008 through Kids Entertainment, Inc. Addy was the first African American character made by American Girl, the second being Cecile and the third being Melody."  Wikipedia

• Teacher's Guide for Finding Freedom (PDF)
• Look up the meaning of the name, Addy

Krebs lithograph depicting lives of slaves 
both before the war and after.

Our Artifacts for lapbooks, notebooking or keeping a journal about Addy Walker:

• The Constellations by Mitton
• Daguerreotypes of African Americans from The Mid-1800s 
• The Watchers by John Greenleaf Whittier 
• Fashions from The American Civil War Era 
• Paper Dolls and How To Make Them, published in 1857 (during the Civil War era)
• Who Was Harriet Beecher Stowe? 
• Doll Sized Spelling Printables - 1841 
• DIY a Doll Sized Needlepoint and Hoop 
• An Old Letter
  

For Research On The Web:

Addy's Story: Her Life During & After The American Civil War: Introductory Videos:

• Meet Addy Walker, An American Girl
• Addy Walker a African American Character Doll from The Civil War Era 
• Meet Addy Walker, An American Girl
• American Historian, Meet American Girl
• Meet Addy Walker, An American Girl by the National Museum of American History 
• Addy Walker by Gina Piazza, Afterlives of Slavery (a serious review for parents and teachers)
• Childhood and Transatlantic Slavery by Steven Mintz - important for parents and teachers to read 

Education Artifacts for Addy's Childhood:

• Brotherly Love - Life After Slavery in Philadelphia
• The I.C.Y. -  The Institute for Colored Youth was founded in 1837 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Read more...
• Fannie Jackson Coppin - school teacher and first African American school principal at the I.C.Y. 
• American Civil War for Missouri Teachers - Integrated Studies Research
• With Patents or Without, Black Inventors Reshaped American Industry and George Washington Carver 

African American Heroes of The Civil War:

• Harriet Tubman and The Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, New York
• Frederick Douglass - biography, resource bank and speeches

The President In 1864:

• The Life of President Abraham Lincoln
  

Artifacts About The Underground Railroad:

• Dawn Of Day - Stories from the Underground Railroad
• Harriet Tubman Inspiring Documentary
• Follow the Drinking Gourd - pathways to freedom
• Enabling Freedom - Freedom Center
• The Hubbard House and the Underground Railroad
• Mass Appeal Underground Railroad: Elijah Burt House in East Longmeadow
• Historical Underground Railroad Home in Ohio

Learn About Abolitionists During The American Civil War:

• The Abolitionist Movement (for teachers) and The African Americans - Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (grade 5 and up)

Slave History Artifacts Before and During The Civil War:

• Half the History and To Live Like a Slave
• Teaching About Slavery in the Elementary Classroom
• Were Slaves Really "Well-Fed"? Tour the Whitney Plantation 
• Wessyngton Plantation: A Family's Road to Freedom  
• Ex slaves talk about slavery in the USA

Holidays During The Civil War Era:

• The Christmas Tree During The Civil War and The Presents

Spiritual Songs from African Americans:

• Negro Spirituals Were Slave Songs
• African-American Spirituals of the Civil War: Concert
• Negro Spirituals performed in 1929 by choirs in Waco Texas
• The Best Rendition of "Goin' Up Yonder" by Limie Stanton
• Ray Charles and The Voices of Jubilaton sing "Oh Happy Day"
• Sister Rosetta Tharpe sings "This Train"

Addy Walker's Fan Reviews:

• BeForever Addy Doll Review
• How Addy Honored her Mother - a life struggle 
• American Girl Addy Walkers Beforever Bed & Bedding Review
• My complicated childhood love for Addy Walker, the first Black American Girl doll
• What Connie Porter Meant to Me 
• Listing of Addy Walker Books and The Author: Connie Porter
• My Entire American Girl Addy Doll Collection

Addy Walker's Accessories, Playsets and Clothing: 

• Addy's Sewing Playset Review 
• Addy Walkers Beforever Bed & Bedding Review
• Addy's Outfits 2015
• Addy Walker's American Girl Hospital Visit
• Addy Doll Clothes and Accessories, 1864 
• My pinboard for Addy's costumes and accessories

Advanced Reading: Historical Fiction about The Civil War:

• When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson, Gordonsville, Virginia, 1864 by Barry Denenberg
• A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl, Belmont Plantation, Virginia, 1859 by Patricia McKissack
• I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 1865 by Joyce Hansen
• A Light in the Storm: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin, Fenwick Island, Delaware, 1861 by Karen Hesse