Our Nation’s Great Paradox: A look at how our founding documents protected slavery (Grades 6-8)  Students will engage in an interactive guided tour to learn about the free and enslaved people who lived and labored at Marietta, a former tobacco plantation. The owner and enslaved of Marietta were Associate Supreme Court Justice Gabriel Duvall. He defended over 120 freedom petitions for enslaved people from Prince George’s County. Simultaneously, he enslaved over 70 people at Marietta and was among those framers at the Constitutional Convention to write the first U.S. Constitution. 

The special focus of this field trip is on how the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution protected slavery and shaped the lived experiences of multiple generations of enslaved people. Two problem-solving group activities are designed especially for grades 6-8 as part of the 95-minute visit. Pre-visit and post-visit lessons are included.    

The dates for these field trips will be set between Marietta's staff and the teachers.

Students: $3
Teachers: FREE
Chaperones: required 1adult chaperone (free) for every 10 students
Additional people: $5