Free Field Trip Program for Grades 4-6 at the National Center for White House History at Decatur House, Washington D.C.

Relive this scenario during the Paths to Freedom field trip program while students recreate the events surrounding the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Each student researches and acts the part of an historic character from the 1860s and traces President Abraham Lincoln's steps as he considered emancipation and its alternatives. These scenes are videotaped and transferred to a DVD for the class to keep.

This field trip experience invites students to explore notions of bondage and freedom within the real historic spaces of Decatur House.

This program is:

• Standards-based
• Free of charge
• For Grades 4-6
• A three hour (+) experience
• Includes a free lunch for Title One Schools (upon request)

Within the real historic spaces of the Stephen Decatur House, students engage in critical thinking to answer these questions:

• How did Charlotte Dupuy, a slave owned by Secretary of State and Decatur House resident Henry Clay, use the legal system to seek her freedom?
• How did President Lincoln come to his decision to proclaim emancipation?
• How did Abraham Lincoln use his Constitutional powers as the president in signing the Emancipation Proclamation?