Field Trips

Nathaniel Russell was a successful merchant, who transplanted his life to Charleston from Rhode Island in the late 18th century. After the American Revolution, Russell’s lucrative trade business made him a very wealthy citizen of the new American republic. In 1808 he had a mansion built on Meeting Street, and he remained there until the end of his life. A visitor once described Mr. Russell as, “…living in a nest of roses…” – commenting at once on both the Russell family’s vast wealth, as well as their elegantly appointed garden on their large urban lot. This program examines Nathaniel Russell’s ability to accumulate wealth and influence in his adopted city through trade and civil service. Students will learn how the institution of slavery made that wealth possible through the cargo of goods and humans that Russell imported and exported, and they will explore the daily bustle of life for both the Russell family and the enslaved on the property. Students will understand how this location is both a symbol of prosperity and distinction, as well as one of oppression. Students will examine how a house like the Nathaniel Russell House was built, furnished, maintained, and inhabited by both the Russell family and 13-18 enslaved people through multiple generations, and how the life experiences of all who lived there shaped early American “identity”.

The Aiken-Rhett House represents a time of prosperity in the city of Charleston. It also recalls increasing tension during the mid-19th century. As the country struggled to come to grips with its past and current dependence on enslaved workers, different attitudes manifested in the northern and southern states. This program explores not only the continued dependence of planter and industrialist families like the Aikens and the Rhetts on unpaid labor, but also the range of possible solutions being considered across the nation – from compromise and anti-secession movements to the conflict of war. Students will understand how the wealth and influence of upper-class families, as well as their changing tastes, had a part in shaping the trajectory of American history through a turbulent period. The experiences of different social classes and different genders will be considered and discussed. Students will gain insights about the significance of both the southern agrarian economy and the newly emerging industrial pursuits, as well as how African and African American traditions became entwined with uniquely southern and uniquely American identities that continue to persist today.