Most of us know that James Madison was the fourth President of the United States and the Father of the Constitution. But the average person probably doesn’t have an extensive knowledge of how Madison, his wife, and their enslaved community lived on their plantation, Montpelier, near Orange, Virginia.
Andrea Harpen’s students, enrolled in their college chemistry course at Blanchester High School, are learning more as a result of a research project on this topic. The research project is a requirement of a College Credit Plus general chemistry course provided through Southern State Community College.
The students recently visited the Fayette campus of Southern State where they worked with chemistry professor Dr. Donald Storer to complete the analysis of soil samples from an archaeological excavation of the dwellings occupied by slaves serving the Madison household.
Archaeologists can learn much about the activities of the slaves by not only studying artifacts from the site, they can also glean information from chemical signatures left in the soil from activities of slaves. Chemicals deposited in the soil as the result of everyday activities, such as laundry and food preparation, can still be detected hundreds of years later.
After preparing their soil samples, the students visited Spectrum Analytic, a commercial laboratory in Washington Court House, to complete the analysis of their soil samples. The students toured the laboratory and observed their samples being analyzed by sophisticated instruments.
The day ended with a presentation to the students over Skype by Dr. Matt Reeves, Director of Archaeology at Montpelier.
Dr. Reeves explained the goals of his team in learning more about the daily activities of the residents of Montpelier, and students were able to see photographs of the sites where their soil samples were taken.
“This is an incredible opportunity for our students,” said Mrs. Harpen. “Our students get a chance to be part of a national archeological research project that will shed new light on our nation’s history. They will also have something very substantial to add to their resumes.”
Andrea Harpen is a teacher at Blanchester High School.
