Exploring and Interpreting the History of Slavery at James Madison’s Montpelier: A Case Study in Using Archaeology as an Interpretive Tool in Public History Practice

ABSTRACT:Archaeology’s importance to understanding and exploring difficult histories should be considered an essential tool in the public history toolbox. This paper will explore how the Department of Archaeology at The Montpelier Foundation in Orange, Virginia, interprets the lives of over 350 individuals enslaved by James Madison, the nation’s fourth president. To do so, we use the Rubric of best practices, standards established by the National Summit on Teaching Slavery held in 2018 and published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in a document called Engaging Descendant Communities in the Interpretation of Slavery at Museums and Historic Sites. This paper examines how the Montpelier Archaeology Department has developed a research and interpretive program that puts the Rubric into practice, making the case that public historians and heritage organizations must robustly engage archaeologists and the discipline of archaeology in all aspects of its research and interpretation.