The Peculiar Institution:Chapter 9, Section 3

Differences in economic, political, and social beliefs and practices can lead to division within a nation and have lasting consequences. Enslaved

African Americans developed a unique culture and fought against slavery.

Life Under Slavery• Main idea: Enslaved

African Americans faced many hardships but were able to create family lives, religious beliefs, and a distinct culture.• It wasn’t uncommon

for slaves to be sold/ forced to leave their families against their will

Family Life• Enslaved people faced constant uncertainty/danger

• They were not protectedunder any laws

• Family members could besold to different ownersbreaking up family• Marriage made nodifference/influence (notrecognized by law)• To establish some stability, enslaved people created a

network of friends/family to ensure all were looked after even if they became separated

African American Culture• To cope with

hardships…culture grew. Blending African and American elements

• Growth came from– 1st generation African

Americans born– Congress outlawing slave

trade– Still legal in South, but no

new slaves could enter US (by 1860, all enslaved people had been born in US)

African American Culture• Native born African

Americans still practiced African customs…– Music– Dance– Folk stories– Attire

• Blended religion…– Christianity– African beliefs and practices

of ancestors

African American Christianity• Religion represented

hope and resistance• Prayed for freedom

and change• Spirituals developed

as means to communicate through folk song (secretly)

• Continued oral tradition of passing stories

1. How did enslaved people cope with the injustices that they faced?

2. How did the African American spiritual develop?

Resisting Slavery• Main idea: Many enslaved people

fought against slavery.• Slaves had few legal rights, even

before slave codes made things more difficult– Severe laws controlling slaves– To prevent rebellion (feared most by

Southern whites)– Prohibited slaves from assembling in

large groups– Couldn’t leave master’s property

without a written pass– Illegal to read/write (an ignorant slave

will be less likely to rebel)

Rebellions• Some slaves did rebel against

masters, and many more plotted uprisings...

• Nat Turner– Popular religious leader– Taught himself to read/write– 1831, led a group of followers on

brief, violent rampage in Southhampton County, VA

– Resulted in death of 55 whites– Turner hanged– Led to even more severe slave

codes

Rebellions• Gabrial Prosser (1800)

– Planned rebellion to capture Richmond, VA and massacre whites

– Plot given away, he and 35 others were convicted and executed

• Denmark Vesey (1821)– Carpenter in Charleston, SC purchased

own freedom, and outraged by slavery– Reading the Bible and Declaration of

Independence fueled his hatred– Developed plan for revolt, but betrayed

by followers

Did you know…?• Southern white attempted

to wipe out African culture. Slaveholders deliberately mixed Africans of different ethnic groups. By mixing Africans who had different languages and customs, the slaveholders hoped to prevent a sense of ethnic form of fostering a unified rebellion.

• WHY??

• One study of life under slavery analyzed the census of 1850 to determine life expectancy. It found that at birth enslaved people could expect to live 36 years, compared to 40 years for whites.

• WHY??

Talk about it!

Forms of Resistance• Armed rebellions were rare

because slaves knew they would lose

• Instead, they resisted by– Working slowly– Faking ill– Setting fire to plantation

buildings– Breaking tools

• Resisting helped them to endure

Escaping Slavery• Some slaves tried to run away to

free states in the North - few succeeded

• Used Underground Railroad – network of ‘safe houses’ owned by free blacks and white who opposed slavery (not a subway!)

• Most were captured and returned to owners to face severe punishment

• Not always safe in the North if they made it. Even in North, they were often captured and returned

• Instead they tried to make it to Canada!

• Two African American leaders, born into slavery, gained freedom when they fled to the North using Underground Railroad– Frederick Douglass– Harriet Tubman: Successfully made it

to Pennsylvania, but wasn’t happy, since she was alone with no family to enjoy it with her. Worked with other abolitionists and continued to be a “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, escorting “passengers” to freedom, making the trip 19 times risking her own capture, to help over 300 escape from slavery. She later worked as a spy during the Civil War, helping the Union, and aiding the sick/wounded

1. Why did Southern slaveholders respond as they did to revolts by enslaved people?

2. What ideas in the Declaration of Independence could Denmark Vesey have used to support his opposition to slavery?

3. Why was Harriet Tubman unhappy even after she escaped from slavery?

4. Besides rebellions, what other forms did resistance to slavery take?5. Why were extended families vital to African American culture?6. What was the Underground Railroad?7. What were the short-term and long-term consequences of

rebellions by enslaved people?