Life Under Slavery

Enslaved Africans accounted for 32% of the total population of the South.

Slave labor was needed to make a profit in the Cotton Kingdom South.

• Slave labor used on plantations.• Slave trade banned in 1808, by 1860 almost all

enslaved Africans were born in America.

Life As A Slave

• American law did not protect enslaved people or families.

• At any given time, a husband or wife could be sold away.– Marriage ceremony included the phrase, “till

death or separation do us part”.– Relied on a tight knit network of family and friends

to care for the children that were left behind.

African American Culture

• Fused African and American culture to create a culture all their own.– Wrapped hair in colorful cloth.– Continued to practice African dance and music.– Accepted Christianity.• Found links between Christianity and their condition.• Prayed for the salvation of their people.• Folk Songs

Slave Codes

• Laws in the Southern states that controlled enslaved people.– White fear of rebellion.

– White population becoming the minority.

If you control their mind, you control their behind…

• Illegal to assemble in large groups• Illegal to teach a slave to read/write without

consent and presence of owner.• Must have a pass to leave master’s property.• Rape of a slave women was not a crime.

Slave Resistance

• Few rebelled– Nat Turner’s Rebellion• Religious leader, taught himself to read and write.• Turner’s group killed 55 white’s before being caught.

Most slaves used passive resistance

• Breaking tools• Working slowly• Pretending to be sick• Setting fires• Escaping/Running away– Underground Railroad

Severe slave punishments… although it did not happen often, sometimes slaves were made examples of…