Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen

A study of Slavery and the issues that surround it

What is Slavery?

• Work done under harsh conditions for little or no pay

• The state of being under someone else’s control

When did slavery begin?

• Slaves were first introduced into the American society in the 1619 (long before the Declaration of Independence)

• A Dutch slave trader exchanged his cargo of Africans for food in 1619.

• These slaves were really indentured servants, it was not meant for them to serve their masters for longer than 7 years.

When did slavery begin? (continued)

• A 1662 Virginia law assumed Africans would remain servants for life.

• By 1740 the SLAVERY system in colonial America was fully developed.

Why did Slavery in America exist?

• Prior to the American Revolution, slavery existed in all the colonies. It was culturally acceptable for people to own slaves.

• After the American Revolution, – slavery in the Northern States

stopped almost completely.– slavery in the Southern states,

however, continued because of the need for cheap labor on tobacco farms and cotton farms.

How were slaves treated?

• Slaves could own no property unless sanctioned by a slave master

• Housing, food, and clothing were of poor quality.

• Owners reinforced submissive behavior not so much by positive rewards as by severe punishment of those who did not conform.

What about education?

• In most of the South it was illegal to teach a black to read or write.

• In spite of the oppressive conditions of slavery in the United States, a relatively large population of slaves could read, write and had specialized skills.

• Free Black families living in northeastern areas had education equal to the average White family

•In New York, they were taught to read and write after their daily work was completed and by 1708 as many as 200 slaves were being educated.

General Facts About Slaves• The average price of a slave in the

mid-19th century was about $600, a very considerable sum over $10,000 in 2002.Nazer, Mende and Damien Lewis. Slave: My True Story (Public Affairs: 2004)

• Slave children would often begin working as young as 5 or 6 years old. – Slave children can cut kindling wood for

fires and fill water buckets. – As they get older, their work load will

increase. This could mean working in the fields, cooking, sewing or even learning a trade such as carpentry or blacksmithing.

More General Facts

• The number of slaves an owner bought was dependent on the size of his farm and the size of his income. A slave owner could own as few as two slaves or as many as one hundred. Slaves were often shared between farms if a slave owner had multiple farms and overseers at each farm.

When did Slavery in America end?• 1865 Amendment XIII. Slavery

abolished.1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

• 1866 Civil Rights Act. Congress overrode President Johnson's veto on April 9 and passed the Civil Rights Act, conferring citizenship upon black Americans and guaranteeing equal rights with whites.

Emancipation Day, South Carolina 1863

More about the end of Slavery• 1866

The Fourteenth Amendment. On June 13, Congress approved the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing due process and equal protection under the law to all citizens. The amendment would also grant citizenship to blacks.

• 1868 Fourteenth Amendment ratified. On July 21, the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, granting citizenship to any person born or naturalized in the United States.

Emancipation DayBritish West Indies 1834

Quilt SymbolsMonkey Wrench Prepare the tools you’ll need for the long journey, including the mental and spiritual tools. Or (as a Ship’s Wheel), the pilot is prepared to begin the transport.

Wagon Wheel Load the wagon or prepare to board the wagon to begin the escape.

Drunkard’s Path Create a zig-zag path, do not walk in a straight line, to avoid pursuers in this area.

Flying Geese Points to a direction to follow, such as where geese would fly during spring migration.

Bowtie Dress in a disguise, or put on a change of clothes.

Shoofly Possibly identifies a friendly guide who is nearby and can help.

Star Follow the North Star.

Crossroads Refers to Cleveland, Ohio

Log Cabin advises that a person is safe to talk to.

Bear’s Paw Take a mountain trail, out of view

Does Slavery still exist?• Sadly, the answer is yes.• Most people believe slavery no longer exists, but it is still very much

alive.• From Khartoum to Calcutta, from Brazil to Bangladesh, men, women,

and children live and work as slaves or in slave-like conditions.• According to the London-based Anti-Slavery International (ASI), the

world's oldest human-rights organization, there are at least 27 million people in bondage.

• Indeed, there may be more slaves in the world than ever before. 

You have been enjoying songs from the following website:

• Songs from the Underground Railroad http://www.appleseedrec.com/underground/sounds.html

Songs were an important part of

life for many slaves,

It was a way to communicate their

feelings and hardships.

Most of the songs were spiritual in

nature.

A Little About the Underground

Railroad• National Geographic:

The Underground Railroad

Your Thoughts

• You have finished watching Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen how has the movie changed your views on:– Slavery?– The way blacks were treated during that time?– The way blacks are treated today?– Being tolerant of people that are different than

you?

Bibliography

• http://www.simplcom.ca/lnq/mlk3/blackslavery.html

• http://www.religioustolerance.org/sla_hist.htm

• Chronology on the History of Slavery and Racism http://www.innercity.org/holt/slavechron.html

Bibliography (continued)

• Understanding Slavery http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/slavery/world.html

• Slavery Image Database http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/return.php?categorynum=17

• Slavery: Worldwide Evil http://www.iabolish.com/today/background/worldwide-evil.htm

• A Cultural Outlook on the History of Black American Families in the Rural South http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1990/5/90.05.08.x.html

Bibliography (continued)

• 1860 Slave Schedules, Butler County http://www.afrigeneas.com/aacensus/al/slaves.htm#1860%20Butler%20County

• Underground Railroad Quilt Code http://educ.queensu.ca/~fmc/may2004/Underground.html