The Nature and Development of Slavery

in the United States

1790-1860

Slavery: Post Revolution

“republican” ideology of equality and liberty

Massachusetts outlaws slavery in 1783

By 1800, slavery is banned above the Mason-Dixon Line

Northwest Ordinance of 1787 banned slavery in the Northwest Territories

Virginia and Maryland: wave of manumission—100,000 slaves are freed

George Washington freed all his slaves

Quakers promote abolition of slavery in the late 18th century

Early Expansion

South Carolina and Georgia continue to import slaves until 1808

Invention of cotton gin in 1793

Louisiana Purchase in 1803

New slave states by 1819: Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama

Causes

Technology

cotton gin

transportation revolution

Textile factories: New England’s Lowell System

New territories

Exhausted soils in Old South

Indian Removal

War of 1812

Indian Removal Act of 1830 and Trail of Tears

Black Hawk and Seminole Wars of the 1830s

Slavery in 1860

Fifteen slave states

Southern population:

9 million total

3.6 million slaves

250,000 free blacks (mostly urban areas)

Most slaves lived on middling plantations and small farms

Slave trade

250,000 slaves imported illegally

Thriving domestic trade: “breeding” plantations of Upper South

White Population

Owned 50+ slaves: 1%

Owned 20-49 slaves: 3%

Owned 10-19 slaves: 4%

Owned 1-9 slaves: 17%

Non slave-owners: 75%

Nature and Characteristics

Small Farms

More Common Masters worked alongside

slaves Worked long, hard hours Less harshly treated: were

a more significant investment

Were not profitable

Large Plantations

Less common but more profitable

Strict chain of command, structure, and greater organization

Possessed skilled artisans such as carpenters, masons, and blacksmiths considered even more valuable than field hands

Possessed household slaves (domestics): cooks, valets, coachmen, nannies

Large Plantations

Mistress Master

White overseer or Black slave

drivers

House Servan

ts

Skilled

Artisans

Black field hands and unskilled

laborersMt. Vernon

Slave Life

Usually two parent families and extended kinship

Lived in slave quarters: developed own culture

Children begin work at 7 years old

Grandparents take care of younger children

Average life span: 30-40 years

Slave codes

“chattel” (property)

Had no legal rights

Could not legally get married: “jump” the broom

Large families encouraged

Slave Life

Treatment of slaves varied

Threat of separation of families: 1 in 3 were separated

Use of the whip: “breaking” a slave

Women subject to rape and exploitation

Slave resistance

Runaways

Work slowdowns

Sabotage

Underground Railroad

Slavery: Justifications

Biblical Justification: Admonitions to servants to obey their masters (it’s in the Bible)

Historical Justification: The preexistence of slavery in great civilizations (i.e. Rome, Greece, Egypt )

Legal Justification: US Constitution’s refusal to forbid slavery and states’ rights (9th and 10th amendments)

Pseudoscientific Justification: “Black deficiency”, “barbaric” and “inherently inferior” (better off as slaves)

Sociological Justification: Feared end of slavery would result in chaos, loss of “Beautiful Country”

Socio-economic Impact

Created semi-feudal society

Economy remained largely agricultural

Limited immigration

Few urban areas

Created a large class of rural and poor whites

Social, cultural, and political life dominated by the elite

Vastly different pace of life and customs

Abolishing Slavery in America

Video Clip: Overview

http://video.pbs.org/video/2291360172/: Childhood

http://video.pbs.org/video/2292086226/ : Adult

http://video.pbs.org/video/2319979061/ : The End

Frederick Douglass

Reading from Frederick Douglass Slave Narrative

As you read the introduction, circle unknown words and define them in the margins

Highlight main points/claims made by Garrison regarding the Slave Narrative in one color

At the end,

Summarize Garrison’s Introduction in a few sentences

What is your reaction to the Introduction? Why?

Frederick Douglass

Read the selected chapters from the slave narrative

Circle and define unknown words

For each chapter, highlight key descriptions/events/people/situations that stand out to you. In the margins, comment for each highlight

At the end,

Summarize each chapter

What is your reaction to each chapter and why?