Unit 2: African-Americans in the New Nation (1763-1861)African Americans in the New Nation (1783 – 1820) &

Life in the Cotton Kingdom (1793 – 1861)Notes 2 of 3

African Americans in the New Nation (1783 – 1820)

• During the early years of this new American nation, forces for black liberty contested the forces of slavery and inequality.

Forces for Freedom

• In the North• Following the Revolutionary War, strong trends favored ______________ of slaves.

• __________________ Changes• Evangelical ____________________• _________________________ of Natural Rights

• In the South• Resistance to emancipation because many whites were ______________________

in the continuation of slavery• However, new laws made it easier for owners to declare their slaves free and the

possibility of ______________________ opened the door for southern slaves to gain their own freedom.

• Over time, a ___________________ class emerged in the South (more in the upper South than the lower).

Forces for Slavery

• Factors that Strengthened the Continuance of Slavery in the US• The US Constitution

• Clauses in the Constitution allowed for ________________ of slavery.• Cotton

• Increase demand for ___________= increase demand for _________• Louisiana Purchase

• The country expands ________ = more territory for ________ to exist.• Racism

• Whites gradually became more ____________ to change and more committed to race-based arguments in ___________ of slavery.

The Emergence of Free Black Communities

• Free black communities developed institutions to help __________________ their communities.• Mutual Aid Societies

• Similar to insurance companies, helping with __________________ and to support widows

• Black Freemason Lodges• _____________________________ which united free black men

• The Church• The __________ of the black community

• Black Schools• With the support of the church and mutual aid societies, they

produced a growing class of _____________ African-Americans

Black Leaders and Choices

• In the North• _________________ blacks began to address the failure of American society to treat

blacks equally.• Some even supported _____________________ from the U.S. to _____________.

• In the South• Blacks Responded to Slavery in Different Ways

• Acquiescence = _________________________• Day-to-Day ________________ (Breaking Tools)• Open Rebellion (_____________________)

• Slave uprisings deepened white’s fears of a race war and strengthened their support for continuing the institution of slavery

War and Politics

• British invasion of the U.S. during the ______________ renewed southern fears of slave revolt.• Nevertheless, __________________ fought for the United States in important battles of the war.

The Missouri Compromise (1820)• Effort to maintain ___________ between the N and S• Allowed ____________ to enter as a slave state if

___________ entered as a free stateLife in the Cotton Kingdom (1793 – 1861)

Life in the South revolved around agricultural production.

The Expansion of Slavery

__________________ invents the __________________ in 1793• Made it easier and more profitable to produce _______________• Created an _________________ in demand for slave labor

Slave Labor in Agriculture

• While Cotton was the ___________, slaves also labored in the development of other crops• _______________: long growing season and required close attention• ____________: hard work and required a large labor force• ____________: difficult and dangerous crop to work

Other Types of Slave Labor

• ____ of slaves were field hands, other____ were house slaves, skilled slaves, and industrial slaves.• _____________: cooks, maids, butlers, nurses, gardeners• _____________: carpenters, blacksmiths, millwrights• _____________: worked in factories

• While slaves lived under the threat of ______________ punishment, skilled slaves living in towns and cities generally faired better than field hands.

• They enjoyed a little more freedom and were able to earn ____________on their own after work hours.

• Urban masters often allowed their slaves to ______________ their own freedom after a period of years to prevent them from ______________________.

Slave Life

• Masters encouraged slave men and women to pair up for ______________ reasons• However, their marriages and families they produced had no _________________.

• This meant that families could be _____________ and ______ to different locations.

Family was at the core of their community and parents did the best they could to raise their children and teach them how to survive.

• Examples of Hardships• _____________ faced the danger of sexual exploitation• Health Suffered due to…

• Poor ________• Inadequate clothing• ______ work

The Socialization of Slaves

• African-Americans developed ways of ______________ with slavery.• _________: love and encouragement from loved ones• _________: looking to God for strength and having the hope of a better day to come• ___________: learning survival skills

• Watch what you __________ to white people

• ____________ information about other blacks• Don’t allow slave ____________ to know the real you