Slavery1815-1848

Bradley Hardcastle, Elam Mangum & Anna Grainger

Missouri Compromise

– -Passed in 1920– -Banned slavery from newly acquired territory

from the Louisiana Purchase above the 36˚ 30˚ line. (Also known as the Mason Dixon Line)

– Maine was admitted as a free state– Alabama was declared a slave state– Balanced the ratio of slave states to non-slave

states.

Denmark Vesey

• Conspiracy uncovered by whites in Charleston, SC in 1822

• Vesey, made a plan in which the blacks would take over the armories and take over the city

• Made slave owners in SC more cautious

Nat Turner Rebellion

• Preacher- sign from God• Led the rebellion on Aug 22, 1831 in South Hampton

County Virginia• Killed over 60 whites• Found 48 hours later and were killed. • In response laws are passed restricting slaves from

assembling without supervision or learning how to read and write.

• Emancipation was considered in VA but slavery was considered a “positive good”

David Walker

• African American Abolitionist in Boston• Called blacks to ride up in arms against slavery

with his Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World in 1829

William Lloyd Garrison

• Published Abolitionist news paper, The Liberator

• First white writer to demand for immediate abolition of slavery than gradual emancipation.

Statistics

•In 1820 86.8% of all African Americans in the United States were slaves•In 1830 the percentage went down by .5% to 86.3%•In 1840 the percentage went back up .3% to 86.6%•Only about 13.5% of all African Americans in the United States were free during this time period.

Forms of Work

Slaves•Slaves Worked long hours•Usually did field work such as picking tobacco or cotton

Free African Americans•Typically worked in service occupations•Did not do much field work, even though some had the experience from being slaves•Many were U.S. merchant sailors

Culture and Religion

Slaves•Slaves were not allowed to speak their native languages•Slaves like to make artwork•Also had a different and powerful form of music•Some slaves were even able to attend their own churches•“Oral tradition” was a main part of their culture

Free African Americans•Had many celebrations of their own that were not national holidays, but rather important days for the African Americans•Some free African Americans were able to establish their own Christian churches

Living Conditions

Slaves•Many families were split apart•If a slave tried to run away without success, they were beaten and sometimes even killed•Each person owned one pair of clothes•They were fed the cheapest food their owner could find•Slaves were not allowed to learn to read and write

Free African Americans•Most were still discriminated against•Some free African Americans in the north owned land, had homes, ran businesses, and paid taxes

Social

Slaves•Slaves were not considered to be a part of the social society

Free African Americans•They were still discriminated against•They were allowed to voice their opinions•In 1827 the Freedom’s Journal came out.

Anti-Slavery

Slaves•Slaves who did not want to run away often used other ways to rebel; they would either work slow, break tools, or fake sick•Many would try to escape to places that were supposed to be safe either run by whites who believed in the abolishment of slavery, or free African Americans

Free African Americans•They often organized the escape routes for slaves•Many free blacks were described as “conductors” of the Underground Railroad•Many African Americans stayed in the United States to work on achieving equality in the United States

Statistics• 1810-1860: slave count

tripled• 1815-1860: 600,000-

700,000 slaves sold from upper south to lower south

• Slave in 1820’s upper south had a 30% chance of being sold to lower south by 1860

• In the 1850’s a planter could expect an annual return of 8-10% on capital invested

Bales of Short- Stock Cot -ton

1792181718401860

The Two Sides

Proslavery• “necessary evil” to “positive

good”• Slavery was natural and

proper for those of African decent

• Christianity and The Bible• Race of “perpetual children”• Better off than northern

laborers

Abolitionists (Expansionists)• American Colonization

Society• Christianity and The Bible• Ulterior motives: economic

and political• Used morality as a cover• “denounced the

abolitionists as sanctimonious hypocrites” (Howe, 545)

Upper South: slave trade

• Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky

• Key crop: tobacco • Economic motives for

interstate trade• Resulted in a very

dominant white society

Lower South: short staple cotton to long staple cotton

• Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina• Key crops: sugar, rice, and cotton• The Cotton Gin (1793)- Eli Whitney• Westward Expansion• Denounced African Colonization and feared

government involvement• Prohibited progression and development

South Carolina Influence• Denmark Vesey Conspiracy

– led by a free black man who set out to seize weapons from armies and use the African American militia he had put together to take over Charleston

– put fear in plantation owners and caused them to keep their guard up against all black citizens

• Tariff of 1828- Tariff of Abominations

John C. Calhoun

Bibliography

Jackson Series Podcast (Gretchen Ann Riley)-10/22/10

Brands Textbook- 11/8/10What Hath God Wrought (Howe)- 11/11/10http://www.misterteacher.com/american%20slavery/

slavenarratives.html 11/11/10