apush chap16

Liberia

West African nation founded in 1822 by the American Colonization Society, as a haven for freed blacks, fifteen thousand of whom made their way back across the Atlantic by the 1860s. Most blacks had no wished to be transplanted into a strange civilization after having become partially Americanized. Its capital, Monrovia, was named after president Monroe.

Amistad

1839. Spanish slave ship dramatically seized off the coast of Cuba by the enslaved Africans aboard. The ship was driven ashore in Long Island and the slaves were put on trial. Former president John Quincy Adams argued their case before the Supreme Court, securing their eventual release. The Africans returned to the British colony of Sierra Leone, in West Africa. Another example of how slaves universally pined for freedom.

anti-black sentiment in popular and political culture

Anti-black sentiment was prominent in both the North and South. Freed blacks were hated by both northerners and southerners because they were an example of what would come through emancipation. They took jobs from immigrants in the North. Early abolitionism included relocating blacks to Africa, which reflected popular anti-black sentiment. Even freed blacks were prohibited from working in certain occupations, testifying against whites in courts, and getting an education, demonstrating anti-black sentiment in political culture. The Gag Resolution completely disregarded the abolition movement, showing how prevalent anti-black sentiment was.

responsorial

Call and response style of preaching that melded Christian and African traditions. Practiced by African slaves in the South. It was an adaptation of the give-and-take between caller and dancers in the African ringshout dance. A representation of the presence of African roots within slave culture, even though they had been heavily Christianized.

free african americans

In the upper South, the free black population traced its origins back to the burst of emancipation inspired by the idealism of Revolutionary days and in the deeper South, many free blacks were mulattoes, usually the emancipated children of a white planter and his black mistress. Altogether, the South's free blacks numbered about 250,000 by 1860. Many free blacks owned property, especially in New Orleans, such as William T. Johnson, who even owned slaves. The free blacks were a kind of "third race" who were prohibited from working in certain occupations and from testifying against whites in court. They were always at risk of being hijacked back into slavery by slave traders. They were essentially walking examples of what might be achieved by emancipation, therefore, they were hated by defenders of slavery. They were hated by both northerners and southerners- in fact, it was frequently greater in the North.

mason dixon line

Originally drawn by surveyors to resolve the boundaries between Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, in the 1760s, it came to symbolize the North-South divide over slavery. In the 1820s antislavery societies were actually more numerous south of this line, than north of it. But after about 1830, the voice of white southern abolitionism was silenced in debate within the Virginia legislature, which defeated various emancipation proposals in 1831-1832.

gag rule

Prohibited debate or action on anti-slavery appeals. Driven through the House by pro-slavery southerners in 1836, it passed every year for eight years. This attack on the right of petition was eventually overturned with the help of John Quincy Adams. The controversy over free people endangered free speech in the entire country as well.

southern defense of slavery as a positive good

Proslavery whites responded to abolition movements by defending slavery as a positive good. They claimed that slavery was supported by the Bible and the wisdom of Aristotle. It was good for the Africans, who they both civilized and Christianized. They also claimed that master-slave relationships resembled those of a family. Southerners also contrasted slave life with that of the paid laborers in factories. Slaves worked in the fresh air and sunlight, not in dark stuffy factories and they also had job security for their entire life. The South thought it was states' rights to make decisions about slavery and because they felt that blacks were an inherently inferior race, it defended slavery because they felt they were both civilizing them and they deserved to be in bondage.

black belt

Region of the Deep South with the highest concentration of slaves. It emerged in the nineteenth century as cotton production became more profitable and slavery expanded south and west. It stretched from South Carolina and Georgia into the new southwest states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Explosively growing Cotton Kingdom had burst here in a few short decades. Slave life tended to be harder here than in the more settled areas of the Old South. There were larger plantations with more slaves, where slave communities and a distinctive culture developed. Forced separation of families was less common on these larger plantations, therefore, more stable slave families were present.

abolitionist movement

The American Revolution inspired democratic ideals and the original abolitionist ideals, especially among the Quakers. However, the movement didn't really take off until the Second Great Awakening. Evangelical ideals made people question society and led to many reforms, including the abolitionist movement. The movement began with the relocation of blacks back to Africa, specifically Liberia, but black's did not like being transported to a strange civilization. Eventually abolitionists in America, including both blacks and whites, created a movement that fought for the emancipation of slaves. Many books were written, meetings were held, and organizations were created to support this movement. Slavery was increasing in the South after the creation of the cotton gin at the same time the abolition movement began, which increased sectional tensions. Eventually, the conflict over slavery would lead to the Civil War.

instituion of slavery

The bondage of blacks who were brought over from Africa and enslaved on plantations. They were forced to work for their masters and were seen as property. Throughout the 1800s discontent over this institution grew and inspired abolition movements, eventually dividing the country. With time, debate over slavery led to the Civil War

nat turner's rebellion (1831)

Turner, a black slave, heard angels who told him to "act as Moses and free his people from bondage." This prompted him to lead a slave revolt in Virginia, which resulted in the deaths of 60 whites. This rebellion was blamed on The Liberator and caused the banishment of anti-slavery propaganda from the South.

internal slave trade

When the international slave trade was banned in the U.S. in 1808, it fostered the growth of a vigorous internal slave trade. The upper South states like Virginia became major sources of supply for the booming cotton economy of the Deep South. However, most of the increase in slave population in the U.S. came from natural reproduction. The growth of the internal slave trade after the international slave trade was banned demonstrated the true reliance on slavery in the American South.

demands of cultivating southern cotton

With the creation of the cotton gin, came the expansion of cotton cultivation throughout the South. The crop surpassed all other southern crops such as rice and tobacco. They exported to both the North as well as foreign countries such as Britain, which both became increasingly reliant on the crops. Overtime, as the North and Britain began to rely on southern cotton, they simultaneously began to rely on the slave labor of the South.