HST 397: Midterm Exam

Combahee River

On June 2, 1863 Harriet Tubman led 150 black union soldiers in the Combahee River Raid. This act liberated more than 700 enslaved people. She brought these people to freedom in the north and Canada. Tubman gained information and steered the ships away from danger to rescue the fugitive slaves.

Passed on June 8, 1866 and ratified on July 9, 1868, this amendment gave citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the U.S. This meant that former enslaved people were now citizens. All citizens were given "equal" protection under the laws. This was 1/3 amendments passed during Reconstruction to abolish slavery and establish civil rights for African Americans.

14th amendment

Deborah Gray White

A historian at Rutgers University. She wrote a lot of pieces regarding Black women and African American history. She provided details about the Jezebel stereotype.

Oney Judge

A mixed woman who was owned by George Washington and his family. Her mother was Betty, a seamstress. She ran away becoming a fugitive slave after Martha Washington was going to sell or transfer her granddaughter. After fleeing she settled in New Hampshire,

Elizabeth Key

Born in Virginia in 1630 to an enslaved Black mother and Thomas Key, a white English planted and member of the VA House of Burgess. She was one of the first Black people to sue for her freedom. Her and her son, John, gained freedom on the basis that her father was white and she was a baptized Christian.

Intersectionality

Defined as the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, gender etc... as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage. Intersectionality is applicable to Black women in many ways. They experienced many things as women and as a Black individual. For example, Black women were raped, they were raped because they were a women but also because they were Black.

Culture of Dissemblance

Darlene Clark Hine coined this phrase in her essay "Rape and the Inner Lives of Black Women in the Middle West". It is the behavior and attitudes of Black women that created the appearance of openness and disclosure but actually shielded the truth of their inner lives and selves from their oppression. This is seen to prevent sexual violence and change the image of Black women's sexuality. This describes why Black women are silent about their rape and other sexual violence they may experience.

Infanticide

Defined as the crime of killing a child within a year of its birth. Black women used this as rebellion. It gave them the ability to prevent their child from being enslaved. If an enslaved mother were to have a child while they were enslaved, that child too would be property of the owner. The mother would kill the child so that they didn't have to be born into slavery.

Elizabeth Jennings

Had the first preschool for Black children. She was a poet and wrote and published many of her pieces. She had a deep desire to live in communion with others.

1662

In 1662, the law was passed that stated that children born of enslaved women, were then born enslaved. Black women were being raped by their white owners, resulting in a lot of children that were mixed. This law clarified that the children that had white fathers because of rape, were still born enslaved.

Celia

In 1850 Celia was purchased by Robert Newsom, 60, to be his combine. She was 14 when she was purchased. She was raped for numerous years resulting in her having 2 daughters. On June 23, 1855 Celia was pregnant again, Newson comes to rape her again. She then kills him. She was tried in the state of Missouri in 1855 and was hanged shortly after. Her case displayed what little rights Black women had. If she were a white woman in this case, it would have been seen as self-defense. Instead, Celia was seen as property, not as a woman.

Celia

In 1850 Celia was purchased by Robert Newsom, 60, to be his combine. She was 14 when she was purchased. She was raped for numerous years resulting in her having 2 daughters. On June 23, 1855 Celia was pregnant again, Newson comes to rape her again. She then kills him. She was tried in the state of Missouri in 1855 and was hanged shortly after.Her case displayed what little rights Black women had. If she were a white woman in this case, it would have been seen as self-defense. Instead, Celia was seen as property, not as a woman.

John Hancock

John Hancock is typically known to be the first to sign the Declaration of Independence. He also supported the intelligence and credibility for Phillis Wheatley.

Elizabeth Freeman

She was born in 1742 into slavery in Claverack, New York. When she was only 6 months old, she was sold to John Ashley in Massachusetts. Her husband was killed in the Revolutionary War. She sued for her freedom under the argument that "all men are born equal and free". She was then the first person freed from slavery. She switched her last name to reflect her identity as a freed woman. She was also a distant relative of W.E. de Bois.

Sarah Grimke

She was born into a family that owned slaves. She understood at a young age the issues that came with being a slave holder. She knew it was wrong, and the treatment of African Americans was terrible. She met Quakers in Philadelphia. She became a quaker and her sister soon joined. They both became a part of many anti-slavery groups and spoke publicly about the treatment of Black people. They were the first women to speak in front of a state legislature as representatives of the American Anti-Slavery Society. She also fought for women's rights.

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

She was born of free Black parents, but her mother died when she was young. She was raised by her aunt and uncle. When she was young, she worked in a domestic household and had access to a lot of literature, spiking her love for writing. She helped slaves escape through the underground railroad and wrote for anti-slavery newspapers. She is known as the mother of African American journalism. She also published a lot of her poetry and was the first Black woman to publish a short story.

Cathay Williams

She was the only woman to serve in the army as a buffalo soldier. Her mother was enslaved, but her father free. She worked as a house slave in her youth. Prior to enlisting she was an army cook. She joined the army voluntarily.

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the ocean that millions of Africans were transported through after their capture before being sold into slavery. The ocean carried ship after ship trading humans to the "new world". Many lives were lost on this tough journey. People died because of the conditions of the ship or jumped to their death. The trade this ocean hosted resulted in the enslavement and deaths of many African people.

Rape

Throughout the history of African American women, rape was there. During their enslavement, Black women were raped by their owners. They were not allowed to protect themselves from their rapist (slaveowner). This is visible in Celia's case. Rape was also used as a war tactic during the U.S. Civil War and Black women were also raped by soldiers from the North. As years, decades, even centuries go by, Black women are still being sexually assaulted at higher rates than white women. Black men are portrayed to be the rapist, not the white man that has continued to rape Black women.

Marion Thompson Wright

The first Black woman to earn a Ph.D in history in the U.S. She attended Howard University in D.C. She majored in sociology and then continued her education getting a masters in history. She went to Teachers' College at Columbia. She returned to Howard to teach and did a lot of research there. She was very alienated as a Black woman in history. She committed suicide in 1962.

Migration

The great migration was when 6 million Black people moved to northern, midwestern, and western states. This occurred from 1910 until the 1970s. The south did not have opportunities, especially after the destruction of the cotton industry. Northern states provided jobs in factories. The opportunities offered Black Americans a new life in the north.

Mammy

The historical stereotype of Black women who work for a white family either as a slave or house servant. These women were depicted as a dark skin large woman. Often, they had a motherly personality and look. In images these women were seen nursing children over their shoulders. This image also depicted women as being happy in their roles.

Richard M. Johnson

The ninth vice president. Married Julia Chinn, who was born enslaved. His wife were to remain enslaved even after marrying Johnson. He married her illegally, and the service was done by enslaved people at his family's plantation. Chinn's opinion was not known.

Rape

Throughout the history of African American women, rape was there. During their enslavement, Black women were raped by their owners. They were not allowed to protect themselves from their rapist (slaveowner). This is visible in Celia's case. Rape was also used as a war tactic during the U.S. Civil War and Black women were also raped by soldiers from the North. As years, decades, even centuries go by, Black women are still being sexually assaulted at higher rates than white women. Black men are portrayed to be the rapist, not the white man that has continued to rape Black women.

Fancy Trade

The selling of enslaved women for companionship and sexual labor. These women were exploited. They were raped in the owners' homes and slave pens. It occurred domestically with primarily young light-skinned Black women. Celia, sold into concubinage, is an example of a young woman sold in the fancy trade.

Thomas Jefferson

The third president of the USA. He owned over 600 slaves during his adult life. He called slavery a "moral depravity" but continued to keep them as property. He is one example of the American government dominating the ideas of proslavery and slaveholding.

Misogynoir

This is the unique discrimination that Black women face. It is the hatred, dislike, distrust, and prejudice direct toward Black women. This can be police violence, sexual assault, etc. during present times. Throughout history is has looked different but been present in the lives of Black women.

"On Being Brought from Africa to America"

Written by Phillis Wheatley, the first Black woman to publish a book of poetry. This poem discussed her experience from being captured, transferred, and sold into slavery. Wheatley incorporates elements of her Faith into her writing. This poem was criticized by Addison Gayle.

Maria Stewart

she was born in Connecticut in 1803, free. She moved to Boston where she then worked as a domestic servant. She was one of the first women to speak in public in the U.S. She used her platform to talk about the racism and segregation she experienced while living in Boston. She wrote and published a political manifesto. She was known for using a lot of Biblical language.