Chapter 11 questions
Given that most northern states had abolished slavery by the 1830s, how is it useful to think of slavery as a national - rather than regional - economic and politicial system?
Because of how the Constitution was written, slavery gave the South more power in the House of Representatives and, even with slavery outlawed in the North, required runaway slaves to be returned. Northern merchants and manufacturers profited from cotton and the transportation routes created to support the cotton industry.
Describe the difference between gang labor and task labor for slaves, and explain how slaves' tasks varied by region across the Old South.
Gang labor is labor by large groups of slaves supervised by an overseer who may give punishment. Gang labor was most common in the Cotton Belt on larger plantations and on Louisiana sugar plantations. Slaved performing task labor were assigned daily tasks and allowed to set their own pace of work with personal free time to follow. Task labor was used on rice plantations in South Carolina and Georgia because white owners did not want to go into the swamps to oversee the slaves' work.
Identify the basic elements of proslavery defense and those points aimed especially at non-southern audiences?
One argument of pro-slavery was that black people could not function on their own in the world and needed the institution of slavery to protect them. More aimed towards Europeans, Southerners argued that slavery was necessary for human progress as the Greeks and Romans used slaves to build their greatest achievements. Southerners believed that slavery prevented black people from taking on menial jobs that would limit slaves' freedom as well as the Southerner's economic autonomy.
Compare slaves in the Old South with those elsewhere int the world, focusing on health, diet, and opportunities for freedom.
Slaves in the Old South were provided with food like cornmeal, pork, or bacon and food they raised themselves like chicken or vegetables. The South is outside the geographical region susceptible to diseases likes malaria, yellow fever, and typhoid, unlike the Caribbean where slaves suffered under dangerous living conditions. However, slaves in the Old South had little freedom unlike slaves in Brazil who were often freed as a form of celebration.
How did enslaved people create community and a culture that allowed the to survive in an oppressive society?
Slaves often practiced their religion, a combination of traditional African beliefs and Christianity, secretly with their own ministers. Their religions included hopes of freedom which united the slaves toward the ultimate goal.
Identify the different types of resistance to slavery. Which ones were the most common, the most effective, and the most demonstrative?
The most common form of slave resistance was "day-to-day" resistance which included doing poor work, breaking tools, abusing animals, or creating other disruptions so that the slaves were given less work. More dangerous forms of resistance were violent crimes like arson or assault against white owners or people. Slaves would also run away to free regions, usually Canada, which, if successful, was probably most effective.
How did the planters' paternalism serve to justify the system of slavery? How did it hide the reality of life for slaves?
The paternalistic view of slavery argued that it was the responsibility of the masters to care for the slaves, to provide them protection, guidance, and attention. Masters saw themselves as kind and it disguised the brutality of slavery as a rehabilitation or improvement to slave's lives.
While some poor southern whites resented the dominance of the "slavocracy" most supported the institution and accepted the power of the planter class. Why did the "plain folk" continue to support slavery?
The planter class had more political power so it was in the best interest of poorer whites to be friendly with those who made decisions about their region. Non-slaveowners could rent slaves from planters to help with work. Racism and economic freedom bonded the white Southerners.
