APUSH Ch. 16

Why did the 1831-32 debate in the Virginia legislature mark a turning point in Southern views toward slavery and abolition?

After this all the slave states tighten their slave codes and move to prohibit emancipation of any kind, because The Virginia legislator defeated various emancipation proposals.

How did black abolitionists like David Walker and Frederick Douglass influence the movement?

Douglas gave a prominent speech at the anti-slavery meeting in Massachusetts and later wrote an autobiography depicting his life being born into slavery with a black mother and white father. Similarly, Walker wrote a piece called Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World, which advocated to the end of what supremacy.

What did William Lloyd Garrison fight for?

Garrison appeared to be interested in his own righteousness and demanded that the north secede from the south. He helped found the American anti-slavery Society. He backed the Republican party as he followed the logic of their beliefs.

What was Nat Turner's Rebellion?

It was an uprising led by A black preacher who slaughtered about 60 Virginians.

How did the North View the South?

Many citizens came to see the south as a land of the free and home of a hateful institution. Few were prepared to abolish slavery, but a growing number apposed it.

Why does the text suggest the South was similar in some ways to an oligarchy rather than a democracy?

Only the families who had slaves were in control and had a say in political affairs. Since most of the Southern population was made up of slaves, the families that owned them were the ones who voted and determine their fate.

The section called "Slaves of the Slave System" suggests that much was "worrisome, distasteful, and sordid" under the plantation system. What were the 4 major ways that the plantation system hurt the South?

Plantation agriculture was wasteful from of excessive cultivation of land. The economic structure became increasingly monopolistic, as many of the smaller farmers were pushed out and overtaken by the larger ones. The system was financially unstable, because slaves costs a lot to maintain and purchase. It's one crop economy discouraged say healthy diversification of agriculture and manufacturing.

What was the life of a slave like in the antebellum United States?

Slaves were punished frequently by their masters and were prohibited from protesting against this. Families were often separated due to auctions, however they still tried to maintain strong family relationships and many slaves grew up in two-parent homes. They maintained African cultural roots, and modeled their own distinctive religious mixture of Christianity and African elements.

Why did the North have a heavy economic stake in the South?

Southern plantations owed northern bankers and other creditors about $300 million, much of which would be lost if the union would dissolve. In order to keep up trade with England they needed the cotton.

How did the increase in cotton production following Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin impact both the North and the South?

The cotton gin increased cotton's profitability, which made it the main export of the South (which encouraged slave owners to purchase more slaves) where was was then sent to the north who would sell the cotton to England or manufacture it to clothing for the United States.

Once the international slave trade was ended in 1808, how did the slave trade change in the United States?

The price of slaves increased and the smuggling of slaves began. Since they were no longer allowed to trade internationally, there was an increase in internal slave trade. Most new slaves came from natural reproduction which encouraged slave owners to never release them. Female slaves were encouraged to produce many children, and any children that they bore with their masters would be slaves.

What made the South think that they were more powerful?

The production of cotton being the largest in the world, led them to believe that if there were a civil war that Britain would protect them since they were reaping the benefits of Southern cotton.

How were the lives of Southern women shaped by the plantation system?

The women of plantations commanded a sizable household staff of mostly female slaves, she would direct their orders and had varying relationships with them (good to bad). A number of women showed a tender regard towards their slaves and considered them as members of the family. Virtually no slave-holding women believed in abolition.

How did slave owners try to regulate their slaves?

They abused them prohibited them from getting an education because they feared this would allow them to think for themselves.

Southern whites are sometimes described as believing in a "paternal" view of slavery that meant they believed they were actually caring for their slaves. What argument did the Southerners use to promote this paternal view of slavery?

They claimed that slavery was supported by the authority of the Bible and the wisdom of Aristotle, they said that it was good for Africans who were lifted from the Barbarism and clothed with the blessings of Christian civilization. They continued by saying that many of their slaves were seen as friends and family. They claimed that their slavery was at least better than that of the wave slavery in the North.

How did freed blacks feel about Liberia?

They had no desire to into a strange civilization after being Americanized, especially since at this time, most had never been to Africa.

How is life different for the whites in the South that don't own slaves? Why did they defend the slave system so much?

They made a living off of small plots in obscure locations and raised livestock and some food. Many fell victim to illnesses and malnutrition. They defended slavery because they hoped that one day they would be able to buy their own slaves and move up in society. They enjoyed the knowledge that even if they were extremely poor, they would still be above slaves socially.

How did slaves "rebel" against their masters in the South? (Make sure to include each of the actual rebellions as well as not so obvious ways of rebelling.)

They often slowed the pace of labor (which caused many whites to do them as lazy), sabotaged equipment, and occasionally poisoned their masters' food. There were other more direct approaches such as running away and protesting.

How did Southerners respond to abolitionist movements in the North?

They responded by launching a massive defense of slavery as a positive good trying to convince a society of its morality.

Describe life for a free black in the United States in the years leading up to the Civil War.

They still did not obtain many of the privileges that the white male population held. They were seen as walking examples of what might be achieved by emancipation and hence were resented by defenders of the slave system.They were forbidden how many states, denied the right to vote, and some were banned from schools.

Why was the North benefiting economically?

They were producing products to be sold as well as trading with foreign powers. The north also appealed to European immigrants, which provided it with more manpower.

How was Southern society shaped by the rule of the "planter aristocrats?"

With their wealth, they were able to educate their children and send them to the finest schools. They had the free time to leisure and study. Their society was largely structured around capitalism and encouraged a strong social structure.

What impact did the press have on abolitionism?

Works, such as the Liberator, were published to expose the inside of slavery. Garrison actually triggered the civil war with his piece. Other works called for the end of white supremacy. Eventually all petitions concerning anti-slavery were put through the gag resolution, which required all anti-slavery appeals to be tabled without debate.