Hist 486- Assessment 3

What were the THREE key ways that the Constitution continued enslavement?

1) Allowed the slave trade until 1808. Written in the constitution and allows it to continue until then. 2) A component of const. says that any slave that ranaway had to be returned to their master. This is the basis for the Fugitive Slave Act (1793) which extended power of the masters into the North. 3) Three-Fifths Clause- it increase South's representation.

In Documents 5-6, enslaved women and men write letters to their husbands and wives. What were THREE things that were most important to them?

1) Communicating & being reunited with their husbands. Some women want to be sold from their masters. 2) Family gatherings & Health of their husbands. It seems that wives are very concerned about the health of their husbands and wish for them to be able to visit and spend time with their children. 3) Freedom. Document 6 describes Harriet Jacobs brutal life in slavery and her journey to escape. She overcame dangerous events such as hiding in a hole for seven years to avoid capture. After she retreated to New York, she even bought her freedom & managed to free her children.

According to Ira Berlin, what were THREE ways that enslaved people responded to being forcibly relocated through the domestic slave trade?

1) Some slaves would withdraw & become reclusive in an effort to try to protect a bit of humanity in the circumstance that denied it. 2) Other exhibited manic expressions, singing loudly & laughing conspicuously to make up for their sad fate. 3) Lastly, others fell into a depression and decided not to march any further. They preferred death & to escape such bondage.

What are THREE observations that Charles Ball makes about enslaved women and children on a southern plantation?

1) The women and children would be working in the fields with the men. Women would take one to two rows and in some cases when they were really small, small children would be assigned one too. 2) Young girls going through puberty were not properly clothed. He notes that among the women many wore petticoats and had shifts, but no one had both. 3) Women also nursed their children in between work breaks. They would lay their children at the side of the fence or under the cotton plants while they work.

Which were stronger in the era of the early American republic, the forces in favor of black freedom or those in favor of continued enslavement? Use THREE examples to support your claim.

Forces in favor of continued enslavement were stronger in the era of the early American republic. 1) increased cotton productions (cottons gin invented 1793) 2) Backlash in revolutionary fervor (reaction against French Rev. radicalism) 3) Intensified white racism (scientific racism)

How important were separate institutions in shaping the lives of free black people during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries?

It was very important, it allowed for Blacks to separate from racist white organizations and maintain their African heritage. The Black church was the most important institution of African-American communities because it held schools, social organizations, and antislavery meetings.

What was Dunmore's Proclamation? What impact did it have on slaves?

Royal governor of VA Lord Dunmore issued a proclamation that promised to free slaves who fought on the British side. The proclamation inspired as many as 100,000 slaves to escape on the eve of the Revolution.

What do you learn from Document 7?

We learn from document 7 that there was Native-American ownership of African American slaves. We can also see that the Choctaw slaveholder appears to be concerned for the health of her slaves, but yet still concerned for the purpose of their ability to work.

What were the components of the Northwest Ordinance?

*Called for orderly sale of land, support of education (sets up money for colleges and universities out in the midwest), territorial government (once you had a 100,000 people living in a territory they could apply for statehood important when Compromise of 1850 comes around). *Most Important: Northwest Ordinance Bans slavery in territories.