Ch 15 The South and Slavery 1793-1860
financial instability of planttion system
- overspeculation in land and slaves was rampant - slaves represented heavy investment in capital - an entire slave quarter could be wiped out by disease - dominance by king cotton
breakers
- peple who punished, using a lash, strong willed slaves
american colonization society
- founded 1817 to transport blacks bodily back to africa - 1822
david walker
- free black, moved to boston from the slaveholding south - 1829, published An Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World - ran a used clothing store, used his pamphlet to denounce slavery as sinful and call among fellow african americans to resist - advocated bloody end to white supremacy
frederick douglass
- greatest abolitionist - escaped bondage in 1838 at age 21 - was discovered by abolitionists in 1841 after giving impromptu speech at an antislavery meeting in Mass - continue to lecture despite repeated punishment - gifted elegant former slave, abolitionist, self educated orator of rare power - robbed and beaten by northern rowdies multiple times
an appeal to the colored citizens of the world
- heralded beginning of a new, more radical antislavery movement
whites without slaves had no direct economic stake in slavery, yet still defended slave system
- hoped to buy slaves (american dream) - took pride in presumed racial superiority - logic of economics joined with illogical of racism to buttress slave system
Cotton king repelled large-scale european immigration
- immigrants added to manpower and wealth of north - by 1860 only 4.4 percent of southern population was foreign born as compared to 18.7 percent in north - south became most anglo saxon part of US - german and immigration to south was discouraged by: ~ competition with slave labor ~ high cost of fertile land ~ european ignorance of cotton farming
liberia
- in 1822, republic, on the fever-stricken west african coast, was established for former slaves - it's capital Monrovia was named after - 15000 freed slaves transported over 4 decades - most slaves did not want to be transported, already americanized - by 1860, most southern slaves were native born african americans with a distinctive history and culture - yet colonization appealed to some anti-slaberyites, including Lincoln before the civil war
south was a planter aristocracy
- in 1850 only 1733 families owned more than 100 slaves ~ select group provided political and social leadership ~ enjyed lions share of southern wealth ~ educated their children in finest schools ~ money provided leisure for study, reflection and statescraft =notable southerners: J C Calhoun (yale), jefferson davis (west point) = felt a keen sense of obligation to serve the people
internal slavery in US and black ivory
- in US, price of "black ivory" so high before civil war that thousands of blacks were smuggled - ironically suppression of international slave trade fostered growth of vigorous internal slave trade - most of increase in US slave population came from natural reproduction ~ distinguished north american slavery from slavery in more disease-ridden southernly new world societies
legality of slave trade in america and england and royal navy squadron
- in south of 1860, 4 million black slaves - legal importation of african slaves into america ended in 1808 by congress - britain abolished own slave trade in 1807 ~ royal navy's west african squadron seized 100s of slave ships and freed thousand of captives - yet 3 million enslaved africans still shipped to Brazil and west indies after 1807
mountain whites
- independent small farmers who libed in valleys appalachian - had little in common with whites of flatlands -when war come mountain whites constituted vitally important peninsula of unionism - after civil war, they were only concentrated republic strength in solid democratic south
african roots visible in slave's religion
- many christianized during 2nd great awakening - yet they molded their own distinctive religious forms that mixed christian and african elements - african practice of responsorial style of preaching- give and take between caller and dancers
slaves universally pined for freedom
- many took off as runaways - others rebelled though never successfully ~ 1800; armed insurrection led by slave named Gabriel in Richmond VA, foiled by informer, its leaders hanged - 1822: Denmark Vesey: free black, rebellion Charleston SC, foiled by informers, vesey and followers hung
william wilberforce
- member of british parliament and evangelical christinan reformer whose family was touched by preaching of goerge whitefield - unchained slaves in west indies - wilberforce university in ohio, african american college that sent missionaries to africa
black living
- most lived on large plantations of 20 or more slaves - in some deep south areas, blacks were 75 percent of population - family life relatively stable, distinctive african american slave culture developed - forced separation more common on smaller plantations or in upper south - slaves managed to sustain family life - most slave children raised in 2 parent households - family identity continued across generations - displayed african culture when they avoided marriage between 1st cousins, unlike frequent intermarriage of close relatives among WHITE planter aristocracy
slave auctions were brutal
- most revolting aspects of slavery - families separated - slavery's greatest psychological horror - abolitionists decried practice
abolitionists unpopular in the north
- northerners revered constitution and saw its clauses on slavery as lasting bargain - ideal of union had deep roots north had heavy economic stake in south - southern planters owed northern bankers and creditors about 300 milion dollars- would be lost if union dissolved - disruption to slave system might vut off vital supply of cotton to northern mills and thus bring unemployment
the south's free blacks and "third race"
- numbered 250,000 by 1860 - some in upper south traced emancipation to idealism of revolutionary days - in lower south, many were mulattoes - some purchased their freedom - owned property - "third race" ~ banned from occupations ~ vulnerable to being hijacked into slavery
southern life
- only handful of southern whites lived in grecian pillared mansions ~ most slave owners had fewer than 10 slaves ~ beneath slave owners was a great body of whites, who owned no slaves - only 1/4 of whites owned slaves or belonged to slave owning family
mason- dixon line
- originally the southern boundary of colonial Penn - 1820s antislavery societies were more numerous south of this line than north
william T Johnson
- "barber of Natchez" even owned slaves - master of 15 bondsmen: diary records that in june 1848 he flogged 2 slaves and a mule
gag resolution
- 1836, sensitive southerners drove through the House this petition - required all antislavery appeals to be tabled without debate - attack on right to petition led JQA to wage a successful 8 year fight for its repeal
beecher family
- Lyman Beecher, father of remarkable brood, Harriet beecher stowe, novelist, cathrine beecher, reformer, henry ward beecher, preacher and abolitionist
nat turners rebellion
- a visionary black preacher led uprising that slaughtered 60 white virginians, mostly women and children - reprisals swift and bloody, rebellion soon extinguished - claimed hysteria throughout south - garrison bitterly condemned as terrorist and inciter of murder although he was unconnected with rebellion - state of georgia offered 5000 dollars for his arrest and conviction nullification crisis of 1832 further implanted fear in white southern minds jailings, whippings, and lynching greeted national efforts to discuss slavery problem in south
inhumanity of peculiar institution caused antislavert societies
- abolitionist sentiment was first stirred during the american revolution, especially among quakers
responsorial
- african practices with this style of preaching - congregation punctuated the minister's remarks with assents and amens- adaptation of the give and take between caller and dancers in the african ringshout dance
theodore dwight weld
- american abolitionist, evangelized by charles grandison finney in NY's Burned-Over District in 1800s - self-educated, simple, appealed with special power and directness to his rural audiences of untutored farmers - inspired by 2nd great awakening - materially aided by 2 NY merchants- brothers Arthur and Lewis Tappan - paid his way to Lane Theological Seminary ohio - expelled in 1834 for 18 day slavery debate - fellow Lane rebels fanned northwest - compelling arguments made it among most effective tracts and greatly influenced Uncle Tom's Cabin
sojourner truth
- black abolitionist, freed black woman in NY, fought for black emancipation and women's rights
garrison v. douglass: douglass
- born into slavery, very practical - looked to politics to end slavery - backed liberty party 1840, free soil party 1848 and republican party 1850s - most abolitionists and garrison followed logic of beliefs and supported war as price of emancipation
black belt
- by 1860, this is where most slaves were concentrated, stretched through alabama, mississippi, louisiana - in black belt cotton fields and Louisiana sugar plantations, slaves worked together under direction of an overseer
proslavery whites responded by launching massive defense of slavery as positive good
- claimed master- slave relationships resembled those of a family - were quick to contrast happy lot of their servants with overworked northern wage slaves - pro slavery arguments widened chasm between south and north
southern whites resented use of mail for abolitionist lit
- congress ordered southern postmasters to destroy abolitionist material - called on southern states to arrest postmasters who did not comply
american anti-slavery society 1833-1870
- dedicated abolitionists rallied - Wendell phillips, ate no sugar, wore no cotton - founded by Garrison and Phillips
slavery intolerably degrading and how they protested
- deprived of dignity and sense of responsibility that came from independence, right to make choices - denied education - victims of peculiar institution devised ways to protest: ~ slowed pace of labor to bare minimum ~ filched food from "big house" ~ pilfered other goods ~ sabotaged expensive equipment
cotton kingdom
- developed into a huge agricultural factory - profits drew planters to gulf states - planters brought more land and slaves -north and england benefitted - northern shippers reaped large profits from cotton trade - north south and england prosperity rested on bent backs on enslaved bodsmen
effects of favoring aristocracy and how plantation system shaped lives in southern women
- dominance was basically undemocratic - widened gap between rich and poor - idealized feudalism of meideval europe - plantation system shaped lives in southern women ~ mistresses commanded a sizable household staff ~ relationships btwn mistresses and slaves ranged from affectionate to atrocious ~some mistresses showed tender regard for their bondswomen - some slave women took pride in their status as members of a household - but slavery strained bonds of womanhood - virtually no slaveholding women believed in abolition
amistad 1839
- enslaved africans rebelled aboard spanish slave ship - seized command of vessel off coast of cuba and attempted to sail back to africa, but driven ashore on long island - 2 years of imprisonment and trials, after JQA secured their freedom in moving argument before US supreme court 1841, africans returned to british colony in west africa
sir walter scott
- favorite author of elite southerners - manors and castles, graced by brave ivanhoes and fair rowenas, helped them idealize a feudal society - even when many of their economic activities were obviously capitalistic
martin delancy
- few black leaders to take seriously the notion of the mass reconciliation of africa - visited west africa's niger valley in 1859 seeking a suitable site for relocation
abolitionists influenced northern opinion
- few prepared to abolish slavery outright but growing numbers opposed extending it to western territories - many had come to see south as land of the unfree and home of a hateful institution
plantation life
- plantation agriculture was worrisone, distasteful and sordid bc crop growing despoiled earth - quick prodit led to excessive cultivation or land butchery - caused population to leave for the west and northwest - economic structire of the south became increasingly monopolistic ~ big got bigger and small got smaller
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845)
- published classic autoboigraphy that depicted his remarkable origins as the son of a black slave woman and a white father, his struggle to learn to read and write, and his eventual escape to the north
william lloyd garrison
- reformer 26 - emotionally high strung son of a drunken father, published in boston the 1st issue of his militantly antislavery newspaper
west african squadron
- royal army's squadron that seized 100s of slave ships and freed 1000s of captives - still, 3 million enslaved africans were shipped to brazil and west indies in following decade after 18o7
hostile northern climate for free blacks
- several states forbade entrance - most were denied vote - barred from public schools - northern blacks were hated by irish immigrants bc 2 groups competed for jobs - antiblack feelings stronger in north than south ~ southern whites liked blacks as individuals ybut despised race ~ northern whites professed to like race, but disliked individuals
how conditions for slaves were and the black belt
- slavery meant hard work, ignoriance and oppression - no political rights; minimal protection - protection laws difficult to enforce since slaves forbidden to testify in court or to have marriages legally recognized - floggings were common - savage beatings made sullen laborers and hurt resale values - typical master had too much money invested in slaves to beat them bloody regularly - blacks concentrated in black belt of deep south by 1860, southwest: alabama, mississippi, louisiana
the liberator
- triggered a 30 year war of words and in a sense fired one of the opening barrages of the civil war - under no circumstances would he tolerate poisonous weed of slavery but would stamp it out root and branch
antislavery sentiment was in south: after 1830 southern abolitionism silenced
- virginia legislature debated and defeated various emancipation proposals in 1831-32 ~ marked turning point ~ slave states tightened slave codes ~ banned emancipation of any kind, voluntary or compensated
slave narratives
- vivid written accounts of suffering on the plantation and daring escape, allowed black men and introduce themselves to skeptical northern audience as human beings - solomon Northup's Twelve Years a Slave showed northerners glimpse into violence and degradation of souths slave labor system
garrison v douglass: garrison
- white, stubbornly principled - more interested in his own righteousness than in substance of slavery itslef - demanded virtuous north should secede from wicked south - never explained how ^ would end slavery - renoincing politics, burned constitution as a covenant wit death and an agreement with hell - critics charged he was cruelly probing moral wound in america's underbelly, but offered no acceptable balm to ease pain
breeding of slaves not encouraged but...
- women who bore 13 or 14 babues were prized as "rattlin' good breeders" - white masters forced their attentions on female slaves fathering sizable mulatto population, most of which remained enslaved
planters regarded slaves as investments
- worth 2 billion in capital by 1860 - slaves were primary form of wealth in south ~ cared for as any asset is cared for by prudent capitalist ~ sometimes spared dangerous work ~ slavery was profitable, even though it hobbled economic development of region as a whole
