Slavery in Colonial America, Constitutional Convention, "Stress and Strain"

Beginning at what date did England harden slave codes and other racial restrictions in order to lock blacks permanently into chattel slavery?

1660s

What were for the arguments for slavery?

1) Blacks were biologically and mentally inferior 2) The anatomy of blacks allowed them to sustain more pain and work harder than the white man 3) Essential to the development of both Southern civilization and economy 4) History deems and warrants the enslavement of blacks 5) The Bible and the church sanctions it

What did the 1691 statute of Virginia prevent?

Interracial marriage or sexual relationships

The introduction of which plantation agriculture created an insatiable desire for slaves?

Rice cultivation

When were the first comprehensive laws passed and describe them.

1680 law borrowed lots of English practices in the Caribbean and became the model for other colonies. 1680 Act -> Slaves did not have freedom of assembly, the right to carry weapons, or freedom of movement without a certificate. 1682 Act -> plantation owners could not let slaves that weren't owned by them to stay on their property for 4+ hrs. The 1680 and 1682 slave code were to be read 2x/yr during service by the church wardens.

When was NY's comprehensive slave law enacted?

1702. Called the "Act for Regulating of Slave."

What is the Underground Railroad?

A systematic method of getting slaves out of the South to free states. Created in the 18th century. Had "stations," (places slaves ate) "stationmasters," "engineers," and "conductors." (the latter two made of white and black southerners). Operation took place at night. Would take essentials from their master and disguise themselves (light-skinned slaves as slave masters and dark-skinned fugitives as servant).

What is the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850?

A law declaring that all runaway slaves were to be returned to their masters

What is Bacon's Rebellion?

A riot in VA that occurred in 1676. Caused the incorporation of even more strict slave laws. Nathaniel Bacon led this. Accused the colonial officials of not protecting settlers from Indian raids. Also, blacks and whites desired land and rebelled against a VA treaty signed between Sir William Berkeley and the Indians. Group was made of some black slaves, white indentured servants, and small farmers. This led to the outlaw of interracial contact of all sorts.

What was the trend moving towards in terms of social positions in colonial America?

Blacks -> hereditary slave status Whites -> free

Describe the 1660 Connecticut law?

Blacks could not participate in military service. In 1690, they could not go outside of their town without a pass.

Describe the 1670 Massachusetts law.

Children of slaves could not be sold into bondage. Ten years later it restricted the travel of blacks.

Describe the "slave court."

Created after the enactment of Carolina's first comprehensive slave code in 1696. This type of court was also seen in PA. The perception of it by South Carolinians were to help reconcile the slaveholders' and victims' interests. Presided by justices of the peace (were slaveholders too) and administered swift judgment. This court allowed for the resolution of legal conflicts in the colony while simultaneously preventing situations in which blacks could testify whites.

What is Code Noir (Black Code)?

Created in 1724. Sought to reduce slave manumissions and to stop interracial mixing. However, there were few French women so white men married their female slaves. Punishment for running away would be mutilation, branding, and sometimes, death. If free blacks sheltered them, they had to pay a fine; if they could not pay the fine, they could possibly be enslaved again. Whites had to pay a fine too (less than the $ blacks paid). Law was silent if whites couldn't pay. Blacks also needed permission to sell produce and freed slaves had to show their former masters the highest respect. Masters had to provide religious instruction (Catholicism; seldom done) and food and clothing. They couldn't separate wives and husbands nor could they take children under 14 from their parents.

What were the prohibitive codes of PA?

Created in 1725-1726. Outlawed interracial marriage, restricted movement of slaves, and free blacks were whipped if caught giving refuge to slaves or trading with them.

What is the Compromise of 1850?

Created to diffuse controversy concerning the territorial expansion of slavery. Included the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Brought CA into the Union as a free state, organized western territories without mention of slavery, cleared Texas' debts, settled the Texas-New Mexico border dispute (largely in favor of TX), and ended the public sale of slaves in the nation's capital.

What is the comprehensive code of 1751?

Created to reinforce Code Noir. Any Negro was to be whipped for disrespecting whites, going out after curfew, or attending church unsupervised.

What were the "stress and strain" of the 1850s?

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, antislavery agitation, proslavery conflicts, riots in the North due to radical abolitionism, racial inferiority, the Underground Railroad (intensified strife between the North and the South)

Who was the most legendary conductor on the Underground Railroad?

Harriet Tubman

Describe the 1705 slave law in NY?

If a slave were caught 40 miles past Albany (to get to French-owned Canada to get their freedom), they would be executed (only two witnesses were needed).

What was the 1724 slave code in VA?

Included the distinction between offspring of free black men and those of an Englishman

Describe the 1712 act in Carolina.

It is presumed every Negro is a slave unless proven otherwise.

When did GA legalize slavery and why?

Legalized in 1750. Done in response to economic ruin and manpower shortage. Initially, slavery was not to be prohibited because British lawmakers felt it would interfere with the philanthropic image of virtuous white soldier-farmers.

Describe slavery in New England.

Less apprehensive about slave revolts because of the lesser slave population in comparison with the other colonies. Slaves had more rights. Could testify in court, sue, and petition for their freedom; could associate with another and with Indians and white servants; houses of some blacks were meeting places for dancing, playing games, and storytelling.

Why did the legalization of slavery occur in Virginia?

Occurred in response to growing perceptions of a labor shortage. A growing disinclination of whites enslaving American Indians, falling English birth rates in the 1660s, a high death rate bc of diseases prior to 1640, and a decreasing # of English people willing to indenture themselves created a labor demand. This also occurred while Virginia was in desperate need of labor for clearing forests and cultivating tobacco crops. As a result, Virginia created a slave code that sanctioned the perpetual slave condition and inferior position of all people of African-American descent.

What is the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

Passed in 1854. Repealed the Missouri Compromise. Gave legislature in each territory the power to determine whether they would be free or slave.

How bad was the conflict between abolitionists and proslavery advocates in the South?

Reached the point where inquiry and free speech disappeared. Any person who had an opinion that did not coincide with the proslavery views were run out of the South.

Describe the Massachusetts law that was enacted because of an arson outbreak in 1723.

Regulated the movement of slaves, free blacks, Native Americans, and mulattoes. Any member of these groups could be on the streets when fires broke out. If found, they were whipped and placed in the Boston House of Correction for three days.

Describe the Virginian law created in 1667.

Removed all opportunities to gain freedom on religious grounds asserting that becoming a Christian does not mean you are.

In the last two decades of the 17th century, what were some of the harsher statutes implemented in VA?

Robbing a house or store -> whipped with 60 lashes and locked in the pillory where their ears would be cut off Acts of insolence or affiliating with free blacks or whites -> whipping, branding, or maiming The sheriffs, courts, and even nonslaveholding whites were required to police the slave population Laws were created in response to the growing population of slaves. Feared the large #s of blacks living amongst whites, the interracial mixing of whites and blacks, and rebellious conspiracies

Describe the 1722 act in Carolina.

Slave patrols were allowed to search blacks for weapons and to arrest them if they were away from their home plantation without a permit. If the permits were more than one month old, they were arrested. Also allowed to whip blacks deemed dangerous to the peace.

What did abolitionists interpret slavery as?

Slavery was contrary to the fundamental principles of the American way of life, which valued freedom as an impt. right of the person. During the contrast of freedom and slavery, they would refer to the Declaration of Independence. According to them, slaves could not work, couldn't marry or have a family, had no legal protection, and had little to no opportunities for an education. Also, slaves would be inefficient because they were not paid and were overworked. The domination of a person by another was deemed uncivilized and slavery was viewed as a threat to the peace and safety of the country.

What was the 1694 slave code in VA?

Social status was undermined and they were branded as social inferiors

Describe the Maryland law created in 1663.

Sought to make all blacks born in the colony slaves regardless of the status of the mother. In 1681, Maryland declared that black children born from free black women and white women were considered free.

What is the royal Black Code of 1777?

Spanish slave law after France gave Louisiana to Spain during the French and Indian War. Gave more access to freedom because of coartacion (a slave's right to purchase his freedom). Free men had the right to form a militia. Still followed French laws such as obedience to sumptuary laws (slaves had to wear diff clothing than whites), banning unskilled blks from New Orleans, free blacks must carry gun permits, freedom papers, and horse registries, and summary execution of any slaves taking part in slave riots.

What was the larges revolt in Carolina?

Stono Rebellion in 1739

T/F: Southern leaders aimed to keep abolitionist ideas out of their community even going as far as to burn abolitionist literature?

T

Describe slavery in Carolina?

The Carolina colony did not go through a period of legal ambiguity over the question of permanent and hereditary bondage. Even though blacks were not the form of free labor, they were the only ones deemed to be chattel and held for unlimited terms.

Describe the 1706 slave law in NY?

The baptism of a slave does not give them freedom. Also, the status of a child followed the condition of the mother and a slave could not be a competent witness involving a white or freeman.

What was the justification of the racial basis for slavery?

The codification of slave laws. Used to be religious reasons that condoned enslavement.

Describe the 1712 slave law in NY?

The commitment of arson is punishable by death, restricted slave manumissions, and free Negroes, Indians, or mulattoes would not be able to possess or enjoy property in NY.

Who was John Locke?

The drafter of Fundamental Constitutions in 1663. This draft said Christian conversion would not affect slave status and every slaveholder in Carolina has absolute power over his slaves. Doc was never fully enacted.

Describe the Virginian law created in 1662.

The free status of a slave born in a colony was determined by the status of his mother.

What did the slave laws do?

The laws protected the slave masters' interests due to blacks' growing conversion to Christianity and the declaration of slave status being determined by the status of the mother

What is the "gag rule?"

The name of the rule adopted by the House of Representatives to label petitions against slavery flowing into Congress as "tabled," meaning to not let it be addressed. Abolitionist looked at this as slavery of whites of their First Amendment right to petition Congress.

Name some ways proslavery advocates impeded the abolitionist cause?

They would go into "enemy" territory and reclaim runaway slaves. In addition, they would spread proslavery literature and spy on abolitionists by disguising as antislavery lecturers and Quakers.

What time periods were more comprehensive legal codes proscribed in regards to mobility, manumission, and interracial mixing?

Throughout the 17th century and well into the 18th

How did white abolitionists not deem black abolitionists as equals?

White abolitionists were, at best, paternalistic and at worst, openly discriminatory. They would deny blacks their civil rights in northern communities. Supporting abolition does not mean supporting racial equality. Also, they would not address black disfranchisement and other forms of racial subordination in the North. In some cases, black women weren't allowed to participate in antislavery events by white female abolitionists.