Day 66: The South and the Slave Controversy Baltimore Polytechnic Institute December 7, 2016 AP/A Course U.S. History Mr. Green
Objective Students will analyze the options of freed African-Americans by participating in a role- play activity in order to evaluate the status of freed African Americans in the Antebellum Period.
Warm-up Some southern slaves gained their freedom as a result of the prohibition of the Atlantic slave trade after 1807. purchase by northern abolitionists. fleeing to mountain hideaways. purchasing their way out of slavery. the objection to slaveholding by some white women
Free Blacks: Slaves without Masters 250,000 free blacks in the South Revolutionary War idealism Mullatoes – children of white planters and slaves Purchased freedom from after-hours work Freed slaves had their own land Had their own slaves in some cases Couldn’t work certain jobs Couldn’t testify against whites in court Could be hijacked back into slavery In the North-250,000 free blacks 250,000 in the north as well Many northern states wouldn’t allow them to enter Denied right to vote Barred from public schools 1835, farmers in NH hooked up a schoolhouse to oxen and dragged it into a swamp because it allowed blacks to enroll Competition for jobs from Irish Antiblack feelings stronger in the north than south
Plantation Slavery 4 million slaves in the South in 1860 1808 outlawed slave imports in U.S. 1807 Britain abolished slave trade British West Africa Squadron captured slave ships and freed captives 3 million Africans shipped to Brazil and West Indies after 1807 Smuggling into the south Slaves as investments Increase in slave population from reproduction – slave South was outside of tropical disease range Planters spent $2 billion in slaves by 1860 Dangerous work, like putting on a roof, given to Irish immigrant – better his neck be broken than a slave’s Tunnel blasting, swamp draining Some females promised freedom if they could produce 10 children Planters would often take advantage of their female slaves, producing mulatto population
Life under the lash Living conditions varied by plantation Flogging Black belt South Carolina and Georgia into Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana More stable in deep South Religion Worked dusk to dawn in the fields Minimal protection from murder or unusually cruel punishment Some banned sale of child under 10 Couldn’t testify in court, Marriages not legally recognized Slaves would regularly be whipped Strong-willed slaves sent to “breakers” who would literally break them Bad beatings left marks that reduced resale value, and too much beating made workers sullen
Burdens of Bondage Denied education “Revenge” Runaways, rebellions Slow labor – fostered white myth of “black laziness” Took food and other goods their labor helped make Sabotaged work equipment Poisoned owner’s food Runaways, rebellions Nat Turner Amistad Nat Turner – preacher, 1831, 60 Virginians slaughtered – soon extinguished Amistad – 1839 – slaves seized command of the ship and tried to sail back to Africa – driven ashore on Long Island Imprisoned and trialed, JQ Adams gave them freedom in 1841, Africans returned
Emancipated Slaves in the U.S. 1790-1850 In groups of four you will put yourself in the shoes of a freed slave woman and her family. Take 15 minutes to decide where you would go. Make sure you consider both the pros and the cons of the location you choose.
Discussion Each group will briefly explain which location they choose and why.
Exit Ticket Explain why you choose the location for your family Salisbury, MD Boston NYC Canada
Homework In 1 paragraph explain which of these four locations you would go to if you were a runaway slave. Make sure you explain the benefits of the location you choose, the drawbacks of this location, and why you choose this location instead of the other three locations. Due on Tuesday 11/3.