The Peculiar Institution and the Nature of Slavery Topic 7 The Peculiar Institution and the Nature of Slavery

How did the population of slaves grow in the antebellum years?

While most Southern whites did not own slaves and of those who did most owned only a few, a minority of slave-owners owned a great number of slaves and dominated the life of the state

The fact that slavery came to dominate the political and economic thinking of the entire South, shaping its cultural and social patterns, is due to two main reasons: The great majority of staple crops were produced on plantations employing slave labor, thus giving the owners an influence greater than their numbers would suggest Non-slave owning whites held out hope that they too, one day, would become wealthy through slave ownership

While only a minority of whites owned slaves, the majority of slave owners were small farmers, often working the fields with their few slaves.

In antebellum America, what were the slave codes and how were they enforced?

Common provisions of Slave Codes: No standing in courts Forbidden to own most property Could never strike a white, even in self-defense Could never leave plantation without authorization and pass No commercial rights No assembly rights without whites present Education was generally forbidden

Slave trial

Whipping was a common punishment

Slave patrol checking passes

What was antebellum slave life like?

On small farms slaves performed a variety of tasks and got to know the owners. As a result, slavery was often less harsh

House servants on large plantations

“gang system” on large plantation

Slave overseer

Field hands on a large plantation usually worked from sunup to sunset

Overseers could be particularly harsh

Some slaves were allowed to grow their own food in small gardens during off-work time

Slave cabins

Clothing was sometimes nothing more than rags, but usually better for house servants

Almost no time for any social activities

John Canoe celebration

Little opportunity for romance or courtship

Female slaves as concubines

Rape of slaves often produced mixed race offspring, slaves because born to slaves

Southern culture placed women on a pedestal with defined gender roles and expectations

What were some forms of slave protest and rebellion in the Antebellum Age?

Names adopted through the generations in one African-American family

Slave resistance took numerous forms, including simply refusing to work or working slowly

Slaves tried to run away, often to woods or swamps

Denmark Vesey planning his uprising

Court transcript in trials of Vesey conspirators

Nat Turner

The capture of Nat Turner