Slavery to Abolition
Black People in Virginia 1619 first African in Virginia black indentured servants in VA, working with white indentured servants blacks 1682 slaves and servants differentiated 1700 about 1,000 brought to VA yearly 1705 Slave Codes
1700s Transformation from servants to slaves Major growth in slave population, especially in 1720s and 1730s Britain - the major slave trading country By 1781, 575,000 slaves in US of total population of 3.5 million
Early 1800s 1804 – slavery abolished in northern states Commerce in north depended heavily on institution of slavery 1808 legal ban on importation of slaves
1830 12.8 million Americans 2 million slaves Held by 25% of white southerners 88% of slave owners had 20 or fewer 319,000 free people of color, half in south
Slave Rebellions Resistance inspired by slave revolts in Haiti 1800 Gabriel Prosser marched on Richmond with a force of 1,000, but was betrayed 1822 Denmark Vesey organized a failed rebellion in Charleston involving some 9,000. 1831 Nat Turner and conspirators killed 60 in Virginia before seized
Underground Railroad Thousands of slaves escaped from south during 1800s before Civil War Abolitionists, including free blacks and whites assisted in creating & sustaining Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman
Key Underground Railroad figure In 1849 escaped from slavery in Maryland Returned 19 times to bring back more than 300 Bounty for her capture exceeded $40,000 Created a home for the elderly in New York after emancipation
Abolition Activities 1830 – rise of underground railway 1831 The Liberator W.L. Garrison 1833 American Anti-Slavery Society 1851 Publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (300,000 sold) 1854 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Escaped slavery in 1838 Joined abolitionists on lecture circuit as compelling speaker Published North Star Active in Underground Railroad in Rochester