1. Slavery in America

2. Early Slavery
Slavery- The idea of one person owning and controlling another person against their will.
Slaves were considered PROPERTY, and therefore were not given human rights.
Slavery existed for thousands of years, and occurred all over the world.
An important part of many ancient cultures
Egypt, Rome, China
Slavery existed in North America from ~ 1600 – 1865

3. Slave Trade Slaves were the most valuable part of “Triangular Trade”
Since slaves were considered property, they could be bought, sold, and traded like any other valuable good.
Slaves were the most valuable part of “Triangular Trade”
Triangular Trade – A three way trading cycle between the Americas, Europe, and Africa
Africa > America = slaves
America -----> Europe = cotton, tobacco, sugar
Europe > Africa = guns, manufactured goods

5. American Slaves How slaves were brought to America:
Captured slaves were sold to traders in West Africa
Slaves were put onto ships and brought across the Atlantic Ocean
Slaves were sold at auctions in the Americas
(U.S, Jamaica, Cuba, South America)

6. Why/How were Africans captured and made into slaves?
Most slaves were tribal people captured by other Africans and forced into captivity.
Prisoners of war, victims of raids, etc.
Powerful African Kings would conquer weaker tribes and use captured slaves to trade.

7. Middle Passage
After slaves were captured and sold to traders, they faced the terrors of the “Middle Passage”.
Middle Passage – the ocean route used by slave ships to bring slaves from Africa to North America
journey could last from 6 weeks to 18 weeks
Some of the worst conditions humans have ever suffered

8. What were conditions like on a typical slave ship?
Slave Traders crammed as many slaves as possible onto slave ships.
Each slave was worth money
More slaves delivered alive = more money made
Slaves were kept below deck and chained to the boat/other slaves.
Usually did not have room to move.
Conditions were filthy and dangerous

11. What were conditions like on a typical slave ship?
Slaves were given 1 meal per day and water. If a slave refused to eat they were force fed.
Slaves were forced to dance for exercise. If they refused they were beaten.
If slaves died their bodies were simply thrown overboard.

14. Slave Auctions
Slaves that survived the Middle Passage and arrived in the Americas were sold at auctions to the highest bidders.
Men, Women, and Children were all sold as property.
Slaves had no say in where they were sold.
Families were often torn apart.
Family members sold to separate plantations would usually never see each other again.

15. What did plantation owners look for when buying a slave?
Slaves were judged like farm animals
(muscle tone, teeth, health, etc.)
Slave owners wanted and paid more for the most fertile female slaves.
If a slave had children, the children also became slaves
Scars or signs of beatings showed an “unruly” slave and usually hurt the slave’s value.

17. Life on a Southern Plantation
Plantation- Large scale farm specializing in cash crops (tobacco, cotton, sugar)
Small plantations could have as few as 5 slaves, while large plantations could have thousands.
Only a very small number of Southerners owned slaves
Slaves were extremely expensive, most normal people could NEVER afford to own a slave.

18. Describe the life of a Southern slave.
Two groups of slaves – House Slaves and Field Slaves
House Slaves –
Usually women
Duties included cooking, cleaning, laundry, and taking care of children.
House slaves were usually treated better than field slaves, but abuse still occurred.

19. Describe the life of a Southern slave.
Field Slaves-
Field Slaves ranged from ~ 10 – 70 years old.
Field slaves worked from sun up to sun down, 7 days a week, with only a few short breaks.
Duties included farm work (digging, planting, tending crops) and many other kinds of manual labor.
If field slaves did not work quickly enough, they would be beaten

20. Describe the life of a Southern slave.
Slaves lived in small shacks with anywhere from 6 to 12 people.
Most slaves slept on straw mattresses on a dirt floor.
Slaves were fed 2 meals per day. Usually meals included rice, cornmeal, and leftover pork parts.
Slaves were given 1 set of summer clothes, 1 set of winter clothes, and a new blanket each year

22. Rights denied to slaves
Slaves were considered property, therefore they had no human rights.
Slaves were not allowed to marry, vote, own property, or earn their freedom through work.
It was illegal for slaves to receive an education, or even learn to read and write.
Why would southern slave owners want their slaves to be uneducated?

23. Penalties for trying to escape
Many slaves attempted to escape from plantations. If they were caught they were “punished” or killed.
Punishments included beatings, whippings, branding, hobbling and humiliation.
Punishments were usually given out in front of other slaves, to make an example.

27. Fugitive Slave Laws Fugitive – run away, person who is fleeing
Laws were passed that allowed fugitive slaves to be hunted down and returned to their plantations.
These laws made helping a fugitive slave a crime.
Anyone with dark skin was at risk.
Many “Free Blacks” were kidnapped and forced into slavery.
Since African-Americans had no rights (could not testify in court), it was almost impossible to prove their freedom.

29. The Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad- System designed to help slaves escape Southern plantations.
Guides (sometimes former slaves themselves) would lead groups of slaves towards freedom.
Guides = called conductors,
Slaves would travel from stop to stop until they reached freedom in the North or in Canada.
Stops = called stations
The Underground Railroad HAD to be kept secret
Anyone found out to be a part of the railroad faced fines, jail time, or worse.

30. How did slaves try to avoid being caught on the U.G. Railroad?
Runaway slaves would usually travel in small groups of less than 10.
Most travel was done at night. During the day slaves were hidden inside stations.
More than 130,000 slaves may have escaped to freedom using the Underground Railroad.
*Only about 3.25% of total slave population

31. Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman- “The Moses of her People”-
Famous conductor on the Underground Railroad.
Born a slave in 1820, escaped to the North in 1849
Made as many as 19 trips back into the deep South to rescue her family members and other slaves.
Led an armed raid during the Civil War that freed over 700 slaves in South Carolina

32. The Abolitionists
Abolish – to get rid of, to end completely
Abolitionist – Person who speaks or acts out against slavery
Abolitionist movements started as early as 1688, and existed in both the North and the South.
Their goal was to open peoples eyes to the realities of slavery
Attempts to end slavery were made at the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, but they were rejected.
Too much money was being made from slavery (North AND South)
The Abolitionist movement started to gain attention and power in the 1830’s, especially in the North.