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Chapter 5 African Americans in the New Nation
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I. Forces for Freedom Economic change Evangelical Christianity
Wage labor Evangelical Christianity Great Awakening Revolutionary ethos Natural rights doctrines African Americans sought freedom Escaped, purchased, sued, and petitioned for it
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Northern Emancipation
New England Slavery collapsed quickly African Americans refused to remain in bondage Most white people acquiesced Massachusetts African men who paid taxes could vote, 1783 Elizabeth Freeman See PROFILE
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Northern Emancipation (cont.)
Mid-Atlantic states New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania Investment in slaves greater than in New England Pennsylvania approved gradual emancipation, 1780 New York, 1799
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The Northwest Ordinance, 1787
Orderly sale of land Support for education Territorial government New states Banned slavery South of Ohio River open to slavery Set a precedent for excluding slaves from territory
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The Louisiana Purchase and the Lower Mississippi Valley
People of African descent a majority Two groups Creoles Craftsman and shopkeepers in New Orleans and port cities Plantation slaves Most directly from Africa Americans settle in lower Mississippi Valley Strict enforcement of slave codes Expansion of slave code
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Antislavery Societies in the North and the Upper South
Anthony Benezet First antislavery society in the world, 1775 Similar societies Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Tennessee Never appeared in Deep South Generally cooperated in a loose framework, Quaker dominated Gradual emancipation Upper South Small and short lived
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Manumission and Self-Purchase
Liberalized laws after the Revolution Most southern states Free individuals by deed or will Virginia repealed ban on private manumissions, 1782 Hundreds of slave holders in Upper South freed slaves Religious sentiment and natural rights principles Self-purchase agreements Masters make a profit Unprofitable investments Changing crops Old age To avoid immediate escape
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The Emergence of a Free Black Class in the South
Free black class grew in Upper South Manumissions, self-purchase, and freedom suits Maryland and Virginia had the largest population Deep South Much smaller group Generally the illegitimate children of slave holders Favorites Unable to work North Carolina made manumissions more difficult after 1777
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II. Forces for Slavery North South
Slavery was weak, little opposition to abolition South Slavery was strong and important to economy Thrived and expanded
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The United States Constitution
Slaveholder concessions To create a more powerful central government Clauses designed to maintain slavery in the South Continuing the Atlantic slave trade for twenty years Returning escaped slaves to masters Three-Fifths Compromise Enhanced representation for slaveholders Congress Electoral college Election of 1800
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Cotton Increased cultivation Declining revolutionary fervor
Britain Eli Whitney Declining revolutionary fervor Retreat from egalitarianism after 1790s Intensified white racism Scientific racism justified slavery Naturalization laws
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III. Free Black Communities
Dynamic communities North and Upper South Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, and Boston Established distinctive institutions To avoid inferior status in white-dominated organizations Preserve African heritage Mutual aid societies Christian moral character Generally restricted to men Black freemasons Prince Hall
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Origins of Independent Black Churches
Biracial churches Never embraced African Americans as equals Subordinate churches Independent churches Philadelphia between 1780s and early 1800s St. George’s Methodist Church St. Thomas’s Episcopal Church African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church Richard Allen, see VOICES Absalom Jones Benjamin Rush
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The First Black Schools
Early 1700s Slave and free children North and South Ran by white clergy After Revolution Black people established schools for black children Mutual aid societies and churches created and sustained Prince Hall Brown Fellowship Christopher McPherson Produced a growing class of literate African Americans
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IV. Black Leaders and Choices
Educated black elite provided leadership Richard Allen Absalom Jones See VOICES James Forten See PROFILE Prince Hall
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Migration Prince Hall Paul Cuffe and colonization
Petitioned Massachusetts legislature to support colony Paul Cuffe and colonization End the Atlantic slave trade Spread Christianity Refuge for free black people Make profits
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Slave Uprisings Legacy of fear and hope Frightened white southerners
Gabriel, 1800 American and French Revolution influenced Natural human rights Charles Deslondes, 1811 Frightened white southerners Raised hope for freedom among slaves
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The White Southern Response
Legacy of slave uprisings Deepened reactions against egalitarianism Feared race war that emancipation would cause Southern states tightened control of black population Outlawed assemblies Placed curfew on slaves and free blacks Made manumissions more difficult Revived slave patrols Became suspicious of outsiders Forcing free black people out of southern states
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V. The War of 1812 White prejudice and fear of black revolts
Militia Act of 1792 Eliminated armed black participation in state militias Navy ended black service on warships, 1798 Southern states refused to enlist blacks in 1812 Concerned black men with guns would aid slave revolt “Black Brigade” Lake Erie, September 1813 Battle of New Orleans, January 1815
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VI. The Missouri Compromise
“A fire bell in the night” Missouri applies for statehood, 1819 Eleven free and eleven slave states Tallmadge Amendment Proposed gradual emancipation African-American crowd galleries to hear debates Southern threats of secession Compromise Henry Clay Missouri, Maine, and 36-30
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VII. Conclusion Waning egalitarian commitment and rising racism
Doomed earlier promises of freedom Free black communities grew Laid a foundation for Education Spiritual growth Economic development Forces for slavery grew stronger Permanent black bondage
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