2. Chapter 15 section 2

3.  In 1850, there were more than 3 million enslaved African Americans in the United States.  These African American slaves were treated as property rather than humans.

4.  Most slaves worked as field hands, but some were skilled artisans. Some slaves worked as carpenters, nurses, cooks, blacksmiths, or mechanics. In addition to their regular work, some also served the slave community as preachers, nurses, or midwives.  FACT: 7 of 8 enslaved African Americans worked on plantations.

5.  Although they could be sold and separated at any time, slaves struggled to keep families together and care for each other.  Slaves found many ways to resist. Some broke tools; pretended to be stupid, sick, or insane; or set fire to their owners’ homes.

6.  Every year thousands of slaves, like Frederick Douglass, risked everything to escape to the North and Canada. They followed the North Star by nightfall.

8.  A few took part in revolts. After a rebellion led by Nat Turner in Virginia, in 1831, a two- day reign of terror left 60 white men, women, and children dead. Turner was captured and executed.  Due to the revolts, like Nat Turner’s, southern states passed stricter slave codes and other laws limiting the rights of African Americans.

10.  Slave codes-laws that tightened control over slaves  Even the 500,000 free African Americans faced discrimination.  Discrimination-the unfair treatment of a group of people compared with another group

11.  In the South, slaves were denied the right to own a gun or travel freely and were harshly punished for minor crimes.  Discrimination was common in the North, too. As a result, free African Americans formed their own communities, often around Christian Churches. They also worked to gain rights and end slavery by petitioning Congress, raising money, and boycotting slave-made goods.