1. Factors the Contributed to Slavery in North America

2. Four factors influenced slavery in North America. They were:
a. Economic
b. Geographic
c. Religious
d. Political

3. General Facts About Slavery in North America:
What is slavery: holding someone and forcing them to work against their will.
The first Africans will arrive in Jamestown in 1619 on a DUTCH ship. They weren’t SLAVES.
People didn’t think slavery would be PROFITABLE in the Americas.

4. General Facts About Slavery in North America:
Advances in technology led to rise in number of slaves:
COTTON GIN by Eli Whitney in 1793
Powered looms which helped SPIN/PRODUCE cloth faster.

5. General Facts About Slavery in North America:
Settlers from Barbados that come to the CAROLINAS will bring many African SLAVES from the sugar cane plantations; already have a well established AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE.

6. 1. Economic Factors Affecting Slavery
The SOUTH’S economy (way they make money) is based on agriculture. What crops do they plant again? COTTON, RICE, TOBACCO, INDIGO
The PLANTATION system (really large farms) will operate based on cheap slave labor.

7. 1. Economic Factors Affecting Slavery
Slavery replaces INDENTURED servitude, which is more expensive. What is that? PERSON WHO WORKS FOR A SET NUMBER OF YEARS TO PAY OFF A DEBT
The South felt that their ECONOMY would crumble without slavery.

8. 1. Economic Factors Affecting Slavery
The North will not have many large farms; thus they don’t need SLAVE labor.
By mid-1700’s there will be over 500,000 slaves in the COLONIES. By 1860, 4 MILLION slaves will live mostly on PLANTATIONS.

9. 2. Geographic Factors Affecting Slavery
The SOUTH’S warm weather means a LONG GROWING SEASON with great SOIL to support plantations.
The NORTH has a SHORTER growing season. What do you do with slaves in the winter?

10. 2. Geographic Factors Affecting Slavery
In the Northeast (think Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire) the soil is ROCKY and doesn’t support PLANTATIONS

11. 3. Religious Factors Affecting Slavery
Quakers and PURITANS who settled in the North don’t allow slavery because of their religious views.

12. 3. Religious Factors Affecting Slavery
Puritans and the North will have more colleges and NEWSPAPERS which will also argue against slavery because it is wrong to do that to other HUMAN BEINGS.
The SOUTH has few Puritans or Quakers to fight against slavery.

13. 4. Political Factors Affecting Slavery
In 1808, the new, weak United States Government will say it is ILLEGAL to bring more slaves. Unfortunately this will be hard to ENFORCE.
The SOUTH with have SLAVE CODES which are rules that govern the BEHAVIOR and punishment of slaves.

14. 4. Political Factors Affecting Slavery
The DRED SCOTT DECISION : Supreme Court Case about a slave whose owner takes him to the WISCONSIN TERRITORY in the 1830s where slavery is illegal. The owner returns to Missouri and dies. Scott sues, arguing that he should be free because he has lived on free soil. Chief Justice ROGER B. TANEY ruled that Dred Scott was to remain a slave and that as a slave he was not a CITIZEN and did not have a right to bring a lawsuit. It gets worse.

15. 4. Political Factors Affecting Slavery
The Supreme Court said that slaves were considered PROPERTY, and the government under the 5th Amendment could not take property from people without due process of law. This means that CONGRESS could not ban slave owners from taking their “PROPERTY” anywhere they wanted to, including FREE STATES. This was a HUGE hit to abolitionists.

16. Resistance to Slavery:
People who argued and fought against slavery were called ABOLITIONISTS.
One famous way people fought slavery was to ignore laws like THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW and to help slaves escape on the UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.