The Nature and
Development of Slavery
in the United States
1790-1860
Slavery: Post Revolution

“republican” ideology of equality and
liberty

Massachusetts outlaws slavery in 1783

By 1800, slavery is banned above the
Mason-Dixon Line

Northwest Ordinance of 1787 banned
slavery in the Northwest Territories

Virginia and Maryland: wave of
manumission—100,000 slaves are freed

George Washington freed all his slaves

Quakers promote abolition of slavery in
the late 18th century
Early Expansion
 South Carolina and Georgia
continue to import slaves
until 1808
 Invention of cotton gin in
1793
 Louisiana Purchase in 1803
 New slave states by 1819:
Tennessee, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama
Causes

Technology

cotton gin

transportation revolution

Textile factories: New England’s
Lowell System

New territories

Exhausted soils in Old South

Indian Removal

War of 1812

Indian Removal Act of 1830 and
Trail of Tears

Black Hawk and Seminole Wars of
the 1830s
Slavery in 1860


Fifteen slave states
Southern population:

9 million total

3.6 million slaves

250,000 free blacks (mostly
urban areas)

Most slaves lived on middling
plantations and small farms

Slave trade

250,000 slaves imported illegally

Thriving domestic trade:
“breeding” plantations of Upper
South
White Population
Owned 50+
slaves: 1%
Owned 20-49
slaves: 3%
Owned 10-19
slaves: 4%
Owned 1-9 slaves:
17%
Non slaveowners:
75%
Nature and Characteristics
Small Farms
Large Plantations
 More Common
 Masters worked alongside
slaves
 Worked long, hard hours
 Less harshly treated: were
a more significant
investment
 Were not profitable

Less common but more
profitable

Strict chain of command,
structure, and greater
organization

Possessed skilled artisans such
as carpenters, masons, and
blacksmiths considered even
more valuable than field hands

Possessed household slaves
(domestics): cooks, valets,
coachmen, nannies
Large Plantations
Mistress
House
Servants
Master
White overseer
or Black slave
drivers
Black field hands
and unskilled
laborers
Skilled
Artisan
s
Mt. Vernon
Slave Life

Usually two parent families and
extended kinship

Lived in slave quarters: developed own
culture

Children begin work at 7 years old

Grandparents take care of younger
children

Average life span: 30-40 years

Slave codes


“chattel” (property)

Had no legal rights

Could not legally get married: “jump”
the broom
Large families encouraged
Slave Life

Treatment of slaves varied

Threat of separation of families:
1 in 3 were separated

Use of the whip: “breaking” a
slave

Women subject to rape and
exploitation

Slave resistance

Runaways

Work slowdowns

Sabotage

Underground Railroad
Slavery: Justifications
 Biblical Justification: Admonitions to servants to




obey their masters (it’s in the Bible)
Historical Justification: The preexistence of slavery
in great civilizations (i.e. Rome, Greece, Egypt )
Legal Justification: US Constitution’s refusal to forbid
slavery and states’ rights (9th and 10th amendments)
Pseudoscientific Justification: “Black deficiency”,
“barbaric” and “inherently inferior” (better off as slaves)
Sociological Justification: Feared end of slavery
would result in chaos, loss of “Beautiful Country”
Socio-economic Impact

Created semi-feudal society

Economy remained largely
agricultural

Limited immigration

Few urban areas

Created a large class of rural
and poor whites

Social, cultural, and political
life dominated by the elite

Vastly different pace of life
and customs
Abolishing Slavery in
America
 Video Clip: Overview
 http://video.pbs.org/video/2291360172/: Childhood
 http://video.pbs.org/video/2292086226/ : Adult
 http://video.pbs.org/video/2319979061/ : The End
Frederick Douglass
 Reading from Frederick Douglass Slave Narrative
 As you read the introduction, circle unknown words and
define them in the margins
 Highlight main points/claims made by Garrison
regarding the Slave Narrative in one color
 At the end,
 Summarize Garrison’s Introduction in a few sentences
 What is your reaction to the Introduction? Why?
Frederick Douglass
 Read the selected chapters from the slave narrative
 Circle and define unknown words
 For each chapter, highlight key
descriptions/events/people/situations that stand out to
you. In the margins, comment for each highlight
 At the end,
 Summarize each chapter
 What is your reaction to each chapter and why?