Slavery during the
Antebellum Period
By Tatiana Dalton and Geneva Cann
Cotton Gin
• A machine that quickly separates cotton fibers from
cotton seeds. This was previously done by hand, so it
was a very popular and successful invention.
• Invented by the American, Eli Whitney
• Made the South even more dependent
on slavery
o Cotton became the most profitable
crop
o Many slaves needed to produce
cotton
Slavery and the Economy of the South:
• 1824, cotton cultivation in the South was tremendous and the South
depended on slavery to finance their lives.
• Politicians feared that abolishing slavery would destroy the South's economy
• We usually picture a plantation as having hundreds of slaves on it, but in fact,
three-fourths of white Southerners did not even own slaves; of those who did,
88% owned twenty or fewer!
Living Conditions of Slaves
Treatment of Antebellum-era Slaves
• Slaves still thought of as property
o Status maintained by violence
o Even non-slaveholding southerners promoted this view of
blacks
• Worked as hard laborers, skilled artisans , and domestic
workers
o Domestic work generally preferred - however, greater
scrutiny, less privacy
o Women - extra task of taking care of the family, weaving,
cooking, etc.
• Poor conditions on plantations
o Inadequate diet and living quarters
o Climate difficulties - disease, infant mortality
Slave Culture
• Slaves on a plantation formed a community
o Marriages between slaves
o After work - meetings to socialize, tell stories, make secret plans
o Singing and music another form of expression
o Kept their true selves away from whites, "underground"
• Religion a source of inspiration
o Christianity, Islam, African religions
o Moses, "day of reckoning"
• Parents taught children tricks of surviving in a white-dominated
world
• Hunting, gathering, herbal medicines to supplement diet
Nat Turner's Slave Rebellion
Virginia, 1831-slaves revolted, killing whites and freeing slaves
Resulted in white retaliation, killings of many blacks
Antislavery Organizations and AnteBellum Reform
• The American Colonization Society
o Sought to send freed blacks to an African colony
o Proved to be inefficient
• The American
• Antislavery Society
o Founded by
o William Lloyd Garrison
o The Liberator
• The Liberty Party
o Made up of Northerners
o The party's candidate for president - James Birney
o A split between abolitionists: moral crusading vs.
political action
Abolitionists and Children
• Abolitionists viewed children
as morally pure, and therefore
viewed children as natural
opponents of slavery
• Produced antislavery toys,
games and alphabet books
Other Antislavery Activists
Black Abolitionists
• Harriet Tubman, David
Ruggles, Sojourner Truth, an
William Still organized efforts
to help fugitive slaves to
freedom
• Frederick Douglass:
antislavery journal- The
North Star
Violent Abolitionism
• Walker and Garnet: slaves
should rise up, take action
against their masters
Harriet Tubman and the
Underground Railroad
• Tubman, known as "Moses" coordinated with white families
willing to house runaways
o "Safe houses" were identified by a lit lantern hanging on a
post outside
• Journey to freedom could take from 2 months to one year
Political:
• Slavery in the north had disappeared by 1820
• Ban of importation of slaves (1808)
• High tariffs threaten southern cotton production (South
Carolina suffered economic decline in 1820s), cotton prices
were lowered
• Jackson becomes president in 1828, supported the south
and slavery
• The North opposed Jackson, wanted to end slavery
The Amistad
The Missouri Compromise
1819-1820
Missouri's bid for statehood complicated by
its tolerance of slavery (Northerners opposed)
Would upset sectional balance of free vs.
slave states
Balance allowed Southerners to prevent
unwanted legislation
Tallmadge Amendment
Clay's Proposal (Combination of
• Proposed Conditions of
three bills)
Admission:
• Missouri a new slave state
o No further introduction of • Maine a new free state
slaves into MS
• No more slavery in Louisiana
o Children of MS slaves to
Territory north of latitude 36
be emancipated at 25
•
Amendment shot down by
Northerners
AFTER COMPROMISE: 30 YEARS OF SECTIONAL BALANCE AND LIMITED
CONFLICT OVER SLAVERY
The Compromise of 1850
THE ISSUES:
• Territory gained in war with Mexico
• Washington, D.C.
• California - petition to become a new state
THE COMPROMISE (proposed by Henry Clay):
• New territories - slavery policy to be determined by
inhabitants
• D.C. - slave trade abolished, slavery still allowed
• California - admitted as free state
• Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act
Required citizens to participate in returning fugitive slaves to their masters
• Case commissioners
o Paid twice the amount if fugitive was given back to his
"master"
• New rules made filing a claim easier for slave owners
Antislavery Northerners allowed for the
passage of this act in return for the
admission of California as a free state.
Anthony
Burns
• Slave in Virginia
• Escaped to Boston,
followed by master
• Violence at the
courthouse during
hearing
• Burns sent back to VA
only to buy freedom
Works Cited
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google.com
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2956.html
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trr095.html
The AMSCO AP US History Review Book
"The Enduring Vision" textbook
Living condition photographs available on Flickr
www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad/hfame.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2951.html