Masters and Slaves

Nat Turner1831 – Nat Turner and other slaves rose up against their mastersAbout 60 whites killedThe rebellion was stoppedSlave owners had to make sure this would not happen againConditions became harsher

Southerners looked at abolitionist as a direct attack on their way of lifeSoutherners feared their own slaves and possible attacks from the north

Cotton KingdomCotton gin made separating the seeds from the cotton a cheaper processWestward expansion opened more areas to growing cottonCrops required constant weeding Increased value and need of slavery

Cotton1792-1817 = 461,000 bales1840 = 1,35 million1849 = 2.85 million1860 = 4.8 million

Most cotton went to Great BritainSoutherners said “Cotton is King”Felt cotton was responsible for the good economy of America

Slavery and Industrialization

The south depended on the north for manufactured goodsSome wanted the south to industrialize Rich plantation owners did not see the need to risk changeMost slaves stayed on plantations

Slaves worked from sunrise to sunsetOverseers controlled the daily lives of the slavePlantation owners – contact only with house slavesLived in small shacks w/dirt floorsWork all day and then come home and prepare food and work slave gardensConditions were harsh

Uncle Tom’s CabinHarriet Beecher Stowe – never owned slavesShowed the villain Simon LegreeAlso showed that slaves were people with deep feelingShowed the evils of slaverySold millions of copies and became a stage show throughout the worldReaders around the world turned against slavery

The Positive Southerners who had slaved had to support their right to own themThey said slaves were better off with their white mastersPlace to stay and someone to take care of themReligion used to support the owning of slaves

Gabriel Prosser1800 Virginia slave rose against his masters

Marched to RichmondStorm dispersed his army and he was defeated

1811 slaves marched to New Orleans300 - Army stopped the rebellion

1822 Southerners uncovered a plot to seize an armory, arm the slave population and take control of Charleston

Second Seminole WarSlaves in Florida (escaped slaves) fought alongside the IndiansSeminoles were resisting removal to OklahomaThousands of other slaves just ran away

Free Blacks

500,000 free blacks – 1860About ½ lived in slave statesTreated as social outcasts – prejudiceSometimes captured by slave catchers and placed into slavery

Freedoms Journal & North StarBlack newspapersPreached liberationDavid Walker – “Appeal … to the colored people of the world”

Denounced slaveryCalled for blacks to revolt against the whites

Harriet TubmanUnderground RailroadHelped escaped slaved get to free states and later to Canada

Slave ReligionFree blacks formed the first independent black churchPrayed to God to deliver them from slaveryBlack churches looked at by whites suspiciouslySome forced to close

Slave FamilyFamilies had strong bondsParents shared responsibility for raising childrenSlaves were also sold and tradedWives and families were often on other plantationsNot uncommon for the head of the family to be the motherYounger slaves referred to each other as “brother” and “sister”