Slavery and the Pre-Civil War Era

I. GENERAL HISTORY OF SLAVERY

• 1. The Beginning of Slavery

  Slavery began before 1501 with the Spanish exploration of the New World. The continuation of slavery was fed by the African slave trade and triangular trade. Slavery in the United States began in 1619 in Jamestown , Virginia when a Dutch ship landed with twenty slaves and spread to other colonies from there. In 1641, slavery was established as a legal institution in the American colonies.
  Slavery began as a legal institution, and from there, it grew into a way of life. Slavery became a major component of social status. A gentleman's wealth was determined by the number of slaves he owned. The wealthy farmers of the South depended on slave labor for their livelihood. Although the plantation life did not begin until later, slaves filled an important part of the growing need for help on the lands of the South.

• 2. The Atlantic Slave Trade

  • A. Transit from Africa

    The transit of slaves from their homeland Africa to the New World occurred as the Middle Passage. The conditions on board the slave ships were dismal, and many slaves did not survive the crossing.

  • B. Marketing the Slaves

    The marketing of the slaves was quite an affair-- slavers had to make sure their merchandise looked healthy and strong so that they could command high prices from potential buyers. Many Africans from all over the continent were subjected to this indignity, and slave captains were quick to earn a substantial profit.

• 3. Anti-Slavery Sentiments-- the "abolitionists"

  • A. People
  • 1. Benjamin Franklin -- early abolitionist
  • 2. George Washington -- first President of the U.S., anti-slavery
  • 3. Thomas Jefferson -- writer of the Declaration of Independence, partially sympathetic to slaves
  • 4. Ralph Waldo Emerson -- poet, outspoken abolitionist
  • B. Rebellious Slaves

    There were many slaves who were unhappy with their lives. They were upset with their masters for their mistreatment, but many did not rebel because of a fear of death. Slave owners also lived in fear; they feared their slaves would rebel and kill them.

II. SLAVES AS PEOPLE

• 1. Slave Life

  Slaves worked very hard, day in and day out to get the jobs they were required to do done. The life of each slave was different depending on where they lived, be it plantation or farm. Often on a small farm, the master would be seen out in the fields with his slaves, working just as hard as they were. On plantations, the story was a little different. There, slaves were whipped and worked horrendous hours.

• 2. Culture

  Blacks, after they arrived in America, had to adjust themselves to a new culture. They had been separated from their way of life. They had to learn English and the ways of the whites. They had to make new friends and new families to replace the ones they had lost. They also had to make religious changes. The slave owners tried to (and did) convert many slaves to Christianity. To keep morale up, the slaves in the fields would sing spirituals to pass the time.

III. PROMINENT PEOPLE

• 1. Crispus Attucks -- killed in the Boston Massacre
• 2. Phillis Wheatley -- female slave and poet
• 3. Oliver Cromwell -- soldier under Gen. George Washington in the Revolutionary War
• 4. James Whitfield -- free black poet
• 5. Benjamin Banneker -- free black, educated
• 6. Frederick Douglass -- escaped slave, avid abolitionist

V. PLACES TO VISIT

VI. SOURCES/FURTHER READING

• 1. Sources
• 2. Further Reading
  • A. Books
    • 1. Non-Fiction
    • 2. Fiction
  • B. Internet Sites

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