Resisting Slavery Chapter 1, Lesson 2

African American Resist Slavery When enslaved people resisted slavery, they were fighting for freedom. Slaves were fighting against a cruel system. Slave codes: Laws to control the behavior of slaves.

African American Resist Slavery Slaves had no choices. Slaves were moved when they were sold. Families would be split. Slaves would be beaten or abused. Owners would tell slaves when work began and when the work day would end. Slaves could not leave a plantation without permission

African American Resist Slavery

African American Resist Slavery Resistance took many forms: Refused to obey the owner. Holding back their work pace. Pretended to be sick Broke their tools Learning to read and write.

Slave Rebellion

Slave Rebellion Nat Turner, led a rebellion of slaves in Southampton County, Virginia. Turner and his followers killed about 60 whites, and were not stopped until soldiers were called out to stop them. Soldiers killed more than 100 African Americans before the rebellion ended. Turner was captured and hanged.

Slave Rebellion

Slave Rebellion Joseph Cinque led a rebellion on the Spanish slave ship the Amistad. A group of 53 slaves seized the ship and told Spanish sailors to sail them back to Africa. The Spaniard tricked them and instead sailed the Amistad north along the coast of the United States. The Supreme Court decided to free the Africans and send them back to Africa.

Slave Rebellion

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized secret system set up to help enslaved people escape from the South to freedom in the North or Canada. The Underground Railroad probably got its name when railroads became popular. The guides were called conductors. The houses, barns, safe houses were called stations. The train lingo, kept people from being suspicious if a conversation was over heard.

Underground Railroad

Underground Railroad To find their way north, escaping slaves were guided by the North Star. On cloudy nights they felt for the moss on tree trunks, because moss tends to grow on the north side of the tree. All along the journey, they faced the risk of capture, a severe beating, or death. Between 40,000 and 100,000 slaves escaped using the Underground Railroad.

Underground Railroad

Underground Railroad Harriet Tubman was the most famous “conductor” on the Underground Railroad. Tubman, 29 years old and escaped slavery herself, returned south 19 times to lead more than 300 people to safety.

Underground Railroad

Underground Railroad Levi and Catherine Coffin were white teachers who helped more than 2,000 slaves escape to freedom. Once he was told that twenty-eight fugitives were hiding outside Newport. The next day Levi Coffin gathered together a number of carriages, loaded all the party into them, and sent a long, funeral-like procession on the road to Cumminsville.

Free African Americans By 1860, 4.5 million African Americans lived in the United States. Only one out of every nine African Americans were free. Most free African Americans lived in cities, but they feared losing their freedom. Any white person could accuse a free black person of being a slave, and without a certificate of freedom, African Americans could be sent back into slavery.

Free African Americans

Questions Chap 1 L1. 1. Explain how differences between the North and South led to conflict between them. 2. Why did the South need slavery? 3. Why didn’t the North need slavery? 4. What is a Tariff? 5. In 1860, were more African Americans enslaved or free?

Questions Chap 1 L2 6. Describe some ways enslaved African Americans resisted slavery. 7. Describe what happened in the Nat Turner rebellion? 8. Describe the Underground Railroad.