1. The Peculiar Institution Chapter 9, Section 3 California State Standards 8.7.2 Chapter 9, Section 3 California State Standards 8.7.2

2. Looking Back, Looking Ahead In Section 2 your learned about life of Southern whites in the country, as well about life in Southern cities. In this section, you will learn about slavery and the lives of African Americans in the South.

3. Focusing on the Main Idea Enslaved African Americans faced many hardships but were able to create family lives, religious beliefs, and a distinct culture. Many enslaved people fought against slavery.

4. People to Know Nat Turner Harriet Tubman Frederick Douglass

5. Did You Know? Nat Turner, who led the famous slave rebellion of 1831, also inspired a controversial novel, The Confessions of Nat Turner. Written by William Styron in 1966, it won the Pulitzer Prize two years later.

6. What Was Family Life Like Under Slavery? Enslaved people faced many uncertainties. At any time, family members could be sold to another planter, or a slave holder’s death could lead to the breakup of a family. Close-knit extended families became a vital feature of African American culture. If a parent were sold away, another family member could raise the children left behind.

7. How Did Enslaved African American’s Keep Their Culture? Enslaved African Americans fused their own culture with American elements. They practiced African music and dance and passed African folk stories to their children. Some wore African clothing and followed many of their own African religious practices. Enslaved people were not allowed to marry by law, but they created their own marriage ceremonies.

8. How Did Slavery continue? In 1808 Congress passed a law prohibiting new slaves from entering the country, but slavery was still legal. The growth of the African American population came from children born in the United States.

9. How Did Slaves Practice Religion? Christianity became a religion of hope and resistance to enslaved African Americans. Their beliefs were expressed in spirituals, African American folk songs.

10. Discussion Question What purpose did spirituals serve African Americans? (They provided a way for African Americans to express their faith and hope and lament about their suffering. Spirituals also provided a way for enslaved African Americans to communicate secretly with one another.)

11. What Were the Slave Codes? Between 1830 and 1860, the slave codes—laws in the Southern states that controlled enslaved people— became more severe. The slave codes prevented enslaved people from assembling in large groups or learning to read and write.

12. How Did Slave Resist Slavery? Some enslaved people planned uprisings. In 1800 Gabrial Prosser planned a rebellion in Virginia but was convicted and executed before the rebellion occurred. Denmark Vesey planned a slave revolt in 1821 but was betrayed at the last minute by some of his followers. Nat Turner, an African American slave and popular religious leader, led a group of followers in a brief rebellion in 1831 in Virginia. The rebellion led to more severe slave codes.

13. How Did Slaves Escape Slavery? Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass were two African Americans born into slavery, who later escaped to the North to freedom. Most escaped slaves who succeeded were from the Upper South. They traveled on the Underground Railroad—a network of safe houses owned by free blacks and whites who opposed slavery.

14. Did Fugitive Slaves Survive? Life in the North was not always safe for escaped slaves. Some fugitive slaves were captured and returned to the South. Runaways who were returned to their masters faced harsh discipline.

15. Discussion Question Why did escaped slaves go to Canada? (Escaped slaves in Northern communities were often captured and returned South. Those in Canada were not returned.)

16. Review Questions page 437 1. Why were extended families vital to African American culture? 2. What was the Underground Railroad? 6. Imagine you are enslaved on a Southern plantation. Write a description of a typical day that you might experience.