1. The technologies listed above contributed to which aspect of Colonial American development?
A transportation
B industrialization
C education
D exploration

2. American Slavery and Abolition

3. Historical Slavery Slavery has existed for a long time in history
Ancient slavery typically was a result of war
Losing soldiers often became slaves
Slaves had some rights
Could sometimes become citizens
Modern slavery also exists
Human trafficking
“Wage slavery”

4. American Slavery The Transatlantic Slave Trade changed things
Africans captured by Europeans and other Africans were sold to slave traders
Shipped to the Americas to work on plantations
Sugar cane was the first major cash crop
The trade was described as Triangular
Slaves to the Americas, raw sugar cane to Europe, rum and goods to Africa

6. Question 1
How do you think the slavery shifting from something tied largely to war (and power) to something tied to economics (money) changed life for the slaves?

7. American Slavery Slavery was used in all 13 colonies
Mostly house servants
Northern states all passed laws to ban it by 1804
The Three-Fifths compromise gave states with slaves more representation in Congress
Each slave in a state counted as 3/5 of a person
Eli Whitney’s cotton gin made slavery more profitable in the south
Cotton became easier to process, but required a large amount of physical labor

8. Slave Trade
The United States outlawed the international sale of slaves in 1808
However, the population of slaves in the U.S. was growing rapidly
Due to cotton, slaves began to be sold and moved further south
Away from places like Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee
To the Deep South and West: Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas
Most slave-owners only had 1 or 2 slaves, but the majority of slaves lived on plantations

9. The conditions of slavery
Although the slave trade was regulated, what slave-owners did on their own property was not
Punishments had little limit
Slaves were not permitted to marry
Families were often broken apart by slave-owners
Escape was illegal, and could be punishable by maiming or death
Food, medical help, and other supplies were often lacking or completely withheld

10. Question 2
Because slaves were so profitable on plantations, why do you think slave-owners would be willing to severely punish, or even kill, slaves who misbehaved?

11. Abolition
With the end of the slave trade, people began to fight more against slavery
Mostly in the North
Called the Abolition movement
It wanted to abolish, or remove and ban, slavery
Some early Abolitionists worked to send African Americans back to Africa
Created the American Colonization Society
Founded the country of Liberia for this reason

12. Abolition Movement
Abolition gained a passionate leader in William Lloyd Garrison
With his newspaper, The Liberator, Garrison argued against slavery
In 1831, he described his purpose:
“I will be harsh as truth, and as
uncompromising as justice…I am
in earnest…I will not excuse—I will
not retreat a single inch—and I WILL
BE HEARD”

13. Abolition Movement
Garrison tied abolition to the Second Great Awakening
Argued that slavery was a horrible personal sin
He created the American Anti-Slavery Society
Helped organize and attract more abolitionists
Other abolitionists included the Grimke sisters
Believed it was as morally necessary for women to fight against slavery as it was for men

15. Question 3
Why do you think abolitionists like Garrison used a religious argument against slavery?

16. African American Abolition
Many free African Americans
joined the cause of abolition
The most well known was
Frederick Douglass
Douglass was born into slavery, but
had learned to read and write as a young child
After escaping to freedom, he spoke and wrote passionately about the horrors of slavery
Other African America abolitionists attempted to fight slavery with petitions and lawsuits

17. The Underground Railroad
Some abolitionists began taking action to help slaves escape
They called their network of safe-houses and hiding places “The Underground Railroad”
Though some hiding places were underground, the term means it was a “secret path”
Abolitionists and freed slaves led escaping slaves to the safe-houses and eventually North
Fled to northern states and Canada
Leaders were called “conductors”

18. The Underground Railroad
One famous “conductor” was Harriet Tubman
So well known that a $40,000 bounty was put out for her capture
Tubman showed the dedication
necessary for the Underground
Railroad to succeed.
“There was one of two things I
had a right to: liberty or death…for
no man shall take me alive”

19. Violent Anti-Slavery
John Brown was an abolitionist who argued that slavery could only end through force
Slave rebellions also occurred
The most famous was Nat Turner’s rebellion in 1831
Included at least 100 slaves and killed at least 55 whites
Turner wanted to use violence to illustrate the problems and violence of slavery
Most slave revolts were suppressed without much success by rebels

20. Question 4
Why do you think the vast majority of slave revolts were ultimately stopped before they even started?

21. Activity Instructions
After these instructions, you will organize yourselves into 5 groups
Must be 5 total groups
Move desks if you have to
Each group will get an image and quote
View these images/quotes, and discuss your ideas about them
Then record your ideas on the worksheet
4 minutes to view/discuss, 4 to write
Then we will switch images with another group