1. Unit 2: African-Americans in the New Nation (1763-1861)
&
Life in the Cotton Kingdom (1793 – 1861)
Notes 2 of 3

2. African Americans in the New Nation (1783 – 1820)
During the early years of this new American nation, forces for black liberty contested the forces of slavery and inequality.

3. Forces for Freedom In the North
Following the Revolutionary War, strong trends favored the emancipation of slaves.
Economic Changes
Evangelical Christianity
Enlightenment Ideas of Natural
Rights

4. Forces for Freedom In the South
Resistance to emancipation because many whites were financially invested in the continuation of slavery
However, new laws made it easier for owners to declare their slaves free and the possibility of self-purchase opened the door for southern slaves to gain their own freedom.
Over time, a free black class emerged in the South (more in the upper South than the lower).

5. Forces for Slavery
Factors that Strengthened the Continuance of Slavery in the US
The US Constitution
Clauses in the Constitution allowed for the continuation of slavery.
Cotton
Increase in demand for cotton = increase in demand for slaves
Louisiana Purchase
The country expands west = more territory for
slavery to exist.
Racism
Whites gradually became more opposed to change and
more committed to race-based arguments in favor of slavery.

6. The Emergence of Free Black Communities
Free black communities developed institutions to help strengthen their communities.
Mutual Aid Societies
Similar to insurance companies, helping with medical costs and to support widows
Black Freemason Lodges
Secretive Organizations which united free black men
The Church
The core of the black community
Black Schools
With the support of the church and mutual aid societies,
they produced a growing class of literate African-Americans

7. Black Leaders and Choices
In the North
Educated blacks began to address the failure of American society to treat blacks equally.
Some even supported black migration from the United States back to West Africa.
In the South
Blacks Responded to Slavery in Different Ways
Acquiescence = Reluctant Acceptance
Day-to-Day Resistance (Breaking Tools)
Open Rebellion (Slave Revolts)
Slave uprisings deepened white’s fears of a race war and
strengthened their support for continuing the institution of slavery

8. War and Politics
British invasion of the United States during the War of 1812 renewed southern fears of slave revolt.
Nevertheless, black soldiers fought for the United States in important battles of the war.
The Missouri Compromise (1820)
An effort to maintain balance between
the North and South
Allowed Missouri to enter as a slave
state if Maine entered as a free state

9. Life in the Cotton Kingdom (1793 – 1861)
Life for most slaves in the South revolved around agricultural production.

10. The Expansion of Slavery
Eli Whitney invents the Cotton Gin in 1793
Made it easier and more profitable to
produce cotton
Created an increase in demand for slave labor
The key to the expansion of slavery in the south during the early 19th century
The slave population increases dramatically between to 1860, mostly in cotton-producing states.

11. Slave Labor in Agriculture
While Cotton was the ‘King’, slaves also labored in the development of other crops
Tobacco: long growing season and required close attention
Rice: hard work and required a large labor force
Sugarcane: difficult and dangerous crop to work

12. Other Types of Slave Labor
While about 75% of slave workforce were field hands, the remaining 25% were house slaves, skilled slaves, and industrial slaves.
House: cooks, maids, butlers, nurses, gardeners
Skilled: carpenters, blacksmiths, millwrights
Industrial: worked in factories

13. Other Types of Slave Labor
While slaves lived under the threat of physical punishment,
skilled slaves living in towns and cities generally faired better
than field hands.
They enjoyed a little more freedom and were able to earn money on their own after work hours.
Urban masters often allowed their slaves to purchase their own freedom after a period of years to prevent them from running away.

14. Slave Life
Masters encouraged slave men and women to pair up for economic reasons
However, their marriages and the families they produced had no legal standing.
This meant that families could (and often were) be broken up and sold to different locations.

15. Slave Life
Despite the hardships of life as a slave, the family was at the core of their community and parents did the best they could to raise their children and teach them how to survive.
Examples of Hardships
Women faced the danger
of sexual exploitation
Health Suffered due to…
Poor diets
Inadequate clothing
Hard work

16. The Socialization of Slaves
African-Americans developed ways of coping with slavery.
Family: love and encouragement from loved ones
Religion: looking to God for strength and having the hope of a better day to come
Socialization: learning survival skills
Watch what you say to white people
Withhold information about other blacks
Don’t allow slave owners to know the
real you