FPRI Wachman Center Classroom Lessons: America in the Civil War Era, 1829-77 The Truths About Slavery By Devon LaRosa

1. FPRI Wachman Center Classroom Lessons: America in the Civil War Era, 1829-77 The Truths About Slavery By Devon LaRosa Jefferson High School (2008)

2. Objective: Students will be able to describe in essay form slavery in the American colonies� treatment of slaves� Nat Turner�s Rebellion� abolitionist ideas� Power Standard: Analyze historic events within their context and evaluate how interpretations of those events changed over time. (USH-05) Evaluate the conditions of slavery. (18.B.5)

3. Slavery in the American Colonies and the U.S. Slaves were traded in the American colonies and in the U.S. Slavery and slave trading took place not only in the American Colonies but in the Caribbean and Britain etc. Roughly 11 million slaves were taken from Africa and traded and sold Of them, 700,000 made it to the newly founded U.S. in 1790 By 1860 there were 4 million slaves in the U.S.

4. A Major Cause of Slavery A major cause that contributed to the African slave trade was the idea that Africans were inferior They were thought of as uncivilized Their lifestyle was considered primitive to the West

5. Debunking Myths All whites did not have slaves Most white southerners did not have slaves Many whites in the North had not seen a black person In 1860, for every 995 white people in Illinois there were 5 black people In the South, in 1860 there were about 385,000 slave masters/owners out of a white population of the South of some 7 million people

6. Slavery in America Slavery was the answer to labor shortage Slavery was a business Prior to the Revolutionary War, slavery existed in all colonies Separation of African families was common Gradually the Northern Colonies use slave less and less and South uses them more and more

7. Maximizing Profit

8. Passage from Africa to Colonies Slaves were branded with a company logo before boarding the ship As many as possible were packed into a ship 20% percent die on the ship Suicide was common on ships No bathrooms�you were often chained at all times�

10. Auction block Assuming slaves made it to the colonies� They were oiled� Tar was put on wounds, to hide them Slaves were always naked Slaves were inspected thoroughly for defects Slaves that were defiant were unwanted�.

11. Plantation Life for Slaves 80 to 90% of slaves worked in the fields.. 10- 20% of slaves did housework or worked as artisans Slaves that worked on farms typically worked 12-14 hour days Slaves worked six days a week� Slaves typically didn�t deal with a master but with an overseer

12. Legal Status Slaves had no legal status Listed as property by states, supported by federal government Marriage was not legally recognized If a slave woman gave birth to a child, the child was to be a slave�.

13. All Masters Weren�t Bad Not all masters mistreated slaves, some treated their slave well There are stories of masters letting slaves work off their freedom However, some masters were abusive to their slaves every chance they got

14. Runaway Slaves If families were separated, running away was a common theme. Running away was very serious It often involved a beating in front of other slaves to show the severity� Sometimes they were hanged

15. The penalty for running away

16. Conflicting Views of Slavery One congressman in 1846 insisted that �neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist [in the U.S. or newly acquired territory] David Wilmot The slavery question began to split the country�into the North and South

18. Abolitionists By the 1820s there were more than 100 antislavery groups Both whites and blacks were involved in this antislavery movement William Lloyd Garrison founded The Liberator, an Antislavery publication Frederick Douglass, former slave, spoke out against slavery�founded the Northern Star, another antislavery publication Women�s groups support the abolition of slavery

19. Nat Turner�s Rebellion Nat Turner, a Virginia slave, led a rebellion in August 1831 Had about 50 slave followers Killed between 50-70 whites 16 of the rebellious slaves were captured and hanged� All this did was further anger the white slave owners�.

20. Rise of the Underground Railroad The UR was an elaborate escape system that took slaves North Created by Harriet Tubman, a runaway slave from Maryland. She brought over 300 slaves North in 19 trips Slave masters had a price on Harriet Tubman�s Head of $40,000

21. Slave owners oppose Abolition They try to use religious excerpts to justify slavery Eventually pass the federal Fugitive Slave Act, part of Compromise of 1850 Aanyone helping a slave was subject to prison and fines Under this, runaway slaves were hanged or beaten and returned to their masters The total dollar value of slaves in 1860 was $4 billion -- $12 trillion in U.S. dollars of today

22. For further reading See Michael Johnson, Teaching About Slavery, at www.fpri.org/education/americacivilwarera/