Chapter 9.3 The Peculiar Institution

1. What do you think you know about Slavery in the South? Chapter 9.3 The Peculiar Institution EQ: How did enslaved African Americans develop a unique culture and fight against slavery?

2. Family Life • Slaves faced constant uncertainty and dangers. • American law did not protect their freedom and at any time they could be sold to a new master. The death of a slaveholder could lead to the breakup of entire families. • Marriages between slaves were not recognized by law, however many couples did marry. • Their ceremonies included the phrase “until death or separation do us part.”

3. How were slave families able to support one another in case of separation? • To provide some sense of stability slaves established a network of relatives and friends, who made up their extended family. • If the parents were sold, the children would have a family member or friend to raise them. • Large close-knit extended families became a vital feature of African American culture.

4. African American Culture • Slaves endured their hardships by extending their own culture, fellowship, and community. • The growth of the African American population came mainly from the birth of slave children in the US. • In 1808 the Congress banned the slave trade. Slaves were not longer allowed to be legally brought to the United States.

5. Why would stories and customs be passed down through the Oral Tradition? • By 1860 nearly all slaves in the South had been born in the US. • The slaves practiced many African customs passed down through the generations. • Music, dance, folk stories and clothing styles were shared with the children so they would remember their African roots. • A large number of slaves accepted Christianity; however they often followed their traditional religious beliefs and practices of their ancestors.

6. African American Christianity • Christianity became a religion of hope and resistance. They prayed for the day when they would be free from bondage like the Jews in the Old Testament. • The passionate beliefs of the slaves were expressed in the spiritual, a song that provided a way to secretly communicate with one another.

7. Why would slaves use the Bible and Christianity as a way to keep hope? • The spiritual connected the African American slaves with the enslaved people of the bible. • It also followed the oral tradition of passing down stories and songs through speech rather than writing.

8. Resisting Slavery Why was it illegal to teach slaves to read and write? • Slaves had few legal rights. The Slave Codes of the 1830s through the 1860’s became more severe. • Slave codes were written primarily to prevent slave uprisings. They prohibited large groups of slaves from meeting together and from leaving the master’s property without a written pass. • They also made it a crime to teach slaves to read or write. White Southerners believed that a slave that couldn’t read and write would be less likely to rebel.

9. Rebellions • Some slaves did rebel against their masters and overseers. • Nat Turner was a popular religious leader amongst his fellow slaves. He had taught himself to read and write. • In 1831 he led a violent rampage through Southhampton County, Virginia, that resulted in the death of at least 55 whites.

10. Why did most slave rebellions fail? • Turner was hanged, but his rebellion frightened whites and led to more severe slave codes. • Other slaves planned rebellion but were usually discovered and killed before rebelling.

11. What were three other ways slaves resisted? Other Forms of Resistance • Armed rebellions were rare; Slaves knew that they would ultimately lose in an armed uprising. • Slaves resisted slavery by working slowly or by pretending to be ill. • More active forms of resistance occurred when slaves set plantation buildings on fire or by breaking tools. • Resistance was one way that slaves could strike back at their masters and establish boundaries that the white people would respect.

12. Why would escape from the Deep South be nearly impossible? Escaping Slavery • Some slaves tried to escape by running away to the North. • Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass were two African American leaders who were born into slavery, gained their freedom when they fled to the North. • For most slaves getting to the North was almost impossible, especially from the Deep South. • Most slaves that succeeded escaped from the Upper South.

13. The Underground Railroad, a network or “safe houses” owned by blacks and whites who opposed slavery, offered assistance to runaway slaves. • Most runaway or fugitive slaves were captured and returned to their owners. • Discipline for runaways was severe, usually whipping, but other times hobbling, cutting off a portion of the foot was used.

14. Why might Northerners turn in Fugitive Slaves? • Even if a slave made it to the free states in the North they weren’t automatically free. • In some Northern communities fugitive slaves were captured and returned to the South. • This prevented many runaway slaves from settling in the North and forced them to continue even further to Canada.