Africans in the Colonies

1. Africans in the Colonies Slavery in the North and South

2. Amistad Discussion • Choose 3 out of the 7 photos on the next slide. • With a partner, answer the following questions: • What does this photo represent? • Why was this scene significant to the movie? • What can this image tell us not only about the story of the Amistad, but of slavery in general? • This is NOT a Journal.

4. Unit 2, Journal #3 The attitudes of white Americans toward black Americans were crucial in making possible life-long, hereditary slavery. These attitudes include the following: • Africans are physically different from Europeans • The black race is inferior to the white race • The black race is incapable of bettering itself through formal education but needs white teaching • Black people lack character and nobility and are basically child-like • Natural rights apply to white people not to black people • Unless black people are kept under strict control, they pose a mortal threat to white people • Any person with any visible African ancestry is considered black • ANSWER: • How do you think these attitudes came about? • How were they perpetuated in America? On Southern plantations?

5. Slave Torture • Whipping • Beating • Starving • Forced, intense labor • Rape • Isolation • Slaveowners— Never charged with murder. WHY ALL OF THIS VIOLENCE?

6. Slave Torture • Helped to keep slaves in their place; • Stop ideas of rebellion • Stop ideas of resistance • Keep slaves in fear • Degrade them to nothing • Prevent them from feeling “human” • On the other hand, it was not always harsh and violent. • It was BENEFICIAL to slave owners to keep slaves relatively content.

7. Legalities • Outlawed teaching slaves to read and write • Slaves and their offspring are property • Slave marriages are not recognized • Interracial love is unheard of • Interracial relations is not

8. Northern Slavery • The South is recognized for slavery because slave populations were much greater than in the North. • Slaves were not as necessary- wheat and corn. • Slaves had a greater legal standing in the North • Sue and be sued • Right to appeal to colonial courts • Could offer testimony against whites in cases not involving Africans • Slavery and racial prejudices still existed…Still considered less than human • Forbade them to gather together/carry weapons

9. What is resistance? • Resistance – n., 1. the act or power of resisting, opposing, or withstanding. 2. the opposition offered by one thing, force, etc., to another.

10. What types of resistance were available to slaves? • Work Environment • Theft • Flight • Armed • Cultural?

11. Work Environment • A response to increased workload, meager rations, etc. • Slowing Work • Feigning Illness • Breaking tools • Sabotaging Production

12. Work Environment • Why would these methods be successful? • Attempt to maintain some control of their work • Little a master could do to stop this without running the risk of more problems • How could a master stand to BENEFIT from these types of resistance? • If they kept slaves content, they would work harder – increase output and efficiency.

13. Theft • Stole fruits, vegetables, livestock, tobacco, liquor and money from masters

14. Theft • Justifications: • Rations provided too few calories and not enough nutrition • Master’s abundance should be shared with those who produced it • If slaves are property, how can they “steal” anything the master owns? • Allows for further production

15. Flight • Started as early as 1640 in Virginia and Maryland • Runaways typically African-born males (numerical majority in 18th century) • Testament to terrible conditions of slavery • Punishments: whipping, branding, severing the Achilles tendon

16. Flight • Where did escaped slaves go? • Native American communities • Virginia/North Carolina swampland • Canada • Free states in American North

17. Flight

18. Armed Resistance • Why was armed resistance so infrequent? • Risky/Severe consequences if failed – broken on the wheel, decapitation, burned alive, etc. • Slaves’ activities closely monitored by masters • Masters monopolize armed power • Other mechanisms of white control – militias, local police, vigilantes • Were the men and women who took part so desperate that they preferred death? Did they truly believe they could succeed? • 9 slave revolts in the (now) U.S. between 1691 and 1865

19. Armed Resistance • The Stono Rebellion – 1739 • 20 slaves gathered on the Stono River • With guns and other weapons, they killed several planter families • Marched South • Beating drums loudly, inviting other slaves to join • Plan to flee to Florida (Spanish-owned) • White militia surrounds them • Died in battle and were executed once caught • Success/Failure? • How did this rebellion affect Southerners?

20. Cultural • Forged a unique blend of all African cultures to create a common bond that would be used as a psychological weapon to resist their masters. • African or African-American language • Gullah • Familial bonds – built new families • Pregnancies • Music – some spirituals that guided escape • Dance – “Ringshout” • Religion – combination of African and American tradition

21. Cultural • Is this resistance, or is this coping? • You decide! • Did cultural resistance defy the notion of slaves as property?