Africans in Alabama

1. Africans in Alabama Africans were brought to Alabama as slaves. They did not want to come. Lesson 2

2. Lesson 2 (page 113) • The 1st slaves in America arrived in Virginia in 1619 aboard a Dutch ship. In 1721 the French needed workers in Mobile, so slaves were brought to Alabama on the French ship Africane. • The trip on a slave ship was terrible. Men and women were shackled to the ship in crowded areas and given very little to eat, or meager rations. • Once on land, they usually walked to their new homes, possibly tied together so they could not run away. The ropes they were tied together with were called a coffle.

3. Lesson 2 (page 114) • Some families were separated when they were sold. • Alabama’s law stated that children were not to be separated from their mothers, but sometimes they were. • Fathers were often sold and forced to leave their families. Sold into Slavery

4. Lesson 2 (page 114) folkways • Africans brought to Alabama were people with strong oral traditions. They would often gather at night and the elders would tell stories from Africa, passed down by their family members. • African folkways (ways of thinking, feeling, and acting) still remained in the slave culture: food cooked, superstitions, songs, and stories.

5. Lesson 2 (page 114-115) • Slaves were made to do most of the physical work on a plantation. They planted, hoed, harvested, chopped cotton, built barns, mended fences, tended the garden, and took care of animals, wagons, and the tools. • They lived in small 1 room houses, called slave quarters, or “the quarter.” They were grouped together behind the master’s house, or “the big house.”

6. Lesson 2 (page 115) • Their culture helped them get through the hardships of slavery. They expressed their culture in many ways- made instruments, (drums, gourd fiddles, banjos) sang songs, danced, created African pottery, and told stories. • By the 19th century, most slaves had adopted Christianity, but often gave it African flavor. Slaves

7. Lesson 2 (page 115) Slave Marriages • To get married, slaves had to ask their“master” for permission, which almost always was granted. Most masters wanted slaves to live in families and raise children. • Some were married by a minister, but others were married by their master. They were often allowed to have a small celebration in their quarters.

8. Lesson 2 (page 115) Work • The slaves that labored in the fields ate and left early in the morning. They worked ALL day, only stopping for a small lunch. They would get home just as the sun went down. • Slaves were also blacksmiths, carpenters, brick masons, and architects.

9. Lesson 2 (page 116) • Slaves wore simple clothes. Young boys and girls wore straight dresses. Men wore shirts with no collars and held up their pants with a draw cord. Women wore blouses and skirts. • Slaves working in the“big house” were often given hand-me-downs to wear. • The master’s wife sewed all the clothes for the family and slaves. Clothing

10. Lesson 2 (page 116) Food • Slaves were usually given enough food; the staple was cornmeal, salt pork, vegetables, and fruit. • Vegetables and fruits were often grown in a small garden on the slaves’ quarters. • Sweets came from honey and syrup made from cane grown on the plantation.

11. Lesson 2 (page 116) Slavery • The majority of Alabamians did not own slaves. • In 1860—only 6.4 % of the white population owned a slave. • Slavery was an expensive, but profitable system of labor. It forced planters to spend money buying labor (workers). • Slavery was a part of that time, and some feared what may happen in the future without it.

12. Lesson 2 (page 116) Free Blacks • Some free blacks in Alabama raised cotton to be sold at market. Others worked as skilled laborers. • Free blacks typically lived in cities because their freedom was protected there by the community that knew them.

13. Lesson 2 Review! Discuss and answer the following questions: • When and how did the 1st slaves come to Alabama? • How did the slave owners keep slaves from running away? • What are some African folkways that continued in America? • Where did the slaves live on the plantation? • What part did slavery play in Alabama’s economic development?