Unit 2: African-Americans in the New Nation (1763-1861)African Americans in the New Nation (1783 – 1820) &
Life in the Cotton Kingdom (1793 – 1861)Notes 2 of 3
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.
Forces for Freedom
• In the North• Following the Revolutionary War, strong trends favored ______________ of slaves.
• __________________ Changes• Evangelical ____________________• _________________________ of Natural Rights
• In the South• Resistance to emancipation because many whites were ______________________
in the continuation of slavery• However, new laws made it easier for owners to declare their slaves free and the
possibility of ______________________ opened the door for southern slaves to gain their own freedom.
• Over time, a ___________________ class emerged in the South (more in the upper South than the lower).
Forces for Slavery
• Factors that Strengthened the Continuance of Slavery in the US• The US Constitution
• Clauses in the Constitution allowed for ________________ of slavery.• Cotton
• Increase demand for ___________= increase demand for _________• Louisiana Purchase
• The country expands ________ = more territory for ________ to exist.• Racism
• Whites gradually became more ____________ to change and more committed to race-based arguments in ___________ of slavery.
The Emergence of Free Black Communities
• Free black communities developed institutions to help __________________ their communities.• Mutual Aid Societies
• Similar to insurance companies, helping with __________________ and to support widows
• Black Freemason Lodges• _____________________________ which united free black men
• The Church• The __________ of the black community
• Black Schools• With the support of the church and mutual aid societies, they
produced a growing class of _____________ African-Americans
Black Leaders and Choices
• In the North• _________________ blacks began to address the failure of American society to treat
blacks equally.• Some even supported _____________________ from the U.S. to _____________.
• In the South• Blacks Responded to Slavery in Different Ways
• Acquiescence = _________________________• Day-to-Day ________________ (Breaking Tools)• Open Rebellion (_____________________)
• Slave uprisings deepened white’s fears of a race war and strengthened their support for continuing the institution of slavery
War and Politics
• British invasion of the U.S. during the ______________ renewed southern fears of slave revolt.• Nevertheless, __________________ fought for the United States in important battles of the war.
The Missouri Compromise (1820)• Effort to maintain ___________ between the N and S• Allowed ____________ to enter as a slave state if
___________ entered as a free stateLife in the Cotton Kingdom (1793 – 1861)
Life in the South revolved around agricultural production.
The Expansion of Slavery
__________________ invents the __________________ in 1793• Made it easier and more profitable to produce _______________• Created an _________________ in demand for slave labor
Slave Labor in Agriculture
• While Cotton was the ___________, slaves also labored in the development of other crops• _______________: long growing season and required close attention• ____________: hard work and required a large labor force• ____________: difficult and dangerous crop to work
Other Types of Slave Labor
• ____ of slaves were field hands, other____ were house slaves, skilled slaves, and industrial slaves.• _____________: cooks, maids, butlers, nurses, gardeners• _____________: carpenters, blacksmiths, millwrights• _____________: worked in factories
• While slaves lived under the threat of ______________ 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 ____________on their own after work hours.
• Urban masters often allowed their slaves to ______________ their own freedom after a period of years to prevent them from ______________________.
Slave Life
• Masters encouraged slave men and women to pair up for ______________ reasons• However, their marriages and families they produced had no _________________.
• This meant that families could be _____________ and ______ to different locations.
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• _____________ faced the danger of sexual exploitation• Health Suffered due to…
• Poor ________• Inadequate clothing• ______ work
The Socialization of Slaves
• African-Americans developed ways of ______________ with slavery.• _________: love and encouragement from loved ones• _________: looking to God for strength and having the hope of a better day to come• ___________: learning survival skills
• Watch what you __________ to white people
• ____________ information about other blacks• Don’t allow slave ____________ to know the real you