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Hopes for the End of Slavery
Early 19th century: Many hoped slavery would gradually disappear.
Reasons: Soil exhaustion in Virginia and the Carolinas, constitutional ban on importing enslaved Africans after 1808.
Reality: Rapid growth of the cotton industry and expansion of slavery into new states like Alabama and Mississippi.
Free African Americans
In the North
Economic/political equality: Limited by racial prejudices.
Employment: Often displaced by immigrants, faced job discrimination, denied union membership.
Religious life: Formed their own Christian congregations (e.g., African Methodist Episcopal Church).
In the South
Freedom sources: Emancipation during the American Revolution, self-purchase, manumission by owners.
Economic/political status: Could own property but faced legal restrictions and constant threat of being kidnapped.
Reasons for staying: Proximity to family, belief that the North offered no better opportunities.
Resistance by the Enslaved
Restrained Actions
Work slowdowns and equipment sabotage as subtle defiance.
Runaways
Challenges: Organized militia patrols, hunters, and harsh penalties for capture.
Underground Railroad: Facilitated escapes, increased demands for stricter fugitive slave laws.
Key Events and Terms
Nat Turner's Rebellion: In 1831, Nat Turner led a rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, killing over 50 White men, women, and children. The militia swiftly suppressed the rebellion, killing Turner and his followers, as well as many innocent African Americans. The rebellion led to stricter slave codes and increased fear among slaveholders.
Slave/Black Codes: Laws that controlled the lives of enslaved African Americans and denied them basic rights. These laws became more strict after events like Nat Turner's Rebellion.
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