Southern Slavery

1. Southern Slavery

2. Indentured Servitude • ½ to ¾ of all new arrivals to the Chesapeake in the 17th c. were indentured servants—main labor force • Most were single, 18-35 and sold for 4-7 years of their labor in return for passage to America and their maintenance and support; 80% were male • Indentured servants did have basic civil rights of all English subjects   • Received freedom after completion indenture • got an allowance, but not usually any land • created a class of discontent young men w/o land • move into the backcountry—continued conflict with Indians

3. Bacon’s Rebellion, 1676 • 1676, back-country unrest and political rivalries created a major conflict in Virginia • The new back-country gentry was at odds in crucial ways with its tidewater counterparts: • isolated geographically from the colonial government • in constant danger of attack from the Indians • Property owners in the backcountry disliked Berkeley’s attempts to hold the line of settlement steady so as to avoid antagonizing the Indians. • Indians in western Va. upset with the continual movement of whites into their lands. • 1675, Doeg Indians raided a western plantation and killed a white servant. • Bands of local whites retaliated indiscriminately

4. Bacon’s Rebellion • Nathaniel Bacon demanded that Gov. William Berkeley send the militia out to pursue Indians • Berkeley refused, and instead ordered the construction of several new forts in the west • Bacon responded by offering to organize a volunteer army of back-country men • Berkeley rejected this proposal • Bacon ignored Berkeley and launched a series of generally unsuccessful attacks on the Indians • Berkeley then dismissed Bacon from the governor's council and proclaimed him and his men to be rebels. • Twice, Bacon led his army east to Jamestown. • But his forces were defeated after Bacon died. • 1677, Doeg Indians signed treaty that opened western lands to white settlement.

5. Significance of Bacon’s Rebellion • Struggle between Indian and white spheres in Va. • Unwillingness of English to abide by treaties • Backcountry-Tidewater rivalry among elites • Problem of free, landless men. • Most of them former indentured servants, had formed bulk of Bacon's constituency during the rebellion. • Unable to find work or land, they moved west • a large, unstable, population eager for land. • Landed elites in BOTH eastern and western Va. began to recognize a common interest in dealing with the problem of landless white men • Seek the African slave trade as a means to fulfill their need for labor—replace indentured servitude

6. Slave Trade • Trans-Atlantic slave trade begun by Portuguese • 1450-1650—small scale; “disposable persons” • 1650-1850—large scale • By 1850, 1/3 of all persons of African descent lived outside of Africa • an estimated 10 million Africans captured and sold into slavery • Most slaves NOT captured by Europeans • traded for with African monarchs for guns, goods • “Middle passage”—Atlantic crossing; • ‘seasoning’ in the West Indies • ½ of all slaves died before they reached final destination in Americas

7. Slavery in Colonial Virginia • First African servants to British North America arrived at Jamestown, Va. in 1619 • status is unclear—were probably indentured servants   • 1619-1650, there were very few blacks in Va. • 15,000 whites, 300 blacks in Va. in 1648  • Blacks were distinguished by race in early Va. • 1629, Va. census distinguished blacks and whites • 1640, blacks prohibited from owning firearms • 1640, three runaway servants captured—2 were white, one was black • whites got 4 years added to indenture; black got life • Blacks begin to be sold for life terms—something no white person was subject to

8. Slavery in Colonial Virginia • 1660s, slavery becoming an established practice in Va. • As life expectancies increased, slavery became cost-effective • slaves didn’t create a problem of a poor underclass when freed • slaves could reproduce a new generation of laborers • racial slavery bound poor and elite whites together—racial identity • black skin identified with inferiority and servitude • Laws passed between 1660 and 1705 codify slavery in Va. • mid-1600s, most blacks in VA were committed to life servitude • 1667 law determined that child would inherit the condition of its mother, and that baptism had no effect on one’s earthly condition • 1705 slavery was fully codified in VA law • slaves now legally property/real estate, not men • could be shot on sight (not innocent until proven guilty) • had no right to self-defense • blacks tried in separate courts • Blacks could not testify against whites • Manumission forbidden

9. Development of Southern Slavery • 1710, slaves made up 30% of Va.’s population • 1750, they made up 41% • Slavery soon developed in other Southern colonies • SC had a slave majority by mid- 18th c. • 1740, slaves accounted for ¼ of the Southern population • 1775, they accounted for 40% of Southern colonial population • Slavery existed in all 13 colonies before independence • But in 1770, Southern colonies had more than 9 times the number of slaves as northern colonies • By 1860 there were 4 million slaves in the South • 385,000 white families (24%) owned at least one slave • 20% had only 1 slave • 88% had fewer than 20 slaves • 99% owned fewer than 100 slaves • Only 14 families had more than 500 slaves

10. Slave Work • Slaves involved in every phase of agriculture • Preparing ground, cultivating the crop and harvesting it • curing, ginning or milling necessary to get it to market • Slaves were also involved in almost every econ. activity on large plantations • Some were skilled artisans • carpenters, blacksmiths, brick masons, tanners, teamsters, distillers • Others worked in the owners home • cooks, butlers, maids, wet nurses, laundresses  

11. Work Management • Small farms—owners worked alongside slaves • Large farms—owners usually personally directed slave work but often appointed a “driver” • Plantations—owners often distant or absent • Hired an “overseer” to run plantation, control slaves • Overseers supervised drivers • who were in charge of work gangs of about 10 slaves • Two basic work schemes existed: • Gang system was prevalent in the cotton kingdom • Gangs worked from sunup to sundown • Task system was prevalent in rice and hemp country • Slaves assigned specific tasks to do

12. Work Motivation • Incentives • Decent food, housing, time off • Keeping families together • Rewards for loyalty or hard work • Family gardens, homes, free time • Special meals • Clothes • Competitions • Cash prizes, time off, extra food or clothing • Force • Punishments • Extra work, cancellation of dances/parties, stocks, separating family, whippings

13. Hired-out slaves • Most industrial slaves were “hired-out” • Contracts usually stipulated the term of service, how much “rent” owner would be paid, who would pay slave’s maintenance, and type of work to be done • A means for owners to both make money and remove the burden of maintenance of a slave • Some slaves, usually skilled artisans, were even able to hire-out their own time, by which they agreed to pay their master a portion of their wages, while feeding, housing, and clothing themselves • Other uses of hired slaves: • Planters often hired extra slaves during harvest time • Railroads hired slaves as construction workers • City dwellers often hired slaves as domestic servants

14. Slave Economy • Many slaves were allowed to earn money • Selling food • Many slaves raised vegetables, hunted, and fished • Skilled artisans could sell their goods • woodworking, basket-weaving, broom-making • Slaves who worked on Sundays master were often paid • La. law even mandated that slaves be paid for Sunday work • Hired-out slaves often allowed to keep what they earned over their rental fees • Some slaves purchased their own freedom, and the freedom of their families

15. Slave Culture • Evidences of African culture in the Americas • Food • Southern food—grits, rice meals (jambalaya), hot spices • Crafts • Brooms, baskets, canoes • Folk Medicine/Conjurers • Mix of medicine, magic, and superstition • Conjurers often held great influence over slaves • Language • Gullah • Influences on American English—especially Southern dialect • Folk tales • Used to educate, entertain and vent frustrations • Music and Dance • secular songs, spirituals, folk songs

16. Slave Families • Obstacles for slave families: • Physical proximity • “away” marriages • Breaking up of families • Lack of control/protection of the family • Master was the true head of the family • Husbands could not protect their wives, parents could not protect children from physical/sexual abuse, sale, violence • Master provided food, shelter • Legality • Slave marriages had no legal standing

17. Slave Religion • Before Great Awakening , few slaves were Christians • After the Awakening, masters began converting slaves • Church the most “Americanizing” institution for slaves • But slaves often adapted African religious traditions into American Christianity • Black churches were illegal in the antebellum South • most slaves therefore worshipped with their masters • some masters did allow separate services in the slave quarter • Religion was both a means to control slaves, • Owners often used the Bible to pacify slaves • “slaves obey thy master…” • Religion also a way for slaves to resist • Hope of deliverance • Hymns used to communicate escape routes

18. Slave Revolts • Stono Rebellion (S.C., 1739) • Largest slave uprising in colonial British N. America • 60+ people were killed, two-thirds slaves • In response, S.C. passed the Negro Act of 1740 • Gabriel Prosser Conspiracy (Va., 1800) • Revolt undermined by weather and slave betrayal • Denmark Vesey Conspiracy (S.C, 1822) • Vesey, a free black carpenter, organized 9,000 slaves and planned an armed attack on Charleston, S.C. • Vesey conspiracy was also betrayed by slaves, and Vesey was executed along with 34 other conspirators

19. Nat Turner • Largest slave rebellion in U.S. • 1825 to 1830, Turner was became a popular slave preacher in Va. • sermons focused on conflict and liberation • August 22, 1831, Turner’s uprising began at the Travis home, where he was enslaved • killed everyone in the household. • Eventually 60 to 70 slaves joined in Turner’s rebellion • Rebellion lasted almost three days, killed 57 whites, and resulted in deaths of over 100 rebels. • The uprising intensified both the antislavery movement in North, and the proslavery forces in South.

20. Slave Resistance • Slave resistance not just armed rebellion. • Poisoning • slow downs • destruction of property • feigned sickness • Theft • Arson • Infanticide • self-injury • Murder • running away • Underground Railroad