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Explore the population growth of slaves in the antebellum years, the enforcement of slave codes, and various forms of protest and rebellion.
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Topic 7 The Peculiar Institution and the Nature of Slavery
How did the population of slaves grow in the antebellum years?
While most Southern whites did not own slaves and of those who did most owned only a few, a minority of slave-owners owned a great number of slaves and dominated the life of the state
The fact that slavery came to dominate the political and economic thinking of the entire South, shaping its cultural and social patterns, is due to two main reasons: • The great majority of staple crops were produced on plantations employing slave labor, thus giving the owners an influence greater than their numbers would suggest • Non-slave owning whites held out hope that they too, one day, would become wealthy through slave ownership
While only a minority of whites owned slaves, the majority of slave owners were small farmers, often working the fields with their few slaves.
In antebellum America, what were the slave codes and how were they enforced?
Common provisions of Slave Codes: • No standing in courts • Forbidden to own most property • Could never strike a white, even in self-defense • Could never leave plantation without authorization and pass • No commercial rights • No assembly rights without whites present • Education was generally forbidden
On small farms slaves performed a variety of tasks and got to know the owners. As a result, slavery was often less harsh
Field hands on a large plantation usually worked from sunup to sunset
Some slaves were allowed to grow their own food in small gardens during off-work time
Clothing was sometimes nothing more than rags, but usually better for house servants
Rape of slaves often produced mixed race offspring, slaves because born to slaves
Southern culture placed women on a pedestal with defined gender roles and expectations
What were some forms of slave protest and rebellion in the Antebellum Age?
Names adopted through the generations in one African-American family
Slave resistance took numerous forms, including simply refusing to work or working slowly
