LIFE IN THE COTTON KINGDOM & FREE BLACK PEOPLE IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA Chapter 6 & 7 Review.

LIFE IN THE COTTON KINGDOM &

FREE BLACK PEOPLE IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA

Chapter 6 & 7 Review

Key Terms & People

Cotton Gin: Device created by Eli Whitney to clean seeds out of cotton. Sped up cotton production as well as increasing the domestic slave

trade and westward expansion.

“Term Slavery”: The gradual self-purchase of slaves over a term of years. Utilized by urban slave masters, particularly in Baltimore.

Domestic Slave Trade: The “selling south,” of slaves by masters in the Chesapeake region. Caused by decline of slavery in Chesapeake and transition to wage

laborers due to crop shifts. Need for the expansion of Cotton Kingdoms of the south. Slaves were sold for profit, as well as punishment. New Orleans was the worst place to be sold to for a slave.

Key Terms & People

Coffles: When sold south, groups of slaves would be roped or chained together for the long march south. This term refers to such a group.

Market Revolution: economic shift that took place in the north in the early to mid-19th century. Small local markets and manufacturing shift to commercial farming,

factory production, and national markets. Also led to an improved transportation system of canals, turnpikes,

and railroads. Led to a large urban, working class which would impact the voting

trends as universal white male suffrage was granted.

Black Laws: Laws in the north that disenfranchised, segregated, and limited the employment of African Americans.

Key Terms & People

Disenfranchisement: The denial of the right to vote. Blacks were disenfranchised through legislative measures that either

banned their settlement in an area or raised the requirements to vote.

Segregation: The restricted use of facilities and transportation for a particular race. Blacks were not allowed in various building and parks, and could not

use white transportation. Jim Crow became a term to describe black only cars on railroads in

Mass. Facilities that were racially mixed enforced separate seating.

“Nigger Hill”: One of the several segregated neighborhoods that appeared in urban settings of the North. Located in Boston Segregated neighborhoods were more like ghettos . Did allow for a black elite to cater to an exclusively black clientele.

Key Terms & People

Voluntary Associations: Black organizations such as mutual aid, self-improvement, and fraternal groups that became a cornerstone of the free black communities of this era. Included literary/library societies and temperance

associations

Free Papers: legal documents that would verify the freedom of freed blacks. Documents needed to be renewed yearly, and if lost or

stolen could lead to kidnapping or enslavement to the south. This was mainly used in the upper south.

Key Ideas & Questions: The Domestic Slave Trade

The expansion of the cotton production to the south and west combined with the decline of slavery in the Chesapeake region and this led to the rise of the domestic slave trade.

New Orleans was one of the biggest slave markets of the time, and this trade accounted for 150,000 slaves sold every 10yrs starting in 1820. By 1860, 50% of slaves from the upper south moved involuntarily to the southwest.

The domestic slave trade showed the cruelty of the institution since masters intentionally tore families apart with the punishment of being “sold down river,” for personal profit and gain.

This also tightened the hold of slavery in the south, and displayed that the promise of freedom in the revolutionary ideals of the war had been lost.

Key Ideas and Questions: Northern Black Limitations

Black laws prohibited black settlement in areas, particularly the old northwest. They also restricted blacks from attaining certain jobs, usually skilled trade positions.

Although many blacks were free in the north, they faced several limitations to their freedom including black laws, segregation, and disenfranchisement.

Blacks were also denied the right to vote either outright, such as in the old northwest, or through legislative measures passed during the Jacksonian democracy. Several states raised requirements, and some just denied the right to vote.Schools, public facilities, and methods of transportation were also segregated. Blacks were banned or given separate seating in this places.

Key Ideas & Questions: Black Struggle for Employment

The flood of European immigrants in the 19th century caused skilled black laborers to suffer. Irish immigrants especially hurt the black opportunities in the north. Many would force blacks out of jobs through violence and threats.White workers also excluded blacks from apprenticeships, refused to work with blacks, and violently protested the hiring of blacks when whites were unemployed.Only 0.5% of black workers had factory jobs.

80% of women washed clothes and were domestic servants.

Many black males found employment as sailors, and by 1850 they made up 50% of merchant and whaling vessels crews.Also, segregated communities allowed for a black elite to cater to an exclusively black clientele.

Key Ideas & Questions: Black Disenfranchisement

Old Northwest and the South: Denied the right to vote to all blacks

Deep South: Some privileged blacks had the right to vote.

New Jersey: No black voters (1807) and white only suffrage provision (1844)

Connecticut: No new black voters allowed.Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts:

Did not take measures to deny black suffrage.Rhode Island: No black suffrage (1822) and universal

suffrage (1842)New York: Raised property qualifications for blacks to

such an extent that all blacks were denied(1821)

Essay: Free Blacks in the Various Regions

North: Larger free black communities with more freedom. 50% live in cities. More black institutions (i.e. schools, churches, and organizations) Larger struggle for employment due to immigration. Black laws, disenfranchisement, and segregation limited freed blacks

rights. Emergence of an “elite” class.

Upper South: Had more in common with the northern blacks. More directly involved in helping slaves. Only 30% live in cities, which led to less black community development. More risk of being enslaved/kidnapped. Free blacks became highly restricted due to their role in aiding slaves

and slave revolts. Segregation was worse in the upper south. Slightly better employment opportunities due to less immigrants until the

1850’s. Difficult to maintain black institutions. Churches and schools didn’t

flourish.

Essay: Free Blacks in the Various Regions

Deep South: Most free blacks in the deep south were the mixed children of slave

owners and slave women, some were Haitian refugees. Three Caste system similar to Latin America emerged with whites,

blacks, and slaves; black loyalty was to their former masters, not slaves.

Whites mandated guardians for the blacks and encouraged loyalty with privileges.

Very few black institutions emerged. High percentage of skilled labor employment for blacks in the cities.

Far West: Very few blacks settled out west due to restrictive laws and laws

banning settlement. Some did move to Oregon and work as part of the Gold Rush. Communities in CA. did center around churches in San Francisco, LA,

and Sacramento. Mainly men traveled west, and economic opportunities were similar to

those in the north.