Slavery in the Americas
What is slavery?
What is racism?
The practice of one person legally owning another; involuntary servitude for life passed down to future generations.
Racism is the belief that some races are worse than other races.
Racism and slavery were together parts of a vicious cycle.
What was Jamestown? When was it settled?
The first 125 settlers arrived on April 26, 1607.
Jamestown was:
1. The first permanent English settlement in North America, established on the banks of the James River.
2. The first English royal colony in North America.
3. The birthplace of representative government in the United States-to-be.
What were Chartered Colonies? Proprietary Colonies? Royal Colonies? Which states were which?
Chartered Colonies: Under the control of a joint-stock company with a charter. Examples: Connecticut, Rhode Island
Proprietary Colonies: Under the control of the person whose property the land was. Examples: Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania
Royal Colonies: Under the control, via an appointed governor of English royalty. Examples: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia
SOUTHERN IDENTITY -
What was their industry? How did people make their money?
What was the Tidewater Aristocracy?
What was the slave situation?
What was the government like?
Main Industry: Plantations - very large farms that grew cash crops like tobacco and rice. There was almost no manufacturing or other business.
Tidewater Aristocracy: A small number of wealthy people lived in the South, but they had all the money and power. The richest people lived and planted along the Tidewater section of Virginia, where the soil was rich and the rivers were good for shipping goods to England.
Slavery: There were a lot of slaves in the South because of all the plantation agricultural work there. There were more slaves than owners, and the owners were afraid the slaves would rebel against them. The slave laws were very strict because of this.
Government: Bicameral Assemblies - Legislature having 2 houses (bi-cameral) -- one house was elected by the people, the other appointed by the royal government.
From 1525 to 1866, about 12.5 million Africans were taken from their homeland and forced to start working as slaves in the Americas and Europe.
What was the journey across the Atlantic like on a ship transporting slaves?
- About 15% of the Africans died while being transported across the Atlantic.
- On board the ship:
--The captured people were crammed into very tight compartments.
--The men were chained.
--There were no bathrooms. They had to go to the bathroom right where they sat!
--Because of the dirty and unsanitary conditions, and because it was hot and stuffy with no good air ventilation, diseases started spreading.
--The captured people were taken to the top deck during the day and were forced to exercise and entertain the crew of the ship with dancing.
Why did they need slaves in the Americas? why were they considered ideal?
To work on the tobacco plantations.
Why plantation owners thought Africans were ideal workers:
1. They were far from home, so they didn't have anywhere to run away
2. Plantation owners could enslave the slaves' children
3. Many of the slaves had been farmers, so they had experience working the land
4. The slaves already had immunity to the diseases that killed the Native Americans
Why did the settlers at Jamestown have a hard time?
1. The water of the James River was dirty and undrinkable
2. The winters were BITTER and COLD, and the summers were HUMID and full of DISEASE-CARRYING MOSQUITOES!
3. Most of the settlers focused on searching for GOLD instead of building houses and planting food.
4. There was not a lot of GOLD and more than half of the settlers DIED.
What were the Southern Colonies? How did each get started? Key Terms: Catholics, Protestants, Act of Toleration, Lord Baltimore, Cecilius, King Charles II, Aristocrats, Proprietary Colony, Royal Colony; James Oglethorpe, Debtors
Maryland (1633); Virginia (1607); North Carolina (1663); South Carolina (1663); Georgia (1733)
Maryland - Lord Baltimore wanted a place for Catholics. His son, Cecilius, inherited the proprietary colony and named it Maryland. Protestants moved there. Started having conflicts with the Catholics. Lord Baltimore issued the Act of Toleration (1649): this made it illegal to persecute any Christian for his religion. In 1654, the Protestants got rid of this act.
The Carolinas - King Charles II rewarded the aristocrats (the RICH people) who supported him and gave them a proprietary colony. They named it Carolina. The people in the northern half were Virginians. The people in the southern half came directly from England, with slaves. They were attracted by: farmland, religious tolerance, and self-government. Eventually, the people from the southern half split from the colony's rule. In 1729, North and South Carolina became royal colonies.
Georgia - The last British colony founded in North America. In 1732, James Oglethorpe received a charter from King George II to start a colony for debtors (people who could not pay back money they owed to someone) and poor people to make a new start. Oglethorpe had strict rules: No large plantations, no rum, few slaves, and no Catholics. Few settlers were actually debtors. In 1752, Georgia became a royal colony.
NORTHERN IDENTITY (New Englanders) -
What did people's lives revolve around?
What was their industry? How did people make their money?
What was the slave situation?
What were the Puritan values?
The people's lives revolved around the Meetinghouse - wherre men who went to church made laws.
Trade and industry: Trade, mills, lumber, shipbuilding, fishing, fur trading, whaling, and craftsmanship. They could not raise cash crops because of the long winters and bad soil. The people had small farms called subsistence farms - produced just enough for people to eat.
Slavery: Few slaves, but northern merchants did profit from the slave trade.
Puritan values: Hard work, modesty, and education. Massachusetts required there to be schools in any town that had more than 50 households. They did NOT believe in tolerance (accepting other religions).
What was Bacon's Rebellion? Why was it significant?
In 1676, a group of frontiersmen, led by Nathaniel Bacon, attacked the Pamunkey (Native Americans) and the governor of Jamestown.
This was the first act of rebellion by colonists over land, high taxes, and failure to deal with the colonists' demands.
What was the Triangular Trade? What was the Middle Passage?
A trade route with 3 stops: Africa, the West Indies (islands in the Caribbean), and the Americas (colonies). They traded slaves and goods such as sugar, molasses, rum, iron, gold.
The Middle Passage was the middle part of the Triangular Trade, when ships left Africa with a cargo of slaves.
Who was Captain John Smith?
He took charge of Jamestown in 1608. He did the following:
- Forced people to plant and build, and Jamestown started prospering.
- Developed relations with Chief Powhatan - the leader of the powerful local Native American group called the Powhatan Confederacy
- The Powhatan taught the settlers how to grow maize (corn)
What were the New England Colonies? How did each get started? Key Terms: John Winthrop, Plymouth, Salem Witch Trials; Thomas Hooker, Hartford, Fundamental Orders of Connecticut; Roger Williams, Providence, Anne Hutchinson; John Wheelwright, Exeter
New England Colonies: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire
Massachusetts: In 1630, led by John Winthrop, 900 people settled in Boston. They wanted to start a perfect society - "a city on a hill". They created a court and local laws. At the same time, King Charles I gave the Puritans a charter to establish a colony near Plymouth. The Salem Witch Trials - Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 - young girls accused people of casting spells on them, which was a lie, but 19 people were executed for witchcraft.
Connecticut: Thomas Hooker - a minister - disagreed with John Winthrop in Boston. Hooker left with his congregation and founded Hartford, Connecticut in 1636. Hooker founded the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut - the first written constitution in North America. Under this constitution, male citizens who were not considered "elect" could vote (which was not allowed in Massachusetts).
Rhode Island: Roger Williams - another minister from Massachusetts - also did not agree with the way things were done. He was banished (forced to leave) in 1636. He and his congregation founded Providence, Rhode Island. In 1638, Anne Hutchinson was also banished from Massachusetts because she believed in personal revelation and that ministers didn't have to be members of the elect. Hutchinson and her supporters founded Portsmouth, Rhode Island (near Providence).
New Hampshire: In 1638, Anne Hutchinson's brother-in-law, John Wheelwright, also fled Massachusetts and founded the town of Exeter, New Hampshire.
MIDDLE COLONY IDENTITY -
What was their industry? How did people make their money?
What was the slave situation?
What were the people like?
What was the government like?
Slavery: Slaves were forced to work in cities and on farms. Some were able to make a little money and saved enough to buy their freedom.
People: Large immigrant populations. They had a tradition of tolerance, so there were a lot of different people from different countries and backgrounds.
Government: A combination of assemblies, town meetings and royal government.
What was the House of Burgesses? What is a Representative Government? Did it last?
The House of Burgesses - In 1619, this legislative body (government), held its first annual assembly. Under the overall government of the Virginia Company, the people had their own representative government.
Burgess - a citizen representative in local government
Legislative - having the function of making laws and imposing taxes
Representative Government - Government with elected representatives of the citizens
In 1624, King James of England made Jamestown a royal colony, and got rid of the House of Burgesses. In 1629, King Charles I brought it back.
Who was Olaudah Equiano? Why was he important?
A slave brought to Virginia from Africa in the 1700s as a little child. After buying his freedom, he wrote an autobiography (a book about his life), depicting he horrors of slavery. This book helped influence British lawmakers to abolish the slave trade.
Who was Lord De La Warr?
Who was John Rolfe?
Lord De La Warr - the governor of Jamestown after John Smith. Delaware was later named after him.
John Rolfe - one of the successful settlers at Jamestown. The first colonist to cultivate tobacco for export. He married Pocahontas, the daughter of Chief Powhatan.
Who was Metacomet? What was King Philip's War?
Metacomet was the chief of the Wampanoag tribe. He was also known as King Philip to the settlers. King Philip's War was between the English settlers and the Wampanoag tribe. The English won.
What factors helped develop an American Identity?
1. Common History - from a shared English background
2. Perception of cheap and available land
3. An emerging middle class - due to the lack of aristocrats and the use of slaves instead of lower class white workers
4. Power for land owners - because men who owned land had the right to vote
5. Social mobility - among white males; because there weren't many titles or classes that could be inherited
6. Tolerance of religious differences - due to diversity
7. Shared enemies - from conflicts with Native Americans and French and Spanish settlers
Why were many people moving to North America in search of Religious Freedom?
Who were the Puritans? The Separatists? The Pilgrims? Mayflower Compact? William Bradford?
Many Catholics in England were persecuted by the Protestants. Puritans and Separatists were also persecuted.
Puritans: A religious group who wanted to reform (change!) the Church of England so that it would be more pure (or closer, they believed, to the text of the Bible).
Separatists: A religious group who wanted to start their own church from scratch. Those who left England called themselves Pilgrims.
Pilgrims: People who travel to a sacred place as an act of religious devotion.
On September 16, 1620, a ship called the Mayflower left England. On November 21, 1620, they went on land in Cape Cod, led by William Bradford. They signed a document called the Mayflower Compact. They later settled at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts.
Mayflower Compact: This document was a covenant - an agreement of promise, with religious overtones - agreeing to obey: 1. Just and equal laws, created for the good of the colony, 2. In order to benefit "the glory of God", 2. And benefit the honor of the King of England
What were some characteristics of the new slave cultures?
1. Religion: most slaves were converted to Christianity but still kept their African traditions.
2. Spirituals: Religious folk songs
3. Song, Dance, and Storytelling
4. Family: Often the slave trade split families apart
What was the Headright System? Who were indentured servants?
The Headright System - any man who came to Virginia from England was given 50 acres of land in Virginia and 50 more acres per person he brought with him, including women and servants. Many grew tobacco as a cash crop.
Indentured Servants - Were either from Britain or Germany. They signed a contract for 4-7 years of service in exchange for passage across the Atlantic. When the contract was up, the servants were free to lead their own life.
Eventually slaves became more used than indentured servants. Virginia made slavery legal in the 1660s.
What were The Middle Colonies? How did they get started? Key Terms: the Duke of York; Lord John Berkeley, Sir George Carteret; William Penn, Quakers; Mason-Dixon Line; Swedish people
The Middle Colonies: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware
New York: In 1664, England took this land from the Dutch, and renamed it to New York after the Duke of York.
New Jersey: The Duke of York gave some of his land to Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, who named it New Jersey. It was hard to make money in New Jersey because it didn't have a harbour. The colony went back to being under the King's control in 1702.
Pennsylvania: Founded by William Penn, who was a Quaker, for himself and the Quakers. Quaker - a religious group, later called the Religious Society of Friends. They were said to tremble (or quake) before God. They believed in equality between men and women, non-violence, and tolerance. They founded Philadelphia.
Mason-Dixon Line: A line of rocks laid down by Mason and Dixon, to mark the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland. This was to separate the Middle Colonies from the Southern Colonies.
Delaware: This was also land given to William Penn. It was south of Pennsylvania. Most of the people living there were Swedish. It was officially part of Pennsylvania, but Penn let the people there govern themselves.
What was the English Bill of Rights? Salutary neglect?
What was the Great Awakening? Key terms: Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield
What was the Enlightenment? Key terms: John Locke
English Bill of Rights: In 1689, William and Mary approved this bill (rule), which limited the powers of the monarchy (kings and queens) and emphasized the parliamentary power. They had a hands-off approach to governing the colonies called salutary neglect.
Great Awakening: A religious movement led by travelling ministers in the 1730s - 1740s. Many preachers gave sermons at outdoor revival meetings. Americans were encouraged to seek a personal relationship with God. Most famous of these ministers were: Jonathan Edwards of Massachusetts and George Whitefield of England
The Enlightenment: A philosophical movement that emphasized human reason, scientific analysis, and individualism, and applied the laws of nature to politics and society. This was led in England by the philosopher John Locke. This movement influenced many of the US Founding Fathers.
The Great Awakening and The Enlightenment made Americans debate political, societal, and religious questions. They started thinking about equality among all individuals.
What was the Navigation Act of 1651?
This law made it illegal for the colonies to sell goods to countries other than England, use ships other than English ships, or go through ports other than English ports. Because of these rules, many colonists started smuggling.