APUSH Chapter 11: The Peculiar Institution

Frederick Douglass

former slave who advocated for abolition and other reforms, claiming that knowledge was “the pathway from slavery to freedom”

the peculiar institution

Southern euphemism for slavery

Mason-Dixon line

drawn to settle PA-MD border, ends up dividing slave/free states

Prohibition of importation of slaves in 1808

did little to quell the growth of the slave population, as over 4 million slaves lived in the US by the beginning of the Civil War

New slave states in the 1850s

Arkansas, Louisiana, eastern Texas

Stronghold of slavery in the Americas

the US by a LONG SHOT

US’s role in global cotton production

Southern US produces ¾ of the global cotton crop, powering domestic AND European textile factories

collective slave population

stronger asset to the country than its factories, railroads, and banks combined

The Second Middle Passage

the period of mass domestic sales of slaves between 1820-60, especially from the Upper South to the Deep South

post-Second Middle Passage sales

Auctions advertised by newspapers, financed by banks, and taxed by the towns (which garners revenue). Slaves carried through ship or train

Northern engagement with slave trade

Slave trade profit pay for internal improvements, products like cotton go to their factories, Northern banks finance the establishment of new plantations, Northern ships carry Southern exports, and cities like NYC grow partially due to the cotton - Erie Canal - Europe link

Upper South dynamic

Less slave/slaveholder population than Lower South; more diverse economy due to industry in cities like Baltimore, Richmond, and St. Louis

Lower South dynamic

Economy almost exclusively depends on cotton production, first to secede for Civil War

plain folk of the old south

¾ of white farmers in the old south did not own slaves, opting for small-scale family farm labor instead. they lived in hilly areas outside of quality cotton land and depended nearly exclusively on their farms, with very little buying from markets and very little industrial base. some resentment of large planters but most planters allied with planters on matters of slave culture, fascism, and democratic participation.

the planter class

only about 40,000 families who owned over 20 slaves (only about 2,000 households own 100+ slaves) and control the best land + have the most control over politics. often had decadent mansions (but sometimes their work was on the cotton frontier with log homes)

plantation mistresses

planter wives who were ideally feminine but took an active role on the plantation

paternalism

idea that heads of household are personally responsible for the well-being of their dependents (especially in regard to slaves)

pro-slavery arguments

• Black people are inferior and must be taken care of by white figures of authority

• Slave products were necessary for the economic function of the country

• Slavery allows planters to invest resources in human development

• Through subjugating black people, white people are guaranteed equality

Planters and slave systems in the Americas beyond the US

planters often used their power and resources to promote slavery in Cuba + Brazil

different views of recently freed economies

planters view the declining production of sugar + other crops in recently freed areas to label those territories “less successful” after abolition, but abolitionists cite the increasing quality of life for formerly enslaved people as a measure of success

proslavery writers and fundamental American philosophy

a number of proslavery writers questioned the validity of ideas like “all men created equal” claiming that since slavery had been a norm throughout most of history, it was necessary for the future. “universal liberty” should be the exception, not the rule

rights guaranteed to slaves

court appearance when accused of serious crimes, and their murder was criminalized except for in the case of self-defense

rights denied slaves

legal marriage, political input, owning firearms, convening in the absences of a white person, signing contracts, acquiring property, leaving the plantation without the consent of their owner, learning to read/write, and testifying against white people.. they could be bought, sold, or leased at any time.

rights of American slaves compared to elsewhere

better health and well-being in general due to rising care about their well-being due to the rising prices of slaves in general

paths to freedom

voluntary manumission from owner (increasingly more challenging b/c southern state legislatures got involved), buying their own freedom (rare b/c of course), and escape (more on that later)

rights offered to free Black people

marriage + owning property

rights denied free Black people

voting, testifying against white people, serving on juries, going anywhere without certificate of freedom, enter some slave states

public assistance for poor free Black people

often involved working alongside slaves

free Black communities

New Orleans, Charleston, etc. where (often mixed-race) free Black people often become skilled craftsmen and established churches

potential slave positions on a plantation

field work (majority of about 75% of all slaves and 90% of men), butlers, waitresses, nurses, dairymaids, gardeners, carpenters, shoemakers, blacksmiths, weavers, cooks, etc.

cotton belt plantation labor

gang labor with a cruel overseer

Louisiana sugar field labor

gang labor with extreme hours during the sugar season to do as much as possible before the crop spoiled

SC + GA rice plantation labor

task labor

means of controlling punishment/reward of slaves

whipping, fostering field/house slave divisions, incentives of money or time off, and threat of sale

slave culture

interpolates Christianity, African heritage, and family

slave family life

formed from non-legally recognized marriages initiated with the owner’s consent; sometimes faced with threat of sale