Slavery review

1662 Virginia slave law

Stated that the child’s status is equal to the mother’s, legalizing hereditary slavery and made it about race rather than status

1691 Virginia slave law

Revised the previous law by now including punishment (banishment) for interracial marriage, also rephrasing the text to be more hostile

Slavery in the constitution

3/5 compromise (every slave would count as 3/5 of a person for population representation)

Fugitive slave clause: required return of slaves

1808 clause: made the international slave trade illegal (was legal before 1808)

Proslavery argument

Economic argument

Social hierarchy argument

Religious argument

Scientific/Medical racism

Paternalism

Historical argument

Mudsill theory

Economic argument

Slavery is necessary for cotton profits and the ecoenomy of the south, and claimed that without slavery, soceity would collapse

Social hierarchy argument

Slavery prevented class conflict (poor whites supported slavery because it put them above blacks)

Religious argument

Ministers in the south claimed that slaves had to obey their masters as it they were obeying their god, also stating that disobedience is a sin

Some also preached that when a slave escaped, it was the devil, and that to get the devil out, one would have to whip the slave

Scientific/Medical racism

Dr Carwright invented fake diseases such as Drapetomia (a disease that causes slaves to run away), and dysaesthesia aethiopica (free blacks were by nature lazy, justifying whipping to beat the “laziness” out of them)

Paternalism

This claims that slaves are like children and needed white guardians, also claiming (george fitzbugh) that slavery civilized blacks

Historical argument

slavery was natural, biblical, and had existed in every great civilization (roman, greek)

Mudsill theory

James Hammond argued that every society needs a permanent laboring class, and that the north had wage slaves, also claiming that they were worse off that than the more “humane” kept slaves in the south

Reality vs Propaganda of slave’s lives

Reality: Long hours, often punishment with large surveillance, families being seperates, and enslaved often forming communities

propaganda: slaves were carefree, content, protected, and happy (hiding violence of slavery)

Nat turners rebellion

A slave in virginia that was very educated (shown through his planning), who didn’t hate his master, but led a brutal slave rebellion, killing about 60 whites. This caused a panic across the south with new laws banning slave literacy, but almost created emancipation for the slaves of virginia

William Lloyd garrison

A very radical white abolitionist that demanded immediate emanciptaion and used arguments containing natural rights and christian principles

Abolition

The movement in which people argued, using mostly religion that slaves should be emancipated/free

Zachary Taylor

The us president from 1849 to 1850 (as a whig) as he died from eating too many cherries. he claimed that henry clay is a glory hunter as he was isolated from discussion about the compromise of 1850 because of his bad relationship with him. He also stated that new territories should not have slaves as that would cause issues, causing him to lose popularity in the south.

Millard Fillmore (president from 1850-53)

another whig that served after taylor died, he also helped pass the compromise of 1850

Ralph Waldo Emerson

A philosopher that participated in the transcendentalist movement (people should be self reliant, institutions corrupts people), claiming that a war with mexico is like swallowing arsenic, which came true

James k Polk

A democratic president that advocated jacksonian democracy, also expanding the US territory by annexing texas against santa anna, and gaining california through the war, also gaining the oregon territorry through a treaty with britian. his presidency was propelled by his good speeches, and his indifferent view on slavery

John c Calhoun

A southern advocate for slavery, also wanting popular soveirgnty in the new states as he feared that without new slave territories, the south would collapse

Daniel Webster

A northern (MA) congressman that encouraged the compromise between north and south, also stating that the new territories were unfit for slavery and that it would not expand anyways, but he supported the 1850 comp, which the north found outrageous causing him to get outed by other northerners

Thomas hart Benton

Originally a proslavery senator, eventually changing to be anti slavery after the mexican war, opposing the compromise of 1850 since he thought it favored the south. He thought that congress had the right to decide the spread of slavery, opposing popular soveirgnty 

Wilmot (proviso)

A democratic politician that stated in his proviso that slavery should be outlawed in any new state won in the mexican war, citing that no labor force would move to these new states and intensify problems with industry

Belief of the south

They didnt care too much for the compromise of 1850

Henry clay

A politician, whig and republican (both in senate and house of rep) that never won a presidential election. He proposed the compromise of 1850 with his omnibus bill, combining a bunch of unrelated topics together to ease tensions between north and south

William Seward

A politician opposed to slavery, using arguments appealing to religion to call for emancipation

Steven Douglas

A politician from illinois that advocated popular soveirgnty , also suggesting to clay that one should seperate his bill into smaller parts so that it can get passed (chop it up yo)

Compromise of 1850

A compromise that

Admitted california as a free state

strengthened fugutive slave laws (slaves must be brought back)

banned slave trade in DC (still allowed slave holding)

Defined northern and western borders for texas

established territorial govt for new mex and utah (no guarantee on slave vs free)

Gag rule (1836-1844)

A law implemented by congress that banned talking about slavery in politics because it caused a lot of trouble between the north and south. it also banned the discussion of petitions about slavery which people thought it violated their first ammendment right, not allowing them to petition the government

Popular sovereignty

The idea that territories should decide themselves if they want to be slave or free states

Bleeding Kansas

A war that emerged on wether slavery should be allowed in kansas or not. There were a lot of killings, and election fraud, with missourians flooding elections and creating an illegitimate govt, later dissestablished and replaced

Kansas and Nebraska act

Admitted kansas and nebraska to the union, and let them decide through popular soveirgnty if they wanted to be slave or free, breaking the missuori compromise as both territories were above 36°30”

Missouri compromise

A compromise that admitted missouri as a slave and maine as a free state, also establishing the upper line for slavery limit of 36°30”

Whig party

A party formed against andrew jackson that was both active in the north and south with no clear stance on slavery. They were more federalist and supported a protective tarriff and public infrastructure. they eventually failed because northern and southern leaders could not cooperate, joining another party

The know nothings party (said they know nothing when asked about outsiders)

A political party that was founded out of the fear of catholics and immigrants, being heavily nativists (anti immigration), eventually falling apart due to tolerating slavery, heavily alienating its northern group

The Republican Party (not the modern one)

A party primarily focused on preventing the spread of slavery (they weren’t against slavery at first), eventually pushing for emmancipation under abe lincoln

The democratic party

A rather anti-federalist, states rights political party, supporting slavery

Free soilers

people that wanted the new territories to be free

Texas

A state in northern mexico that attracted lots of US settlers, but was eventually closed to immigration due to mexico not wanting slavery, eventually leading texas to their battle of independence as they wanted to keep slavery

Santa Anna

The brutal mexican commander that went up against texas in their battle for independence

David Crocket and the Alamo

A volunteer frontiersman idolized by myths such as killing a bear at age 3, that was in texas that died at the alamo

Statistics of slavery

Cost about $1000 each

All the slaves combined were worth more than all of the industrial and banking industries ($4bil vs $3.7bil)

Why did some northerners support slavery

They were also profiting off of it (they got raw materials from factories, loans to buy slaves, gave insurance of slaves etc)

Expansion of cotton

Eli whitney invents cotton gin (1792) and makes it cotton harvesting faster

In each of the next 10 years, cotton production doubles

By 1815, cotton is the most valuable export of the USA

By 1840, cotton made over half of all exports of the USA (by cost)

By 1860, the US produced 7/8 of the world’s cotton

Why did non slave-owning southerners support slavery

Their wages were higher than the north (40% higher than north)

Yeomen farmers

Substinence farmers in the south that embodied the american values of working hard