US Slavery, Culture, and Antebellum History

Vocabulary flashcards covering culture, triangular trade, slave labor, resistance movements, legal restrictions, and Civil War timeline events from the lecture notes.

Culture

The customs, art, social institutions, achievements, and general way of life or beliefs of a particular nation, people, or social group at a particular time.

Black Population Demographics (2016)

A self-identified population of 46.8 million people in 2016, consisting of single-race non-Hispanic Black, multiracial non-Hispanic Black, and Black Hispanic populations.

Triangular Trade

A trade network where raw materials (such as cotton) were sent to Europe, manufactured goods were used in Africa, and enslaved people were imported to the New World.

The Middle Passage

The ocean voyage transporting enslaved Africans to the New World, marked by branding for ID, cargo hold packing, whippings, unsanitary conditions, suicide, murder, rape, and a death rate of 10%, 20%, or more.

Slavery Valuation Hierarchy

The pricing ranking of enslaved people, where young men were the most expensive (1st), women were valuable for having babies (2nd), and children were ranked 3rd because they could not do much.

Plantation Labor Division

The distribution of slave labor where 80-90% worked in the fields on large plantations from sunup to sundown, while 10-20% performed domestic duties in homes.

Religious Justification of Slavery

The practice of white people using the Bible to justify slavery by portraying enslaved people as happy and in the best situation for themselves.

Northern Abolition (1804)

The phasing out of slavery in the North by abolition groups by 1804, supported by the fact that Northern crops did not require as many enslaved laborers.

Everyday Slave Resistance

Non-violent actions taken by enslaved people to demonstrate free will, including faking illness, breaking tools, and staging work slowdowns.

Abolition of the International Slave Trade

The legal end of importing enslaved people from Africa, which occurred in 1808 for the United States and in 1838 for the British Empire.

Nat Turner's Rebellion

A very violent slave rebellion that resulted in 100-200 Black people being indiscriminately murdered and prompted the Virginia legislature to debate ending slavery before ultimately deciding to impose harsher penalties.

Antebellum Legislative Restrictions

Laws enacted by Southern states restricting the rights of both free and enslaved Black people to gather in groups or learn how to write.

Fugitive Slave Act

A legal system based on Southerners viewing slaves as property, which generated a bounty hunter business that used vague flyers to capture missing slaves and random people.

Underground Railroad

A network providing safe passage to the North for runaway slaves, though complete safety from being returned to the South required reaching Canada.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

A fictional story about a runaway slave that provided the North with its first detailed account of slavery and fueled the abolitionist movement.

Civil War and Emancipation Proclamation Timeline

Key events including the start of the Civil War in 1861, the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, the end of the Civil War in April 1865, and the killing of the President in April 1865.