History Exam 3

Henry Scott: who was he and what happened to him? 

• 7 yr student who was taken from his classroom after being accused of being an escaped enslaved person.

Why do you think the author starts with the Henry story? 

• To show how serious kidnapping was and show how it says it was 

• No one is safe

• Show life was like even after slavery

Richard Riker, what was his official title and who is connected to slavery

• New York City recorder

• Main judge for slaves and decided if the slaves were going to be free or enslaved after being kidnapped

Why is he on the side of south slavery? 

• Personal values, political powers, profit,thought he was following the constitution and law, and his up bringing

How was someone accused of being a runaway? 

• Anybody can accuse them of being a slave even if it wasn’t true 

• Slave catchers could provide descriptions of the person they wanted to capture and they could easily fit the broad description of the person 

• Was actually legal 

Besides money, why would someone become a kidnapper? 

• Personal choices 

• Power and control 

• Not a good job because its morally wrong, but financial it was a good job 

• Financial reason

• This was all legal

What was a fugitive slave crime? 

• stealing yourself

How did NYC and the state court system hurt or help fugitive slaves? 

• Most hurt them: Accused people could be detained and sent into slavery with little evidence and limited ability to defend themselves.

How did NYC and the state court system hurt or help fugitive slaves?

• Lots of judges were biased: Judge Richard Riker often sided with Southern slaveholders and helped send accused Black people South.

• NYC supreme would not appeal the cases

Why were white New Yorkers not indifferent about it? 

•  Bystander effect, didn’t want to be judged socially 

• Some people probably agreed with this kidnapping 

• Only effect black people, so they didn’t care since it didn’t effect them 

There was a fire in NYC, how did this propel the city? 

• Real estate prices go up 

• People are displaced and how to move somewhere else 

• When it was rebuilt, it became more urban

How does this urbanation make kidnapping easy? 

• More people, makes it easy for people to come in and out 

• Lots of minorities lived in these communities together so it made it easier to kidnap 

• New people were coming in and people don’t know each (if they knew each other they would testify on your behalf to get freed) 

In 1841, Solomon Northup was a

free Black man living in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Did Northup have any reason to be suspicious of them, Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton?

• Had no reason to have suspicions at the times, believed them 

• Didn’t believe if it was their real names after his story 

Which US city did they bring North up to? 

• Washington DC because it was a slave state 

• He will be far from home where no one knows him 

How did they drug Northup? 

• They put something in his drink and then he starts experiencing severe symptoms like 

  • Intense headache, Extreme thirst, Nausea and loss of appetite, Weakness and distress, impossible to sleep 

• Northup followed them outside, believing he was going to receive medical help. He wakes up in chains.

When he wakes in chains, he states that he was confused and realizes that he was kidnapped 

• Says he doesn’t know how many days have passed 

• Unbelievable that he was kidnapped 

• His free papers and money is gone, and starts crying 

Nat- The rebellious Slave: 

• Vengeful, dangerous,

• rebellious, feared, treacherous,

• violent, difficult to control,

• deviant, scheming

Jack- The Realistic, Resistant Slave:

• Resentful, deceptive,

• uncooperative,

• lazy, ungovernable

Sambo-  The Submissive, Loyal Slave: 

• Obedient, loyal, submissive,

• happy, humorous, clownlike,

• simple, most popular

Why was Sambo so popular? 

• It was an advertise piece on what slave should look like 

• Dominant stereotype 

• Reduced fears about rebellions

• Dehumanizing, Slavery should be a natural status for blacks 

What two institutions supported these stereotypes and white people's ideas about these stereotypes? 

• Where did these stereotypes appear in writing?

• Newspapers, literature, and medicine (scientific racism- science supported slavery was a good thing for black people) 

Drapetomania: 

• Samuel Cartwright- Louisiana doctor, 1851

• Mental illness that made enslaved people run away

Who is missing from these stereotypes? Who else was on the plantains? 

• Black women stereotypes 

  • Mammy

  • Jezebel

Mammy

• Dark skin 

• Happy serving white families 

• Overweight, asexuals (but had children)

• Wears long dresses and headcovering

Jezebel

• Oversexual, seductive, deceptive

• Dimssiss or excuse sexual abuse by white men, used to justify rape

• Opposite of mammy

Why do you think Blassingame did not include these women stereotypes in the piece? 

• Women were not a main concern, men can fight back

• No one really wrote about women, writers were sexist, gender bias 

Why do they use cartoons? 

• Makes it easier to dehumanize people and make it easier to look like its humorous

• Children watch the cartoon and it basically gets integrated into their brain that this is normal 

• Overestimate figures of black people 

Denmark Vesey Plot 

• Denmark Versey was originally from St. Thomas but moved to Charleston, SC in 1793 

• 1799- Denmark Vesey won the lottery and purchased his freedom 

• 1820- Vesey Began to plan a rebellion, aim was to be free by sailing to Haiti

Denmark Vesey Plot: 1822

• 2 enslaved people in Charleston told the details of the plan to their enslaver, Vesey hanged with 5 men on July 2, 1822

Charleston created a

•  a police force to patrol the city 

• All enslaved people traeling after 9 pm without a written pass could be arrested and whipped or sent to prison 

Black Tax-

Charleston levied a $50 annual tax on its free black resident, who also had to register with municipal officials twice per year 

• Free black people left Charleston 

David Walker

• Left Charleston after Denmark Vesey plot and moved to Boston 

• Published pamphlet David Walker’s appeal in 1829

David Walker Became a

• contributor to the nation’s first black newspaper, Freedom’s Journal (founded in 1827 in NYC) 

Effects of Davide Walker’s Appeal

• Motivated a new generation of radical Black people to lobby for abolition 

• Called for enslaved people to use violence against their enslaver 

Effects of Davide Walker’s Appeal: White southerners offered a

• $3000 bounty for Walker’s death or a $10,000 reward if someone kidnapped him and delivered him alive 

Nat Turner’s Rebellion 

• Nat Turner had powerful religious vision 

• August 21, 1831: armed with axes and hatchets, Turner and his men first murdered Turner’s enslaver and his family and then stole guns 

Nat Turner’s Rebellion: more than

• 50 enslaved people and free black people joined Turners, they managed to kill 60 white people before a Virginia militia tracked them down 2 days later 

Nat Turner’s Rebellion 

• A growing force of armed white people pursued the rebels 

• Within 2 weeks, the white militia killed more than 100 black people all whom died without a trial 

• Turner managed to evade capture for 3 months before a white farmer discovered him hiding 

Effects of Turner Rebellion 

• Virginia legislators no longer contemplated gradual emancipation 

• Enslaved people and free black people no longer allowed to preach or attend religious meetings without white supervision 

Penalties for free black people:

• colonizations; denied trial by jury; and subject to sale and relocation if convicted of a crime 

Religion: According to Walker who is on the of apass? 

• God

• Why does he believe that? 

  • God created them that they way they are 

  • White people missed used religion and god was going to get them for that 

  • If you support slavery your not going to heaven 

Why did Hailti Walker and Mark believe that? 

• Haiti was seen as the major success black rebillion 

• Slaves were able to fight back and saw how god was on their side  

• Become a model to enslaved people and they win and form their own free black society  

  • Saw all the possibility

  • Immigration became the pathway to freedom 

What are his critics of black people? 

• Too passive 

• Ignorant 

• Competent  

• Demanding 

• Selffish

How many days did Walker stay in slavery? 

• 0 days 

• Mom was not enslaved 

• Has lots of critics for not being enslaved

His critics for free black people, do you think they were too harsh? 

• Walker’s criticism was understandable but sometimes too harsh because he expected free Black people to fight against a system that also oppressed them.

• He wanted people to use their freedom as a gift and do something about slavery 

Two runners away advertise: how did the advertisement description mean and what do we learn? 

• Average height

• One has a scar on his face, Other one has white teeth when he laugh, dark skin 

• Must be delivered to the work house in CHarelston 

• Their names 

• General description, not specific

Why did enslaved men escape more often than women? 

• Women had to take care of kids and would have to take them with which is dangerous 

• Women can’t travel on their own 

• People that ran away were late teens or early 20s 

• Most of these male didn’t have families and had more opportunities to leave 

Why won’t children be good at escaping? 

• Baby cry, loud

• Children are unpredictable, can’t walk very far 

• Easier to identify the person and a burden 

Skin tone can help or hurt their chances for escape.. What ways did being mixed race help them escape? 

• Can pass as white 

• More educated, it's easier for them to forge paperwork (freedom papers) 

Violence: how does this chapter give us an insight into violence? 

• Most people were identified by scars 

• Missing toes and fingers which made it harder to run away 

• Most people were branded  (people who ran away and caught there was a R brand on their cheek)

• Iron collars (makes noise and heavy)

Why did enslave people steal clothes?

• Have a change a clothes so can’t be identified 

• Ads will have what they are wearing 

• disguises while traveling

• Easier to get jobs with nicer clothes 

Slave kidnappers had dogs to identify slaves-

if they changed their clothes it made it harder for them to follow their smell

Why would someone so old run away? 

• Less to loss, worth a shot to a better life 

Franklin and author: why choices and decisions did they make to escape slavery? What did they have to decide? 

• The risk of escape and account for them 

• Leaving all the other people behind and family, Do they take their family 

• Where are you going to go? 

• What happens if they get caught 

• Are they going to flee with a group or alone 

• If they escape sat or sunday (more religious day- no one will realize you're missing until monday) 

• It had to be planned for weeks before they escaped 

In what ways was African run way different then American born run away? 

• 88 percent are male 

• African were not born into slavery, american were born into slavery 

• tribal marker and language barriers for africans- easily identified  

• African born usually escaped in groups 

  • Included their children 

  • Why? 

    • They want to leave with their family, connection and shared languages, trust 

Why were the letters in the beginning of the Bibb's narrative? 

• Show creditable and authentic that its bibbs writing and to show that he wasn’t lying 

• Shows that he was self taught in reading and writing

What was slavery like for Bibb? 

• Abused by the wife of the owner and he ran away from that for the 1st time and was 10 yrs old, 

• Inadequate food and clothing

• Sleeping on dirt floors or benches without proper coverings.

• Wasn’t allowed to get education 

He wages goes to

paying for the daughter education of the owners

Wants to escape slavery, Who does he meet that changes his mind about running away

• Wife, fell in love with her and he asked her thoughts about running away 

Enslaved people couldn’t get married, The wife's owner didn’t want them to get married…What were the conditions of them getting married? 

• Got married during christmas but no actual documents of them getting married, had a secret commitment in front of god 

• The conditions were too valguor to say in the text- means that her owner was going to continue to rape her (that was the condition) → agreed becuase they were not planning to be in slavery and lack of automony 

How does he describe life to Malinda? 

• Has happy memories and joy from marriage and had a daughter 

How can someone describe happiness while being slavery? 

• Possible from love 

• Focusing on what he has and the bright side of slavery from his wife and daughter 

Why was having a family so important to him? 

• As a child he was separated from his mother, and doesn’t know about his siblings 

• Doesn’t have a family after being separated

What happens to Franics? 

• Slapped so hard there is a hand print on her face at 2 yrs old 

• The abuse to him, wife, and daughter propels him to escape 

How does he start to escape?

• First thing? Tells his master his is going to find winter work (what he told his ower) 

  • Didn’t tell his wife and left 

What was his escape experience like? 

• Follows the north star 

• Physically difficult because he experienced cold, hunger, exhaustion, and a lack of shelter.

• How do the children in Ohio help him? 

  • a free Black man named Job Dundy lives who helps in him get further 

  • Only wanted to get help from black men 

• Afraid to make food because he was afraid someone will caught him 

When he gets to Perbrugge decides

he wants to go back to get his wife and daughter 

Why didn’t he take his family from the beginning? 

• Too much of a risk 

What is like for him on the way back to his family? 

• It was a lot easier, wears a beard as a disguise

What happens before they escape (Bibb)? 

• Black kidnappers who said they were abolitionists ratted him out by promising to help them escape (remember when he only trusted black people to escape- black people now couldn’t be trusted either) 

Why would a black person become a kidnapper? 

• Paid for it, and wouldn’t get up back into slavery 

• Limited job opportunities, some respected because they are working with white people 

His family tried to escape

two more times, and then he tried one more time without his family and made to Canada and was free

Image on page 72: Why do you think put this in there? 

• Free state was never free for black people and had to go to Canada for the freedom that was promised to them

Henry Bibb was in

Kentucky and was part of slavery escape west, west to ohio to canada