Berlin 2010

Chapter Three: The Passage to the Interior

Introduction

  • Time period: Early nineteenth century.
  • Focus: The establishment, evolution, and challenges faced by African Americans in the United States following the institution of slavery.

African American Identity Before the Nineteenth Century

  • By the beginning of the 1800s, African Americans had established a presence on the west side of the Atlantic Ocean.
    • Many were American-born descendants of enslaved Africans, forming a diverse cultural landscape influenced by African heritage and the American experience.
  • African Americans lived in various circumstances:
    • Slave and Free
    • Rural and Urban
    • Plantation and Farm
  • The majority resided in a narrow strip of land between the Atlantic tidewater and the Appalachian Mountains, primarily from New England to the Mississippi Valley.

The Impact of the American Revolution and Post-War Changes

  • After the American Revolution, approximately 100,000 newly arrived Africans incorporated into free African American communities.
  • Challenges to slavery emerged through the new ideology of American nationality.
  • Freedom fighters developed institutions within their communities, including churches and cultural organizations, advocating for republicanism, Christianity, and commercial capitalism.
  • The post-Revolutionary period was characterized by migration and the impact of slavery on African American families and communities.

The Second Middle Passage (1800-1860)

  • During the period from Thomas Jefferson's election to Abraham Lincoln's inauguration, over one million African Americans (both enslaved and free) were forcibly relocated, reminiscent of another Middle Passage, but within the continent.
    • This internal migration was driven by the increasing demand for cotton and sugar, leading many African Americans into deeper captivity.
  • Separation of families occurred during this migration, causing a reformation of social networks, domestic roles, and cultural practices.
The Transformation of Roles and Skills
  • Migrants adopted new agricultural practices and skills, including the shift from tobacco and rice cultivation to cotton farming.
  • Cultural influences led to changes in language, religion, and music.

Consequences of Migration on Individuals and Communities

  • The mass deportation caused demographic shifts as the slave population in southeastern states (e.g., Virginia) declined, while the slave populations in states like Mississippi and Alabama increased drastically.
    • Example: In 1790, Virginia held nearly half of enslaved African Americans, which reduced to only 12% by the eve of the Civil War.
  • Families were torn apart or relocated, leading to new kinship bonds that often replaced biological ties due to forced migrations.
  • Economic shifts altered the labor landscape, as plantation agriculture adapted to different crops without the same need for year-round labor.
  • The internal slave trade rivaled the transatlantic trade, forming a systematic business model for human trafficking and requiring significant care and maintenance akin to livestock.

Financial Motives of Slave Traders and Planters

  • Slave traders took a predominant role in regulating the internal movement of slaves