AP African American Studies: Unit 2 - Freedom, Enslavement, and Resistance (c. 1400–1865)

Timeline: The transatlantic slave trade officially began in the $15^{th}$ century.
Context of Exploration: The trade was initiated alongside European exploration, with Portugal being the primary nation to first engage in the trafficking of enslaved Africans.
Geographical Focus: Captives were mainly taken from the regions of West and Central Africa.
The Triangular Trade System: This was a structured economic network involving three primary legs: * Europe to Africa: Goods were transported to Africa to be traded for people. * Africa to the Americas: Enslaved humans were transported across the Atlantic (The Middle Passage). * Americas to Europe: Products and cash crops from enslaved labor were shipped back to European markets.
Racialization of Slavery: Over time, slavery developed into a system specifically racialized and predicated on African descent.

Nature of the Journey: This was the brutal trans-Atlantic journey from Africa to the Americas.
Sanitary and Physical Conditions: Ships were characterized by overcrowded and unsanitary environments.
Mortality: The passage resulted in high death rates among the enslaved Africans.
Legal Status of Individuals: Enslaved Africans were not regarded as human beings but were legally treated as cargo.
Methods of Resistance: Forms of resistance during the passage included: * Organized revolts against the captors. * The refusal to eat (hunger strikes). * Suicide as a means of escaping the conditions.

Caribbean and Brazil: These regions were known for maintaining exceptionally harsh conditions and very high death rates for the enslaved population.
British North America: Though death rates were slightly lower than in and Brazil or the Caribbean, the system remained fundamentally brutal.
Economic Structure: The development of the plantation system was focused entirely on the production of cash crops.
Legal Deprivation: Enslaved individuals were stripped of all legal rights under these systems.

Hereditary System: Laws were established to make slavery hereditary, with the status of a child following the legal status of the mother.
Racial Hierarchy: A formal hierarchy was created to enforce White superiority and justify Black enslavement.
Slave Codes: These were restrictive legal frameworks used to control the enslaved population, specifically targeting: * Limitation of movement and travel. * Prohibition of education and literacy. * Total restriction of civil rights.

Everyday Resistance: Continuous small-scale defiance included acts such as: * Intentionally slowing the pace of work. * Breaking tools and equipment. * Actively preserving original culture as a form of defiance.
Organized Resistance: Large-scale efforts included rebellions, most notably the Nat Turner rebellion in $1831$ .
The Underground Railroad: An organized escape network led by Harriet Tubman and other abolitionists.
Maroon Communities: Autonomous communities established in remote areas by escaped enslaved people.

Core Preservation: Enslaved Africans successfully maintained specific cultural elements, including religion, music, and storytelling.
Synthesis of Beliefs: The blending of original African traditions with Christianity created unique cultural practices.
Role of Culture: Cultural retention served as a fundamental tool for both resistance and psychological survival.

Objective: A dedicated social and political movement intended to bring a complete end to the institution of slavery.
Key Figures: Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth were prominent leaders in the movement.
Advocacy Tactics: Leaders used public speeches and written narratives to expose the deep cruelty of the slave system to the public.

The Civil War ( $1861 ext{ – } 1865$ ): Domestic tensions regarding the practice of slavery culminated in the American Civil War.
The Emancipation Proclamation ( $1863$ ): A presidential decree that declared the freedom of enslaved individuals within the Confederate states.
The $13^{th}$ Amendment: The final constitutional amendment that abolished the legal practice of slavery throughout the entire United States.

Socio-Economic Nature: Slavery was simultaneously an economic system and a racialized hierarchy.
Perpetual Agency: Enslaved Africans were in a state of constant resistance against their oppression.
Cultural Utility: Culture was a primary mechanism used to ensure survival under brutal conditions.
Nature of Freedom: Freedom was a state that had to be actively the fought for, rather than a gift that was granted.