Chapter 11: The Peculiar Institution

1. Portuguese Slave Ship Diligente (1838)

• Painted by a British naval officer, capturing an illegal voyage of a Portuguese slave ship carrying 600 enslaved Africans.

• Atlantic Slave Trade Outlawed: The international slave trade was abolished, but enforcement depended heavily on British naval patrols.

2. Frederick Douglass

• Born into slavery in 1818, later escaped and became a leading abolitionist and advocate for racial equality.

• Early Life and Literacy: Taught himself to read after his owner’s wife began teaching him, realizing knowledge as a “pathway from slavery to freedom.”

• Escape to the North (1838): Used borrowed papers to flee to freedom.

• Achievements: Published a widely-read autobiography, criticized slavery and racism, and argued for true American freedom principles.

• Active in Women’s Rights and various reform movements, challenging hypocrisy of celebrating freedom while enslaving others.

3. The Old South and "Peculiar Institution"

• Peculiar Institution: Term describing slavery as unique to the southern United States post-abolition in the North.

• Mason-Dixon Line: Boundary dividing free and slave states.

• Slavery spread westward after the American Revolution and continued growing until nearly 4 million enslaved people lived in the South by 1860.

4. "Cotton is King"

• Cotton's Rise: Became the world's leading crop produced by enslaved labor, replacing sugar.

• International Dependence: Three-quarters of the world’s cotton came from the southern U.S., fueling textile industries globally.

• Cotton generated significant revenue, financing industrial and economic development in the U.S.

• Economic Value: In 1860, the slave population was valued higher than the nation's factories, railroads, and banks combined.

5. The Second Middle Passage

• Domestic slave trade expanded after the African slave trade was banned in 1808, with over 2 million enslaved people sold between 1820 and 1860.

• Slave Markets and Auctions: Major commercial districts held auctions; southern banks, newspapers, and transportation systems were deeply integrated into the slave trade.

6. Impact of Slavery on the Nation

• Shaped lives of both Black and white Americans and influenced political, economic, and social structures.

• Northern merchants, manufacturers, and bankers profited from the slave economy through shipping, financing, and producing goods related to cotton.

7. The Southern Economy

• Upper vs. Lower South: The Upper South had diversified economies, while the Lower South was cotton-dependent.

• Impact on Development: Limited industrial growth and urbanization in the South; discouraged immigration and innovation.

• New Orleans: Major port city for cotton and the only significant Southern city, crucial to both national and international trade.

8. Plain Folk of the Old South

• Majority of white Southerners owned no slaves and lived isolated, subsistence-based lives, often resenting the elite “slavocracy.”

• Despite divisions, common racial solidarity and regional loyalty reinforced their acceptance of slavery.

9. The Planter Class

• Plantation Owners: Controlled wealth, fertile lands, and political power; dominated Southern life.

• Paternalism: Plantation owners saw themselves as caretakers of their “dependents” (women, children, and enslaved people).

• Plantation Mistresses: Managed household slaves and plantation duties, embodying traditional Southern femininity.

• Wealth Disparity: Fewer than 2,000 families owned 100+ slaves; planters shaped Southern values and governance.

10. The Paternalist Ethos

• Paternalism: Justified by planters as a responsibility to care for their dependents; reinforced loyalty and obedience from enslaved people.

• Viewed themselves as benevolent figures despite brutal realities of buying and selling enslaved people as property.

11. The Proslavery Argument

• Racism: Belief in Black inferiority and the “natural” order of slavery; essential to preserving white equality and avoiding "menial" jobs.

• Biblical Justifications: Some defenders cited scripture to legitimize slavery.

• Fear of Abolition: Linked to maintaining social order and economic security.

• Southern Exceptionalism: Leaders like John C. Calhoun and George Fitzhugh argued that true freedom for whites required Black slavery, challenging ideas of liberty and equality.

12. Abolition in the Americas

• Other Western Hemisphere nations, such as Spanish America and Britain, abolished slavery in the early 1800s.

• Southern slaveholders criticized British emancipation, claiming it was economically detrimental.

• Abolitionists countered by highlighting improved living standards, education, and freedoms among emancipated individuals.

13. Slavery and Liberty in Southern Ideology

• Southern leaders claimed descent from the American Revolution’s ideals but increasingly rejected the notion of universal liberty.

• Calhoun and Fitzhugh: Rejected “liberty and equality” as applicable only to whites; argued that slavery was the foundation of Southern freedom and social stability.

These notes capture key themes, vocabulary, and events from Chapter 11, detailing the economic, social, and ideological dimensions of slavery in the Old South and its broader national impact.

Here are detailed notes on the topics covered, with key vocabulary and events highlighted:

Life Under Slavery

• Definition of Slavery: The "peculiar institution" of slavery in the U.S. was marked by relentless labor, severe punishment, and a constant fear of family separation through sale.

• Slaves as Property: Under the law, slaves were legally considered property, with very limited rights. Owners had the right to sell, lease, or punish slaves at their discretion.

• Legal Protections and Limitations:

  • Killing a slave was illegal except in self-defense.

  • Slaves accused of serious crimes could have a day in court but were tried before all-white judges and juries.

  • Laws were inconsistently enforced, often leaving slaves vulnerable to their masters' will.

  • Legal Restrictions: Slaves could not:

    • Testify in court against whites

    • Sign contracts or acquire property

    • Own firearms

    • Hold unsupervised meetings

    • Leave plantations without permission

  • By the 1830s, teaching slaves to read and write was illegal in most states, but some slave-owning families still provided education to a few children.

  • Louisiana Law: Enforced a code of absolute obedience from slaves, including control over their personal lives and relationships.

Slaves and the Law: Famous Case

• Celia’s Case (1855): A Missouri court sentenced Celia, a slave who killed her master during a sexual assault, to death. Despite a state law allowing women to act in self-defense, the court ruled that Celia was not legally a "woman" but property under her master’s control. Her execution was delayed until her child was born, ensuring the owner’s heirs received "property rights."

Conditions of Slave Life

• Comparative Conditions: American slaves had comparatively better diets, lower infant mortality, and higher life expectancy than slaves in the West Indies or Brazil, partly because:

  • Southern geography limited the spread of tropical diseases like malaria and yellow fever.

  • The high price of slaves after the end of the African slave trade incentivized owners to protect their investment.

• Restrictions on Freedom:

  • In Brazil and other places, manumission (freeing slaves) was more common; in the U.S., voluntary manumission became restricted, requiring legislative approval.

  • The South systematically closed off most paths to freedom for slaves, ensuring lifelong servitude.

Free Blacks in the Old South

• Demographics: On the eve of the Civil War, nearly half a million free Blacks lived in the U.S., most in the South.

• Origins: Many free Blacks were descendants of slaves freed after the American Revolution or by gradual emancipation laws in the North. Others bought their freedom or escaped.

• Legal and Social Limitations:

  • Free Blacks could legally own property and marry but faced many restrictions similar to those on enslaved people.

  • They were denied political rights, could not testify against whites in court, and often had to carry certificates proving their free status.

  • By the 1850s, southern states passed laws barring free Blacks from entering or even forced them to leave.

• Community:

  • In cities like New Orleans and Charleston, prosperous free Black communities emerged, with many educated artisans and tradespeople.

  • Upper South: Free Blacks primarily worked as farm laborers, often side by side with slaves.

Slave Labor

• Labor System: Slavery was fundamentally an enforced labor system, with slaves working "from sunup to first dark" with brief breaks for meals.

• Labor on Plantations:

  • Large plantations employed slaves in diverse roles beyond field labor, including as butlers, blacksmiths, shoemakers, and domestic workers.

  • About 75% of enslaved women and 90% of men worked in the fields, especially in the Cotton Belt.

• Labor Organization:

  • Gang System: Common on large plantations, especially in cotton and sugar fields. Labor was organized in gangs, often overseen by brutal "overseers" or slave "drivers."

  • Task System: Used on rice plantations in South Carolina and Georgia, allowing slaves more autonomy by assigning daily tasks rather than continuous labor.

Slavery in the Cities

• Urban Slave Labor:

  • City slaves worked in domestic service, industry, and skilled trades.

  • Some urban slaves could "hire their own time," negotiating work with employers, though most wages went to the owner.

  • The independence of urban slaves increasingly concerned owners, leading many to sell urban slaves to rural plantations by the 1850s.

Maintaining Order

• Discipline and Punishment:

  • Masters wielded near-total control over slaves, often using violence, particularly whipping, to enforce obedience.

  • Minor infractions could result in severe punishment.

• Divisions Among Slaves:

  • Owners encouraged divisions between field hands and house slaves, often rewarding good work with incentives like time off.

• Threat of Sale: The possibility of being sold away from family and community was one of the most effective tools for controlling slaves.

Slave Culture

• Desire for Freedom: Slaves consistently held onto a desire for freedom and resisted white control despite severe oppression.

• Semi-Independent Culture: Created a unique culture focused on family and church, allowing them to endure slavery without losing self-esteem or identity.

• African Heritage: Slave culture combined African traditions (music, dance, herbal medicine) with new American experiences, creating a unique, resilient identity.

• Economic Contribution: Slaves primarily worked in cotton, but also cultivated rice, sugarcane, tobacco, and hemp, essential to the Southern and national economy.

Slave Family

• Family Structure: Central to slave communities; U.S. slaves, with a more balanced gender ratio, could often form families, unlike in the Caribbean.

• Marriage Ceremonies: "Jumping the broomstick" symbolized marriage, though slave marriages weren’t legally recognized and could be disrupted by sale.

• Naming Practices: Children were often named after relatives to preserve family continuity across generations.

• Disrupted Households: High frequency of female-headed households and surrogate parenting (e.g., grandparents, other relatives) due to family separations from sale.

The Threat of Sale

• Powerful Weapon: Threatening to sell family members was a key means of control used by slaveholders, deeply feared within the slave community.

• Domestic Slave Trade: Expanded with the Cotton Kingdom, disrupting about 1 in 3 slave marriages in slave-selling states.

• Advertisements for Sales: Notices often advertised slaves individually or in lots, prioritizing buyer preference over family preservation.

• Psychological Impact: Constant fear of separation by sale profoundly impacted family and community bonds among slaves.

Gender Roles Among Slaves

• Different Roles Under Slavery: Unlike white society's "cult of domesticity," enslaved women and men shared similar hardships and labor, as both worked in the fields.

• Limited Protection: Men couldn’t protect their families from abuse by overseers or dictate their children’s labor.

• Own Time Roles: On personal time, men engaged in hunting, wood-cutting, and fishing, while women handled domestic tasks, child-rearing, and garden plots (where allowed).

• Economic Contributions: Women often managed garden plots to supplement rations, supporting family self-sufficiency within limited means.

Slave Religion

• Christianity as Solace: A distinct Christian belief system provided hope, emphasizing liberation and equality.

• Great Awakening Influence: Many slaves and free blacks converted during the Great Awakening and participated in Baptist and Methodist movements.

• Role of Black Preachers: Plantation communities often had "self-called" preachers who became respected leaders despite limited education.

• Spiritual Themes of Freedom: Biblical stories like Exodus inspired slaves, reinforcing a sense of eventual divine deliverance.

• Conflict in Messages: White ministers often used Christianity to promote obedience, but slaves repurposed the faith to strengthen their cultural resistance.

The Desire for Liberty

• Injustice and Freedom Longing: Slave culture was rooted in a shared sense of injustice, with cultural expressions (songs, stories) embodying the hope for freedom.

• Oral Tradition: Folk tales, such as Brer Rabbit stories, emphasized outsmarting the powerful instead of direct confrontation.

• Communication Networks: Despite restrictions, slaves spread information through networks and kept informed on abolitionist movements and political issues.

Resistance to Slavery

• Forms of Resistance:

  • Day-to-Day Resistance ("Silent Sabotage"): Included minor acts like poor work, breaking tools, and animal mistreatment to disrupt plantation operations.

  • Theft and Sabotage: Food theft was common; acts like arson, poisoning, and physical attacks were less frequent but more severe.

  • Runaways: Escape attempts were difficult; fugitives often went north or sought sanctuary in cities or remote areas (e.g., swamps, among Seminoles).

  • Underground Railroad: Led by figures like Harriet Tubman, it provided escape routes and assistance, mainly in the Upper South.

Key Events in Slave Resistance

• The Amistad (1839): Enslaved Africans seized the Spanish ship Amistad, intending to return to Africa; ultimately freed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

• The Creole (1841): Another sea revolt led by Madison Washington, with escapees reaching British Bahamas, where they received asylum.

Major Slave Revolts

1. Gabriel's Rebellion (1800): Organized by a Virginia slave; disrupted before it began, but heightened fear among whites.

2. Louisiana Rebellion (1811): 500 slaves marched toward New Orleans, creating widespread panic; met with militia resistance.

3. Denmark Vesey’s Plot (1822): Free black carpenter Vesey planned an uprising in Charleston, blending Christian and revolutionary ideals; thwarted before execution.

4. Nat Turner's Rebellion (1831):

   • Led by slave preacher Nat Turner in Virginia.

   • Rebellion led to the death of 60 whites; Turner captured and executed.

   • Aftermath led to stricter laws on black rights, suppressing freedoms further in the South.

Effects of Slave Revolts and Resistance

• Legal Crackdown: The Virginia legislature imposed severe restrictions post-Turner rebellion (e.g., banning black preachers, firearm ownership, and literacy).

• Suppression of Dissent: Southern states increasingly suppressed anti-slavery sentiment, criminalized abolitionist activities, and censored free speech.

• Isolation of the South: By the 1830s, southern society closed ranks to defend slavery, leading to intensified proslavery ideology and legislation.