Part+1+-+The+World+of+Southern+Blacks

The World of Southern Blacks.

Interactive Activity.

We will start a short activity to see how well people already understand the social structures of the Old South. After each person will be given a description of their social ranking, they should take 5 minutes to talk with others and figure out where in society they stand. Please assemble yourselves in a line from highest to lowest rank. (Please keep in mind that this is according to the conception of whites, and yes we are being racist). //**Note:** Everyone will be given a small prize for participation.//

__**Social rankings**__ **//[descriptions that would have been passed out to everyone]//** A kid slave. Free black in the south. A planter's son who has gone into the military. You are a black person up north. A yeomen farmer. Successful planter. You live along the Cotton Kingdom. A female slave. A planter's son who has gone into trading. An average male slave. You own 50 slaves or more. A black preacher. A domestic slave. Merchant with one slave for domestic work.

__**Social rankings**__ **//[the order that everyone should be in after we correct mistakes]//** You own 50 slaves or more. Successful planter. A planter's son who has gone into the military A planter's son who has gone into trading. You live along the Cotton Kingdom. Merchant with one slave for domestic work. Yeomen farmer. You are a black person up north. Free black in the south. A domestic slave. A black preacher. An average male slave. A female slave. A kid slave.

//*There are a total of 14 different descriptions, so everyone should have one. It would of course be random.*//

After the activity, we will spend time attending to any corrections that need to be made in the line. This will then be explained in my second portion of the lecture.

Lecture Notes.

**Nat Turner's Rebellion: A Turning Point in the Slave South.**
 * August 22, 1831, Southampton County, Virginia, a rebellion of slaves against southern slaveholders took place. A band led by Nat Turner; the result was the death of approximately 60 whites.
 * This marked the day that the whites' attitude on slavery changed, perhaps for the worse.
 * Slaveholders became more cautious and set an increased amount of restrictions to prevent any further rebellions. [they were restricted from assembling without supervision, and denied of any learning opportunities.]
 * They believed ideas from the north were influencing the slaves of the south; ideas that advocated freedom of slaves.

**The Campaign for Repression.**
 * Following the Nat Turner's Rebellion, there was a period of order. Mass murder of whites no longer occurred and violent uprisings ceased to exist.
 * But rebellion did happen, in subtle manners. The blacks refused to succumb to slavery and held their dignity.
 * This strengthened African American culture and helped shape it in some ways.

**The Divided Society of the Old South.**
 * Forced labor was essential to southern society because of the ever expanding agricultural plantation. As the economy depended on agriculture, agriculture depended on slave labor.
 * In order to make profit from staple crops, slave labor was the only choice.
 * The "free" and "unfree" created the divide in races as social status became much more apparent during this time.
 * Social class was determined by two factors: class, and caste.
 * Among the whites, social class was determined by property and region.
 * Because slave labor was both essential for expansion in wealth and expensive, the more you had, the higher your position was in society.
 * The "Cotton Belt" was a region where most of the plantations were centered. This area stretched from Georgia to South Carolina.
 * Unlike many people think, slaveholders were the minority of society. Merely a quarter of the whites had slaves, and even less of them were planters.
 * There were also class divisions within the black community, but it did not prevent them from feeling kinship to one another.
 * There were a small percentage of free slaves.
 * Others were divided into agricultural, domestic, or industrial slaves. (Most of them agricultural).

**The World of Southern Blacks.**
 * African American slaves were constantly told of their obligation to serve whites; whether it was at home or at church.
 * White men did anything to secure the obedience of their slaves. Physical and psychological methods.
 * Slaves were made to go to church where they would be preached false commands; commands that tried to convince them of their purpose on earth.
 * Even through these harsh conditions, African American slaves were able to create a sense of belonging and community with one another; most importantly they kept their sense of dignity.
 * They would show desire for equality and freedom whenever possible.
 * Identified themselves as a people.


 * Slaves' Daily Life and Labor **
 * Slave life varied depending on where and what. Most slaves worked in agriculture but some did work in industry. Many farmers worked in regions of the "Cotton Belt" or "Black Belt" where the plantations were large, and there were many other slaves. Other slaves that worked on small pieces of land worked alongside their masters.
 * Slaves that worked in groups or "gangs" usually had a supervisor and was forced to work the whole day. Slaves on smaller farms, worked without many other slaves and had more control on the pace of work.
 * Slaves did not always follow orders to stick with time on labor, and took the liberty of taking breaks once in awhile.
 * Slaves did other work like digging ditches, building houses, domestic work, etc. Although the whites saw domestic slaves as those of special rank, slaves viewed the preachers, or healers within their community with more importance. (This was because they directly benefited the black community).
 * The minority of slaves worked in industrial work in urban areas. Their work varied a lot more than that of agricultural slaves and had more independence than that of agricultural slaves. They would often make deals with their owner and could work to buy their freedom.


 * Slave Families, Kinship, and Community. **
 * African American families were an essential part of their culture and a factor that has helped stabilize their lives during this period.
 * Family and kins were very important to slaves and depending on where they lived, people were wed, had children, and lived in family structures.
 * Parents shared responsibility for their children and divorce was not common. Separation usually came from death or slave trade.
 * Large plantations with stable slave populations had families for generations, but smaller plantations or farms in the northern south had more frequent slave trading.
 * Families were more often separated, leaving the children in the care of their mother.
 * Nonetheless, family members were of great importance; masters often used family as a means to threaten slaves.
 * The separation of families were hard on African Americans. Many slaves later sought out lost family members, after achieving slavery.
 * Family was important because it built a sense of community for the slaves.
 * There was feeling of kinship not only within direct family relations but with any African Americans on the plantations.
 * Plantations were like an extended family.

**African American Religion.**
 * African American Religion was an important factor in the formation of African American culture. It was incorporation of African culture and their thirst for freedom.
 * The often mentioned scriptures preached on Sundays were about the release of a people: examples are Moses and the deliverance of Hebrews from Egypt, or God delivering his people from the hands of oppressors throughout the Bible.
 * They established the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, where African Americans that were able to break away from the whites' church, would attend.
 * There was also the establishment of "the invisible institution" which was basically a secret underground black Christianity.
 * Most African American religious practices were performed at night.
 * They did not consider white religion a true part of themselves.
 * These religious meetings were highly emotional and loud in voice and motion.
 * They sang songs, danced, chanted, in a mood of revival.
 * There were connections with the preacher and the congregation.
 * Religion was all about feeling the joy of life.
 * Religion also allowed the slaves to feel a sense of community, apart from that of the whites, and without white intervention.


 * Resistance and Rebellion. **
 * There was many uprisings of violent resistance among slaves before Nat Turner's Rebellion. Many slaves were willing to fight for freedom, or die trying.
 * There are many examples of rebellions but the most successful one was in 1835, where the black fugitives fought in the Second Seminole War with the Indians.
 * However, only a tiny fraction of the slave population ever took role in a rebellion. Many thought it was better to subtly rebel instead of pursue death in such a manner.
 * Their ways of rebellion were refusing to work, or getting work done at a slow pace.
 * Running away was also a frequent action taken by slaves, where they would hide out or end up coming back after negotiating with the master.
 * Others, although very few, managed to run away to the north to reach free land.
 * The Underground Railroad was established by free blacks and a few whites to help fugitives escape north.
 * Another method was to sabotage tools, causing the master to use more money on purchasing new ones.
 * Sometimes slaves would even refuse to feed the animals, causing them to die.
 * Most fugitives however, were single males that lived and worked near the northern areas of the south. This is because those in the southern areas had close to no chance of survival, and they could not abandon their families.
 * Free Blacks in the Old South.**
 * Even the free blacks suffered from racial discrimination in the south. Many whites thought that free blacks should not exist, because they need to be disciplined.
 * They established laws requiring free blacks to have a white guardian responsible for their actions and to have paper work proving that they were free.
 * Even free blacks could be subject to slavery if kidnapped and forced.
 * Although free blacks, were well, free, they still related to the slaves and often had relatives still in bondage.
 * Many free blacks tried to fight for freedom of African Americans, or aided them in obtaining freedom through things like the Underground Railroad.
 * However, those free blacks that worked as merchants could not easily rebel against the whites whom they depended on for money.
 * Free blacks were still greatly subjugated to the whites and were even threatened to be enslaved if they did not leave the south.

Primary Source Analysis. **WHAT BECAME OF THE SLAVES ON A GEORGIA PLANTATION?** by Price M. Butler AT **SAVANNAH, GEORGIA** MARCH 2d 3d, 1859. A SEQUEL TO MRS. KEMBLE'S JOURNAL Savannah, Ga. 1863.
 * GREAT ACTION SALE OF SLAVES**

... The negroes looked more uncomfortable than ever; the close confinement in-doors for a number of days, and the drizzly, unpleasant weather, began to tell on their condition. They moved about more listlessly, and were fast losing the activity and springiness they had at first shown. This morning they were all gathered into the long room of the building erected as the "Grand Stand" of the Race-course, that they might be immediately under the eye of the buyers. The room was about a hundred feet long by twenty wide, and herein were crowded the poor creatures, with much of their baggage, awaiting their respective calls to step upon the block and be sold to the highest bidder. This morning Mr. Pierce Butler appeared among his people, speaking to each one, and being recognized with seeming pleasure by all. The men obsequiously pulled off their hats and made that indescribable sliding hitch with the foot which passes with a negro for a bow; and the women each dropped the quick curtsy, which they seldom vouchsafe to any other than their legitimate master and mistress. Occasionally, to a very old or favorite servant, Mr. Butler would extend his gloved hand, which mark of condescension was instantly hailed with grins of delight from all the sable witnesses. ... Mr. Walsh mounted the stand and announced the terms of the sale, "one-third cash, the remainder payable in two equal annual instalments, bearing interest from the day of sale, to be secured by approved mortgage and personal security, or approved acceptances in Savannah, Ga., or Charleston, S. C. Purchasers to pay for papers." The buyers, who were present to the number of about two hundred, clustered around the platform; while the negroes, who were not likely to be immediately wanted, gathered into sad groups in the back-ground, to watch the progress of the selling in which they were so sorrowfully interested. The wind howled outside, and through the open side of the building the driving rain came pouring in; the bar down stairs ceased for a short time its brisk trade; the buyers lit fresh cigars, got ready their catalogues and pencils, and the first lot of human chattels was led upon the stand, not by a white man, but by a sleek mulatto, himself a slave, and who seems to regard the selling of his brethren, in which he so glibly assists, as a capital joke. It had been announced that the negroes would be sold in "families," that is to say, a man would not be parted from his wife, or a mother from a very young child. There is perhaps as much policy as humanity in this arrangement, for thereby many aged and unserviceable people are disposed of, who otherwise would not find a ready sale. ... ... It seems as if every shade of character capable of being implicated in the sale of human flesh and blood was represented among the buyers. There was the Georgia fast young man, with his pantaloons tucked into his boots, his velvet cap jauntily dragged over to one side, his cheek full of tobacco, which he bites from a huge plug, that resembles more than anything else an old bit of a rusty wagon tire, and who is altogether an animal of quite a different breed from your New York fast man. His ready revolver, or his convenient knife, is ready for instant use in case of heated argument. White-neck-clothed, gold-spectacled, and silver-haired old men were there, resembling in appearance that noxious breed of sanctimonious deacons we have at the North, who are perpetually leaving documents at your door that you never read, and the business of whose mendicant life it is to eternally solicit subscriptions for charitable associations, of which they are treasurers. These gentry, with quiet step and subdued voice, moved carefully about among the live stock, ignoring, as a general rule, the men, but tormenting the women with questions which, when accidentally overheard by the disinterested spectator, bred in that spectator's mind an almost irresistible desire to knock somebody down. And then, all imaginable varieties of rough, backwoods rowdies, who began the day in a spirited manner, but who, as its hours progressed, and their practice at the bar became more prolific in results, waxed louder and talkier and more violent, were present, and added a characteristic feature to the assemblage. Those of your readers who have read "Uncle Tom,"--and who has not?--will remember, with peculiar feelings, Legree, the slave-driver and woman-whipper. That that character is not been overdrawn, or too highly colored, there is abundant testimony. Witness the subjoined dialogue: A party of men were conversing on the fruitful subject of managing refractory "niggers;" some were for severe whipping, some recommending branding, one or two advocated other modes of torture, but one huge brute of a man, who had not taken an active part in the discussion, save to assent, with approving nod, to any unusually barbarous proposition, at last broke his silence by saying, in an oracular way, "You may say what you like about managing niggers; I'm a driver myself, and I've had some experience, and I ought to know. You can manage ordinary niggers by lickin' 'em, and givin' 'em a taste of the hot iron once in awhile when they're extra ugly; but if a nigger really sets himself up against me, I can't never have any patience with him. I just get my pistol and shoot him right down; and that's the best way." ... ...The expression on the faces of all who stepped on the block was always the same, and told of more anguish than it is in the power of words to express. Blighted homes, crushed hopes and broken hearts, was the sad story to be read in all the anxious faces. Some of them regarded the sale with perfect indifference, never making a motion, save to turn from one side to the other at the word of the dapper Mr. Bryan, that all the crowd might have a fair view of their proportions, and then, when the sale was accomplished, stepped down from the block without caring to cast even a look at the buyer, who now held all their happiness in his hands. Others, again, strained their eyes with eager glances from one buyer to another as the bidding went on, trying with earnest attention to follow the rapid voice of the auctioneer. Sometimes, two persons only would be bidding for the same chattel, all the others having resigned the contest, and then the poor creature on the block, conceiving an instantaneous preference for one of the buyers over the other, would regard the rivalry with the intensest interest, the expression of his face changing with every bid, settling into a half smile of joy if the favorite buyer persevered unto the end and secured the property, and settling down into a look of hopeless despair if the other won the victory. ...
 * THE SALE. **

__**Analysis Questions.**__ **//[Objectives for reading the following document]//**
 * 1.** Analyze the situation in which this document was written.
 * 2.** Be able to fully understand the condition of slave trading during this period.
 * 3.** Analyze the possible reason for writing this document.

__**For more primary sources visit:**__ http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/psources/slavery.html