Southern Slavery

Indentured Servitude

• ½ to ¾ of all new arrivals to the Chesapeake in the 17th c. were indentured servants—main labor force– Most were single, 18-35 and sold for 4-7 years of their

labor in return for passage to America and their maintenance and support; 80% were male

– Indentured servants did have basic civil rights of all English subjects  

– Received freedom after completion indenture• got an allowance, but not usually any land

– created a class of discontent young men w/o land– move into the backcountry—continued conflict with Indians

Bacon’s Rebellion, 1676• 1676, back-country unrest and political rivalries created

a major conflict in Virginia• The new back-country gentry was at odds in crucial ways

with its tidewater counterparts:– isolated geographically from the colonial government– in constant danger of attack from the Indians– Property owners in the backcountry disliked Berkeley’s

attempts to hold the line of settlement steady so as to avoid antagonizing the Indians.

• Indians in western Va. upset with the continual movement of whites into their lands.– 1675, Doeg Indians raided a western plantation and killed a

white servant. • Bands of local whites retaliated indiscriminately

Bacon’s Rebellion• Nathaniel Bacon demanded that Gov. William Berkeley send the

militia out to pursue Indians– Berkeley refused, and instead ordered the construction of

several new forts in the west• Bacon responded by offering to organize a volunteer army of

back-country men– Berkeley rejected this proposal

• Bacon ignored Berkeley and launched a series of generally unsuccessful attacks on the Indians– Berkeley then dismissed Bacon from the governor's council

and proclaimed him and his men to be rebels.

• Twice, Bacon led his army east to Jamestown. – But his forces were defeated after Bacon died.

• 1677, Doeg Indians signed treaty that opened western lands to white settlement.

Significance of Bacon’s Rebellion• Struggle between Indian and white spheres in Va.

– Unwillingness of English to abide by treaties

• Backcountry-Tidewater rivalry among elites• Problem of free, landless men.

– Most of them former indentured servants, had formed bulk of Bacon's constituency during the rebellion.

• Unable to find work or land, they moved west • a large, unstable, population eager for land.

• Landed elites in BOTH eastern and western Va. began to recognize a common interest in dealing with the problem of landless white men – Seek the African slave trade as a means to fulfill their need

for labor—replace indentured servitude

Slave Trade• Trans-Atlantic slave trade begun by Portuguese

– 1450-1650—small scale; “disposable persons”– 1650-1850—large scale

• By 1850, 1/3 of all persons of African descent lived outside of Africa

• an estimated 10 million Africans captured and sold into slavery

– Most slaves NOT captured by Europeans• traded for with African monarchs for guns, goods

• “Middle passage”—Atlantic crossing;– ‘seasoning’ in the West Indies– ½ of all slaves died before they reached final

destination in Americas

Slavery in Colonial Virginia• First African servants to British North America

arrived at Jamestown, Va. in 1619– status is unclear—were probably indentured servants  

• 1619-1650, there were very few blacks in Va.– 15,000 whites, 300 blacks in Va. in 1648 

• Blacks were distinguished by race in early Va.– 1629, Va. census distinguished blacks and whites– 1640, blacks prohibited from owning firearms– 1640, three runaway servants captured—2 were white, one

was black• whites got 4 years added to indenture; black got life• Blacks begin to be sold for life terms—something no white person

was subject to 

Slavery in Colonial Virginia• 1660s, slavery becoming an established practice in Va.

– As life expectancies increased, slavery became cost-effective– slaves didn’t create a problem of a poor underclass when freed– slaves could reproduce a new generation of laborers– racial slavery bound poor and elite whites together—racial identity

• black skin identified with inferiority and servitude

• Laws passed between 1660 and 1705 codify slavery in Va.– mid-1600s, most blacks in VA were committed to life servitude– 1667 law determined that child would inherit the condition of its mother,

and that baptism had no effect on one’s earthly condition– 1705 slavery was fully codified in VA law

• slaves now legally property/real estate, not men• could be shot on sight (not innocent until proven guilty)• had no right to self-defense• blacks tried in separate courts• Blacks could not testify against whites• Manumission forbidden

Development of Southern Slavery• 1710, slaves made up 30% of Va.’s population

– 1750, they made up 41%

• Slavery soon developed in other Southern colonies– SC had a slave majority by mid- 18th c.

• 1740, slaves accounted for ¼ of the Southern population– 1775, they accounted for 40% of Southern colonial population

• Slavery existed in all 13 colonies before independence– But in 1770, Southern colonies had more than 9 times the number of

slaves as northern colonies

• By 1860 there were 4 million slaves in the South• 385,000 white families (24%) owned at least one slave

– 20% had only 1 slave– 88% had fewer than 20 slaves– 99% owned fewer than 100 slaves– Only 14 families had more than 500 slaves

Slave Work • Slaves involved in every phase of agriculture

– Preparing ground, cultivating the crop and harvesting it

– curing, ginning or milling necessary to get it to market

• Slaves were also involved in almost every econ. activity on large plantations– Some were skilled artisans

• carpenters, blacksmiths, brick masons, tanners, teamsters, distillers

– Others worked in the owners home• cooks, butlers, maids, wet nurses, laundresses  

Work Management• Small farms—owners worked alongside slaves • Large farms—owners usually personally directed

slave work but often appointed a “driver”• Plantations—owners often distant or absent

– Hired an “overseer” to run plantation, control slaves– Overseers supervised drivers

• who were in charge of work gangs of about 10 slaves

• Two basic work schemes existed: – Gang system was prevalent in the cotton kingdom

• Gangs worked from sunup to sundown

– Task system was prevalent in rice and hemp country• Slaves assigned specific tasks to do

Work Motivation• Incentives

– Decent food, housing, time off– Keeping families together– Rewards for loyalty or hard work

• Family gardens, homes, free time

– Special meals– Clothes– Competitions

• Cash prizes, time off, extra food or clothing

• Force– Punishments

• Extra work, cancellation of dances/parties, stocks, separating family, whippings

Hired-out slaves • Most industrial slaves were “hired-out”

– Contracts usually stipulated the term of service, how much “rent” owner would be paid, who would pay slave’s maintenance, and type of work to be done

– A means for owners to both make money and remove the burden of maintenance of a slave

– Some slaves, usually skilled artisans, were even able to hire-out their own time, by which they agreed to pay their master a portion of their wages, while feeding, housing, and clothing themselves

• Other uses of hired slaves: – Planters often hired extra slaves during harvest time– Railroads hired slaves as construction workers– City dwellers often hired slaves as domestic servants

Slave Economy • Many slaves were allowed to earn money

– Selling food• Many slaves raised vegetables, hunted, and fished

– Skilled artisans could sell their goods• woodworking, basket-weaving, broom-making

– Slaves who worked on Sundays master were often paid• La. law even mandated that slaves be paid for Sunday work

– Hired-out slaves often allowed to keep what they earned over their rental fees

– Some slaves purchased their own freedom, and the freedom of their families

Slave Culture • Evidences of African culture in the Americas

– Food• Southern food—grits, rice meals (jambalaya), hot spices

– Crafts• Brooms, baskets, canoes

– Folk Medicine/Conjurers• Mix of medicine, magic, and superstition• Conjurers often held great influence over slaves

– Language• Gullah• Influences on American English—especially Southern dialect

– Folk tales• Used to educate, entertain and vent frustrations

– Music and Dance• secular songs, spirituals, folk songs

Slave Families• Obstacles for slave families:

– Physical proximity• “away” marriages

• Breaking up of families

– Lack of control/protection of the family• Master was the true head of the family

• Husbands could not protect their wives, parents could not protect children from physical/sexual abuse, sale, violence

• Master provided food, shelter

– Legality• Slave marriages had no legal standing

Slave Religion • Before Great Awakening , few slaves were Christians

– After the Awakening, masters began converting slaves• Church the most “Americanizing” institution for slaves

– But slaves often adapted African religious traditions into American Christianity

– Black churches were illegal in the antebellum South• most slaves therefore worshipped with their masters• some masters did allow separate services in the slave quarter

• Religion was both a means to control slaves,– Owners often used the Bible to pacify slaves

• “slaves obey thy master…”

• Religion also a way for slaves to resist– Hope of deliverance– Hymns used to communicate escape routes

Slave Revolts• Stono Rebellion (S.C., 1739)

– Largest slave uprising in colonial British N. America– 60+ people were killed, two-thirds slaves – In response, S.C. passed the Negro Act of 1740

• Gabriel Prosser Conspiracy (Va., 1800)– Revolt undermined by weather and slave betrayal

• Denmark Vesey Conspiracy (S.C, 1822)– Vesey, a free black carpenter, organized 9,000 slaves

and planned an armed attack on Charleston, S.C.– Vesey conspiracy was also betrayed by slaves, and

Vesey was executed along with 34 other conspirators

Nat Turner• Largest slave rebellion in U.S.• 1825 to 1830, Turner was became a

popular slave preacher in Va. – sermons focused on conflict and

liberation

• August 22, 1831, Turner’s uprising began at the Travis home, where he was enslaved– killed everyone in the household.

• Eventually 60 to 70 slaves joined in Turner’s rebellion

• Rebellion lasted almost three days, killed 57 whites, and resulted in deaths of over 100 rebels.

• The uprising intensified both the antislavery movement in North, and the proslavery forces in South.

Slave Resistance• Slave resistance not just armed rebellion.

– Poisoning– slow downs– destruction of property– feigned sickness– Theft– Arson– Infanticide– self-injury– Murder– running away

• Underground Railroad