African Americans by Candace Cardwell

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Slide Notes

African Americans

Published on Dec 08, 2015

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

African Americans

in the Mid-1800's

Photo by UGArdener

By 1850 the population of the United States had risen to 23 million people.

Photo by Eric Fischer

3.6 million of those were African-American

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Most slaves worked on farms or plantations. Only about 70,000 slaves lived in towns or cities.

Photo by Kay Gaensler

There were also communities of free blacks living in the North and South.

Many of these free blacks had bought their freedom, or were the descendants of slave owners.

Photo by mark6mauno

Although they were free, many faced discrimination in employment and education.

After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act they also faced the threat of being sent back to slavery.

Photo by Jim Surkamp

The Economy of Slavery

The great majority of white Southerners did not own slaves.

Photo by J. Tewell

The cotton gin was invented in 1793. It was a machine that separated the seeds from the cotton fiber.

Photo by ellenm1

This made cotton faster to harvest and extremely profitable.

Photo by conekt

In 1790 the South produced 3000 bales of cotton, but by 1850 it was producing 4 million.

Photo by clisenberg

This lead to an increase in demand for slave labor, which in turn led to an increase in the price of slaves.

Photo by Andrew_Writer

In 1860, if the South was its own country, it would have been the fourth richest nation in the world.

Photo by c_ambler

Candace Cardwell

https://www.facebook.com/candace.cardwell.7