PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Notebook Setup
- Create a T- Chart
- Left Side Controlling Slaves
- Right Side Ways Slave Resisted
Slavery was a cruel system. Slave owners had almost COMPLETE CONTROL over a slave’s life. Slaves COULD NOT LEAVE the plantation without permission. Slave owners decided HOW AND WHEN SLAVES WORKED. Slave owners even decided IF A SLAVE COULD MARRY. Slave owners created slave codes, or laws, to control the behavior of slaves. These laws made life difficult for slaves.
Enslaved people resisted slavery in different ways. Some REFUSED TO OBEY their owners. Others WORKED SLOWLY or BROKE TOOLS. Many resisted rules that kept them ignorant. Slaves were not allowed to learn to read and write. Some slaves LEARNED IN SECRET. Others risked their lives TRYING TO ESCAPE to freedom.
By 1860 about 4.5 million African Americans lived in the United States. Most lived in the South and were slaves. Most free African Americans lived in cities. Even though these people were free, many feared losing their freedom. Any white person could accuse an African American of being a slave. African Americans needed a special paper to prove they were free. Without this paper, they could be returned to slavery in the South. Laws and threats made it difficult for free African Americans to find certain jobs. Still, many free blacks found jobs and bought property.
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- performed acts of cruelty
- broke the tools they used
- learned to read
- required permission to leave plantation
- used physical punishment
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- pretended to be sick
- separated family members
- enforced slave codes
- formed the Underground Railroad
- worked slowly
The Struggle Over Slavery
Missouri Compromise
In 1819 there were 11 free states and 11
slave states. The people of Missouri asked to become a slave state. Southern states agreed with the people of Missouri. Northern states did not.
Some Southern leaders believed in states’ rights and felt that states should decide whether to allow slavery. The Missouri Compromise was a solution. Missouri became a slave state, and Maine became a free state. New states north of a line drawn westward would be free states and those south of it could allow slavery.
The Compromise of 1850
California asked to become a free state in 1849. Then there would be more free states than slave states. The Compromise of 1850 allowed California to become a free state. In return Northern states had to pass the Fugitive Slave Law. The compromise also affected people in the territories won from Mexico. These people could vote on whether they wanted to allow slavery.