AAAD 150 1nd Edition Lecture 8 Outline of Last Lecture I Frederick Douglas and Dred Scott Decision Outline of Current Lecture II The Enslaved Lay the Foundations of the American Economy III Enslaved Laborers IV Domestic Slave Trade V Slavery A Dehumanizing Institution Current Lecture I The Enslaved Lay the Foundations of the American Economy Uncle Tom s Cabin o Classic novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe o Enslaved Christian martyr Tom transcends enslavement through good works and eventually a beating o Tom loves his fellow slaves as much as his white owners o Uncle Tom came to characterize as an African American who loved whites and betrayed blacks Today Many black Americans are looking closely at historical meaning of slavery and the live of people who were enslaved Slaves supplied foundation of American economy in three ways o 1 Basic commodity in New England West India trade o 2 Workers producing agricultural commodities for market o 3 Property Atlantic Slave Trade made any mercantile fortune Slaves grew crops that Americans exported Slaves were property that could be bought and sold Slaves fed American and British economies and made industrial revolution possible in both countries Vast majority of slave owners white 19th century Southern slave based economy o Created gaps in wealth and poverty These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute II III IV Enslaved Laborers Children Work in house until age 7 and in fields by 10 Slaves did agricultural work alongside their owners Brute force and constant surveillance kept involuntary unpaid workers on the job an steady at work 17 18th century Owners gave cruel punishments for unsatisfactory work o Branding chaining maiming castration and whipping Women Children Worked in house and field Slavery did not create different classes among enslaved Slavery had Sundays to themselves to attend church etc Class formation began among African Americans after emancipation o Freedom granted earning wages owning property and marrying legally Domestic Slave Trade Commerce to buy and sell people Satisfied two economic needs o 1 Allowed the division of slave owner s property to pay off debt o 2 Workers could be sold to farmers and planters in the newer regions in need of labor All owners engaged in eugenic practices o Rewarding women who bore children regularly and selling women who didn t Well over a million people were forcibly transported within US before emancipation Slave families were broken all the time and could be severed even without members being sold Slavery A Dehumanizing Institution Slaves retained humanity due to family support and religion Physical Trauma o Brutal forms of physical punishment was a means to control slaves o Emotional pain to watch family members get beaten o Slaves suffered chronic conditions caused by overwork lack of food etc o Slave Lynching Psychological Trauma o Trauma due to violence obedience and submission o Slaves not allowed to think for themselves o Not allowed to show anger when witnessing physical violence o Slaves described as stutterers depressed and withdrawn having periods of uncontrollable rage o Some suffer post traumatic stress syndrome and ended up inflicting pain on kin What Slavery Cost Slaves o Slaver cost slaves income and wealth Made no wages o No legal right to hold property o Not able to send money back to African villages to families o Education for slaves in out of school was illegal Some mistresses helped slave children learn letters ex Frederick Douglas o Could not find better situation working conditions or share purchase any businesses o Slaves became cold people who only looked out for themselves even at cost of fellow slaves o Slaves without support started to give up fight and lapsed in degradation depression opportunism desperation and apathy The Value System that Slaves took from Slavery o Created alternatives to ideology of culture Race solidarity o Worked hard to create and maintain a supportive black community o Slaves rejected conventions regarding racial inferiority o Ability to see that the whites were technically inferior helped them realize the exploitation behind liberty and democracy Family and Religion as Protection Against Dehumanization o 2 foundations of positive black identity 1 Family 2 Religion Families gave their members an identity besides being a slave Black religion gave them hope that suffering would soon come to an end Slave religion created spirituals Reminded them of a better place after death Slaves valued each other as people and not as property