Section 1 Blacks in Colonial America

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African Americans Help Create a New Nation

• Section 1 Blacks in Colonial America
• Section 2 The Revolutionary War Era
• Section 3 Citizenship in the New Nation
• Section 4 African American Culture

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Section 1 Blacks in Colonial America
Main Idea Despite protests, slavery existed in
some form in all the English colonies in North
America, though slaves were treated differently
in various regions.

• Reading Focus
• Why was slavery central to the economy of the
  southern colonies?
• What role did slaves play in the middle colonies?
• How were slaves treated in the New England
  colonies?

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Building Background
To understand the role of African Americans, both
slave and free, in the development of the United
States, we have to remember that the country
began as a cluster of English colonies. By 1700
these colonies could be divided into three groups
characterized more by regional differences than
by similarities. As a result, the accomplishments
and treatment of African Americans varied
dramatically according to the region in which
they lived. In all regions, however, Americas
development as a country was clearly due in part
to African Americans forced labor.
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The Southern Colonies
Slaverys firmest hold in the southern
coloniesNorth and South Carolina, Maryland,
Virginia, and Georgia. By 1708 Virginia imported
1,000 slaves each year South Carolina had black
majority by 1760.

• Plantation system
• Economics ruled south with large profitable
  estatesplantations
• Grew cash crops for high prices in Europe
• Sold tobacco, rice, cotton, and indigo, a dark
  blue dye

• Labor intensive
• Slaves provided labor were the backbone of
  southern colonial economy
• Without slaves economy would collapse

• More cash crops
• Demand for crops grew planters bought more land,
  needed more slaves
• Vicious cycle kept institution of slavery strong
  in the South for years

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Slaves on Plantations

• Treatment
• Large plantation hundreds of slaves beasts of
  burden
• Whipped and beaten forced to work six days in
  the fields
• Many died from exhaustion and malnutrition
• Slept in tiny cabins crammed with people some
  only allowed shoes in winter
• Brutal overseers supervised

• Strict rules
• Governed behavior by strict rules, needed written
  permission to leave plantation
• Breaking rules resulted in severe punishments
• Some planters saw themselves as father figures
  viewed slaves almost as children such slaves
  were not beaten but were still forced to work
  long hours with no freedom

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Slaves on Smaller Southern Farms

• Not everyone lived on plantations
• Majority of farms were small family operations
• Only ten percent of the Souths population lived
  on plantations
• That ten percent owned ninety percent of the
  regions wealth
• Slavery not confined to plantations
• Small southern farms had slaves
• Most farmers owned only one or two slaves
• Owners often worked side by side in fields with
  slaves shared labor
• These slaves not treated as poorly as slaves on
  large plantations

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Slave Revolts

• Slaves took action
• As early as 1660s, Virginia slaves planned
  revolts against masters some plans discovered
  before revolts carried out, others took place
  with slaveholders killed
• Two slave ship revolts made ships turn back to
  Africa

• Fear grew
• Planters feared being in minority some tried to
  restrict or ban entry of new slaves
• Planters still wanted practice of slavery but in
  controlled numbers British refused to halt
  profitable slave trade

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Reading Check
Explain Why did slavery take such a firm hold in
the southern colonies?
Answer(s) The Souths economy was based on
plantation agriculture, and slaves provided the
labor necessary for a plantation to be successful.
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The Middle Colonies

• Slavery permitted
• Middle coloniesDelaware, Pennsylvania, New
  Jersey, and New York
• Slavery not central to economy

• Economies of colonies
• Based on trade, manufacturing not agriculture no
  plantations for slaves to work on
• Worked construction or in factories, lumber camps

• Big cities
• Highly skilled slaves trained in certain crafts
• Skilled slave could work as mason, shipwright,
  goldsmith or glazier

• Indentured servants
• Business owners sought other labor sources
  manual labor done by indentured servants
• Worked for passage and place to live for set
  period of time

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Objections to Idea of Slavery

• Indentured servants used as laborers
• Many in middle colonies objected to idea of
  slavery
• Two religious groups prominent in Pennsylvania
  objected
• Quakers and Mennonites
• Members of both groups published works
  criticizing slavery
• Viewed as evil institution against Gods law
• First official protest
• Came from group of Quakers in 1688 declaring
  views against slavery
• Germantown residents appalled at thought of
  Christians owning slaves
• Protest had little widespread effect
• Set precedent for other Quaker and Mennonite
  settlements

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• Treatment of slaves
• Slaves in middle colonies treated poorly
• Highly skilled ones could avoid rough treatment,
  but construction and factory workers not spared
• Evidence of this found in 1991 in Manhattan grave
  excavations

• Remains of old graveyard
• 400 African slaves buried there remains sent for
  research
• Howard Universitys forensic work revealed slaves
  worked to death had deformed muscles and broken
  bones
• One woman buried with shells and belt of beads
  thought to be local noblewoman who had been
  kidnapped and sold as slave

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Reading Check
Summarize Why were there fewer slaves in the
middle colonies than in the South?
Answer(s) The middle colonies had no plantations
and thus less need for labor. Indentured servants
did much of the work.
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New England Colonies

• Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New
  Hampshire
• Slavery less common in the North
• Slaves worked in cities building houses and other
  structures
• Restrictions placed on their activities still
  had more rights than in other areas
• Allowances
• Could gather together to socialize
• In places could participate in certain community
  events
• Held elections for kings and governors these
  were prestige positions with no power

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Slavery immoral

• New Englanders opposed
• Many felt slavery immoral protested against it
• Puritan minister Cotton Mather argued in late
  1600s that Africans were people who deserved to
  be freed refusing to do so was unchristian

• Treatment of slaves
• Treatment better in New England but slavery
  remained evil institution
• Some worked slaves harshly and limited their
  rights
• Many northern business owners were active
  participants in slave trade transported and sold
  captured Africans

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Reading Check
Analyze What criticisms did New Englanders level
against the institution of slavery?
Answer(s) They thought slavery was immoral and
unchristian.
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Section 2 The Revolutionary War Era
Main Idea African Americans played major roles
in the struggle for American independence from
Great Britain, a struggle that led many Americans
to call for an end to slavery.

• Reading Focus
• What caused the growing dispute between Great
  Britain and its American colonies?
• What freedoms did Americans call for in the late
  1700s?
• What roles did African Americans play in the
  American Revolution?

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Building Background
As African American slaves toiled to help the
American colonies grow, so did the British
colonies toil to keep the British Empire growing.
Over time, however, resentment arose in the
American colonies toward the mother country.
Before long, the colonists rose up in rebellion
and declared their independence from Great
Britain.
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The Growing Dispute with Great Britain

• Several factors influenced conflict between
  American colonies and British government
• Many economic factors
• Colonies established to bring riches to Great
  Britain
• British crown wanted as much money as possible
• Passed Navigation Acts as way to get money
• All goods to or from colonies to be transported
  on British ships
• Goods shipped to colonies must go to Britain
  first to be taxed
• Colonists did not like regulations regulations
  made goods more expensive

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The French and Indian War

• Colonies expensive
• Colonies cost British money
• Fought expensive French and Indian War from 1754
  and 1763
• British won the war
• Drove French almost completely out of North
  America
• Canada became British colony

• Expensive victory
• British now with much larger empire in North
  America
• Had to pay administrators to run new territories
• Needed more soldiers to defend new territories
• Faced with growing expenses British turned
  attention to financial matters

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New Laws
As part of efforts to increase revenue, British
created new taxes. The Sugar Act and the Stamp
Act were examples of fund-raising product taxes.

• Sugar Act
• Taxed sugar and molasses from the West Indies
• Tax very unpopular in the North
• Molasses key ingredient in making rum for export

• Stamp Act
• Colonists must buy government stamps for all
  documents
• Included contracts, licenses, newspapers, and
  playing cards
• Colonists angered

• Colonists respond
• Some chose to boycott, refusing to buy British
  goods
• Fewer sales meant less profit for British
  merchants
• The Acts remained in force

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Protests

• Dislike of British
• Some colonists felt British troops were a direct
  threat to their safety
• One active protest led to Boston Massacre after
  soldiers fired into crowd
• African American Crispus Attucks among five dead
  became symbol of revolution

• More protests followed
• Boston Tea Party staged in 1773 as protest
  against new tea tax
• British responded with stricter laws intended to
  restore order in colonies
• Plans backfired new laws stirred up colonists to
  resist further

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Reading Check
Summarize Why did the colonists come to resent
the British government?
Answer(s) They felt their rights were being
ignored and they were bring taxed unfairly.
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Calls for Freedom

• Freedom for all
• Protests led to calls for freedom
• Not only colonial independence from Britain
• Some called for end to slavery

• The Outbreak of War
• Slavery question raised at First Continental
  Congress of 1774
• Called to unify protests led to temporary ban
  against slavery to hurt British merchants

• Revolutionary War begins
• April 1775 battles at Lexington and Concord
• Beginning of Revolutionary War, fight for
  independence from Britain

• Congress convened
• Second Continental Congress convened
• First actions to raise armed forces to fight
  British

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The Declaration of Independence

• Many colonial leaders felt time to officially
  declare independence
• Result was writing of the Declaration of
  Independence
• Written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776
• Stated that all people were equal and had certain
  rights
• Since King had violated those rights, colonists
  could rebel
• Jeffersons first draft included one other reason
  to rebel against George III
• King responsible for slavery in colonies
• Jeffersons vocal opposition to slavery angered
  fellow southerners
• They refused to approve Declaration with this
  passage included
• Criticism of slavery removed from the Declaration
• Document sent to King George without mention of
  slavery

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• Growing Opposition to Slavery
• Along with protests against British rule, some
  colonists protested slavery as well
• Made no sense to fight for own freedom while
  denying slaves theirs
• Paine and Franklin spoke in favor of banning
  slavery

• Historys voices
• James Otis, leader of anti-British protests
  wrote
• Can any logical inference in favor of slavery be
  drawn
• Eloquent protests in favor of eliminating slavery
  did little
• The practice of slavery continued and life
  remained same for African Americans in colonies

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Reading Check
Sequence What steps did the colonists take in
declaring their independence?
Answer(s) They met at the First Continental
Congress, fought the British in Lexington and
Concord before issuing the Declaration of
Independence, and then met at the Second
Continental Congress.
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African Americans in the American Revolution

• African Americans volunteered to fight when war
  broke out
• Colonists, mainly in the South, feared prospect
  of armed slaves many white northerners argued
  slaves should have freedom after war if the
  slaves fight against British
• African American Patriots
• Virginia allowed free blacks to enlist by 1775
  Washington accepted black soldiers with previous
  military experience in 1776
• Congress officially authorized recruitment of
  slave or free black men in 1777
• With that authorization several states began
  active recruitment

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Black Soldiers

• Not all by choice
• Some slaves sent by owners to fight in their
  places owners preferred to risk lives of slaves
  rather than own necks
• Some free blacks hired to fight in place of
  others
• Majority were in search of freedom state
  governments promised freedom to slaves who
  fought slaves enlisted by the hundreds

• Numbers of soldiers
• Historians estimate as many as one quarter of
  soldiers were black
• At Bunker Hill, five percent of troops were black
• Soldiers of note Peter Salem and James Armistead
• Many blacks distinguished themselves in battle

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Black Soldiers in the British Army

• British also recruited black soldiers
• British Governor Lord Dinsmore promised freedom
  to slaves who ran away and reached the British
  army
• Tens of thousands of slaves took advantage of
  offer
• They left farms and plantations
• Flocked to British lines
• 1,000 or so slaves took up arms and fought with
  British army
• Far more (20,000) contributed to British war
  effort as support, serving as nurses, cooks, and
  general laborers

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After the War

• Surrender
• Revolutionary War continued for eight years
• Major victory by Americans at Yorktown in 1781
• Led British to finally surrender
• Treaty of Paris signed in Paris on September 3,
  1783
• War was over

• Freedom won
• No longer colonists of Britain
• Many now called for freedom earned by African
  Americans during the war
• Southern slave owners determined to maintain
  slave system
• Freedom just a word to 680,000 African Americans

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Reading Check
Explain How did both the Patriots and the
British try to win the support of slaves?
Answer(s) Both sides promised freedom to slaves
in exchange for their support.
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Section 3 Citizenship in the New Nation
Main Idea Debates over the morality of slavery
and opportunities for free blacks were major
issues in the years after the American Revolution.

• Reading Focus
• How did peoples attitudes toward African
  Americans change after the American Revolution?
• What opportunities were available in free black
  communities?
• How was the question of slavery addressed in the
  writing of the Constitution?

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Building Background
By the time George Washington became the first
president in 1789, the countrys population had
reached about 3.5 million. Of that population,
about 730,000 peoplenearly 20 percentwere
black. With the signing of the Constitution and
the creation of a new government, black people in
the North gained new rights and privileges. In
the South, however, the institution of slavery
continued, and black people were not considered
citizens at all.
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Changing Attitudes toward African Americans

• New government took shape after American
  Revolution
• Basis was the state
• Each state wrote own constitution and created own
  system of government
• Articles of Confederation tied states together
  loosely
• Weak federal government under the Articles
• Most power rested with states
• As new government was forming, some Americans
  were inspired by passion for liberty and so
  worked for changes in society

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Antislavery Sentiments

• Effect of Revolution
• Renewed call for end to slavery
• In part result of freeing of slaves who fought in
  Revolution
• Most states freed their slaves who fought against
  the British
• Opponents to slavery felt all others should be
  freed as well

• Quakers
• In 1775 formed the first antislavery societies,
  groups devoted to the elimination of slavery
• After the war many more societies formed
• Some societies led by influential figures such as
  John Jay, who was later first chief justice of
  the United States

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Antislavery Goals

• Different approaches
• Some published antislavery writings hoping to
  change the minds of people still supporting
  slavery
• Others tried to end slavery by moving African
  Americans out of their states
• Groups and individuals worked tirelessly

• Two prominent figures
• Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of
  Independence Anthony Benezet, Protestant leader
  from Philadelphia
• Both men active before, but increased their
  antislavery efforts after the Revolution
• Both wrote passionately in favor of freeing
  slaves from their bonds

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Northern States Ban Slavery

• Efforts of antislavery activists started to pay
  off states in the North began banning slavery
• 1780 Pennsylvania constitution had instructions
  for eventually abolishing slavery
• Also in 1780 Massachusetts issued a new
  constitution the stated, All men are born free
  and equal a 1783 court ruled the statement
  applied to slaves as well as people who had been
  born free
• Slavery soon disappeared in Massachusetts as a
  result of ruling
• Other northern states would soon ban slavery as
  well slavery essentially abolished in North by
  1800
• No southern states banned slavery in the 1780s
  some took small steps in that direction
• Virginia and North Carolina included laws in
  their constitution that made emancipation of
  slaves easier for slaveholders

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Congressional Involvement

• Congress got involved in fight against slavery in
  1780
• Passed Northwest Ordinance in 1787
• Set of laws written to govern the settlement of
  the vast Northwest Territory

• Newly added to the U.S. territory west of the
  original American colonies and north and west of
  Ohio River
• Northwest Ordinance prohibited anyone in
  territory to own slaves
• This was major victory for slavery opponents

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Reading Check
Summarize How did feelings about slavery change
after the American Revolution?
Answer(s) Many Americans began to oppose slavery
and worked to end it.
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Free Blacks
Despite prevalence of slavery, not all African
Americans in the new United States were slaves.
There were substantial communities of free
blacks, both in the North and in the South.

• Becoming Free
• Gained freedom in variety of ways
• Included doing military service release by
  owners state law
• Others bought their freedom

• Escape
• A significant number of slaves were not granted
  freedom they escaped to it, running away from
  their owners
• Scholars estimate about 1,000 slaves ran away to
  Caribbean or other regions each year

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Free Black Communities

• Rural and Urban
• Most free blacks lived in rural communities in
  the South and worked in agriculture
• Northern cities such as New York, Boston, and
  Philadelphia had large free black communities
• Boston in 1790 could boast an entirely free black
  population all 750 black residents were free

• Few Rights for Free Blacks
• Not allowed to vote considered inferior by many
  white people
• Opportunities were few, but some made their own
• Paul Cuffe, a black Boston shipper owned several
  ships and a thriving business
• Launched impractical plan to help bring free
  blacks back to Africa to live plan too costly

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Reading Check
Elaborate What made life difficult for free
blacks in the early United States?
Answer(s) They could not vote and many people
considered them inferior.
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Slavery and the Constitution
By 1787 many American leaders felt the Articles
of Confederation were not working. They believed
country needed a more powerful national
government. Delegates met for the Constitutional
Convention.

• The Question of Importing Slaves
• After much debate, the new Constitution did not
  protect the slave trade forever, but guaranteed
  that it could continue for 20 more years.
• The Question of Representation
• Would slaves be counted as part of a states
  populationCongressional representation in part
  to be determined by states slave population
• After much debate settled on Three-Fifths
  Compromise, every five slaves in state to be
  counted as three people
• Reactions to the Constitution
• States ratified new Constitution in 1790
  antislavery groups and free blacks least
  satisfied disliked runaway slave clause and
  unhappy that slavery not banned outright

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Reading Check
Explain Why were many African Americans
dissatisfied with the Constitution?
Answer(s) They did not feel it adequately
addressed their rights and needs.
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Section 4 African American Culture
Main Idea The African Americans of the period
following the American Revolution created a
unique culture that blended traditions from
African with new ideas.

• Reading Focus
• How did black Americans manage to keep African
  culture alive?
• What role did religion play in African American
  culture?
• What led to the creation of African American
  schools?
• What were some advances made by African
  Americans?

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Building Background
Whether enslaved on plantations or living in free
black communities, African Americans formed a
distinct culture in the years after the
Revolution. Inspired by their African roots and
shaped by their experiences in America, this
culture became a key influence in the lives and
expectations of African American citizens.
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Keeping African Culture Alive

• Black customs in early U.S. in part continuations
  of older African traditions
• Some plantation owners alarmed by customs feared
  could inspire slaves to fight for freedom
• Owners refused to allow slaves to practice
  traditional ways
• Maintained in secret
• In public behavior was obedient in private
  customs were maintained
• Quilts had African designs song and dance
  reflected Africa
• Words and names survived tote probably came from
  Bantu word
• Gullah people of South Carolina and Georgia still
  speak a creole, or combined, language
• The Gullah also make same foods and tell same
  types of stories as ancestors in Africa did

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Reading Check
Identify What were some of the aspects of
African culture kept alive in the United States?
Answer(s) Crafts, dance, music, food, language
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The Role of Religion

• Christianity and Slavery
• 1600s and 1700s many Christians used arguments
  from Bible to justify owning slaves
• Not all whites supported these interpretations of
  the Bible many thought owning slaves immoral
  and unchristian supported love of all people
• Heated debates flared throughout the 1700s

• Baptism of Slaves
• Despite arguments, nearly all felt slaves should
  be baptized as Christians
• Slaves forbidden to practice their former
  religions, including Islam
• Slave owners limited religious education because
  of passages concerning slavery and freedom
• Slaves could not gather in large groups, even for
  prayer meetings slave owners feared they could
  use time to plan revolts

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African American Churches

• Prohibited from practicing own religion, still
  slaves not welcome in white Christian churches
• Before early 1800s only a few churches where
  African Americans could worship mostly in North,
  they sat in special balconies
• Lemuel Hayes exception became pastor to white
  Christians in Vermont
• Denied access to white churches, blacks formed
  own congregations
• In the South, formed independent Baptist churches
• The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church grew
  out of one founded by Richard Allen in 1787
• These congregations and their ministers formed
  the core of black freedom efforts
• AME first of many churches formed to meet
  spiritual needs of African Americans today black
  churches are usually Protestant Christian and
  spend much time dealing with issues of social
  welfare

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Reading Check
Identify Cause and Effect Why did African
Americans form their own churches?
Answer(s) They were not allowed to worship in
most white churches.
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African American Schools
Many African Americans felt education was best
way to improve their lives and many black parents
sought to education their children. However most
white schools did not allow black students to
attend.

• Citizens Help
• Paul Cuffe built a school for his and other
  children Primus Hall let students meet in his
  own home
• Black citizens of Boston built their own school
  after city refused permission

• Whites Helped
• Quaker schools in the North accepted black
  students
• In the South some white teachers agreed to teach
  reading and writing

• Fears Grew
• White southerners feared power of education more
  laws passed against teaching blacks to read and
  write
• Thirst for education continued black men did get
  degrees

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Reading Check
Elaborate Why do you think many whites wanted to
limit education for black students?
Answer(s) They were afraid that education would
inspire black students to want more rights and
freedoms.
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African American Achievements

• Literature
• African American writers of the Revolutionary War
  period left behind works that are still admired
  today
• Lucy Terry first known African American poet one
  surviving poem tells of massacre near Deerfield,
  Massachusetts in 1746
• Phillis Wheatley, young Boston slave, was first
  to have poetry published
• Learned to read and write English after being
  kidnapped in Africa and brought to America around
  1760 taught by wife and daughter of wealthy
  master
• First poem published around 1767 first book of
  poetry published in London 1773 hailed as work
  of genius

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Science and Medicine

• Many advances
• Benjamin Banneker greatest black scientist of the
  Revolutionary War period
• Born free and educated at Quaker school became
  skilled in math and engineering
• Received praise from Thomas Jefferson for his
  almanacs
• Best remembered for his survey of Washington,
  D.C.

• Contemporaries
• One of Bannekers skilled contemporaries was
  James Durham, the first black doctor in the U.S.
  
• Born into slavery learned basic medicine from
  his first owner completed his training with
  another owner
• Eventually bought his freedom and moved to
  Philadelphia to set up successful practice

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Reading Check
Develop What advantages did Phillis Wheatley,
Benjamin Banneker, and James Durham have over
most blacks?
Answer(s) They all received some education and
were able to succeed as a result.