Slavery

​Talk with a partner quietly about the following questions.

What do you see happening in this painting?

What feelings are shown?

What are your thoughts on the scene shown?

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​A Race-Based System

Two things shaped American Slavery as unique

1. Few whites owned slaves, but many claimed superiority justified slavery.

2. Economic demand for cotton drove slavery for profit.

• Most slaves were on farms focused on large-scale production of cotton

• Cash crops (cotton, rice, tobacco) needed special knowledge

• Everyone worked: children, pregnant women, old, disabled

• No rights; punished for disobeying or trying to escape; most poorly fed and not given quality medical care

​​Field Work

​​House Work

​​Skilled Labor

​​Housing

• States passed laws protecting owners and restricting slave rights - known as Slave Codes

  • Couldn't be taught to read to write

  • Couldn't meet in a group without a white person present

  • Couldn't own a firearm

  • Couldn't give testimony against a white person

  • Treated as posessions (sold/traded, given as gifts, passed down to heirs)

• It was against the law to severly injury or kill a slave, but not really enforced

What are your thoughts about the following quote?

"I didn't know I was a slave until I couldn't do the things I wanted."