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The Slave Codes
The image depicts a Virginia tobacco plantation where slaves toiled without the benefit of laws guaranteeing basic human rights, which The Slave Codes of 1705 effectively took away[1]. Attached image [2]. [1]Hening's Statutes at Large. Accessed June 23, 2017.
http://vagenweb.org/hening/vol03-25.htm#bottom
[2]Leahlefler. "Slavery in Virginia and the 1705 Virginia Slave
Act." Owlcation. June 13, 2016. Accessed June 23, 2017. -
The Stono Rebellion
A slave named "Jemmy" led a rebellion against white suppression in South Carolina where upwards of 20 white people were killed and several plantations were burned before the insurgence was stamped out by colonial militia[1]. This perpetuated the ever present fear of slave uprisings among white people in the colonies. [1] Stono Rebellion (1739) | The Black Past: Remembered and
Reclaimed. Accessed June 24, 2017. http://www.blackpast.org
/aah/stono-rebellion-1739. -
Petition For Freedom
Many slaves petitioned for freedom and like this one, were unsuccessful[1]. However, despite multiple failures, with perseverance an oppressed people can rise from the ashes of bondage to the beauty and freedom of liberty. [1]"Massachusetts Historical Society. Founded 1791." MHS
Collections Online: Petition for freedom to Massachusetts
Governor Thomas Gage, 25 May 1774. Accessed June 24,
2017.http://www.masshist.org/database
/viewer.php?item_id=549. -
Freedom Attained - Mum Bett
A slave named Mum Bett won her petition for freedom in the County Court of Common Pleas in Great Barrington, Massachusetts after hearing the principles of liberty and equality within the Massachusetts Constitution being discussed in the home where she served[1]. [1]Courts. "The Mum Bett Case." Court System. December 06, 2013
Accessed June 24, 2017. http://www.mass.gov/courts/court-
info/sjc/edu-res-center/jn-adams/the-mum-bett-
case.html. -
The Invention of the Cotton Gin
By inventing a mechanical means of removing seeds from cotton fibers, Eli Whitney renewed the Southern economy and in doing so, increased the demand for land and slave labor to produce a profitable harvest [1]. [1]Alfred, Randy. "Oct. 28, 1793: Whitney's Cotton Gin Patent Not
Worth Much." Wired. June 03, 2017. Accessed June 24, 2017.
https://www.wired.com/2009/10/1028whitney-cotton-gin/. -
The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad consisted of a group of people with an extreme aversion to slavery and promoted its abolition. These brave revolutionaries placed themselves at great risk in order to provide food, safe hiding, and transportation to runaway slaves seeking freedom[1]. [1]"Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania." History of American
Women. April 02, 2017. Accessed June 24, 2017.
http://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2015/05/underground-
railroad-in-pennsylvania.html.
