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Slavery in the South
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The Liberator Newspaper
The Liberator was a abolitionist newspaper written by William Lloyd Garrison. It served to attack slavery and support equal rights for all people. Garrison blamed both the Church and U.S. Constitution for allowing slavery. Garrison published many articles from smaller black writers to promote their ideas as well. the Liberator contained information on abolishing slavery, meetings, and the fight for equality. The Liberator provided assistance to the Underground Railroad as well. -
Nat Turner’s Slave Rebellion
Nat Turner was a enslaved preacher who planned the deadliest slave rebellion in United States history. Turner enlisted the help of 4 other slaves and together they killed the family that enslaved Nat Turner. Then they got around 75 more slaves to revolt and kill at least 55 white people until stopped by the police. Nat Turner escaped and hid from authorities for about 2 months before being caught and sentenced to be hanged. His rebellion lead to the discussion of abolishing slavery in Virginia. -
Alabama Slave Code of 1833
This included a law that barred whites from teaching people of color how to spell, read, or write. If they did they would be fined 250-500 dollars. Slave owners wanted to keep the slave mentality and keep them in the dark from anything that could lead to a rebellion. The plantation owners viewed education of slaves as bad because they thought it would give them the idea of liberation and they would try to gain freedom. -
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Frederick Douglass (underground railroad)
Frederick Douglass was born enslaved but was lucky to learn how to read and write and helped educate other slaves. He finally escaped in 1838 and married a free black woman. He began attending abolitionist meetings and spoke publicly with William Garrison to speak against slavery. He helped hundreds of slaves escape on the Underground railroad. He published a newspaper on abolition and also spoke on women’s rights. He was friends with harriet Tubman, John Brown, and many other abolitionists -
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Harriet Tubman (underground railroad)
Harriet was born enslaved into a Maryland family. in 1844, she married free black man John Tubman. During that time she heard that her two free brothers were going to be sold and they escaped Maryland in 1849, her two brothers changed their minds but Harriet used the Underground RR to escape. She would go on to return back to the South to help more people escape on the RR. She risked her life so many times and assisted anywhere from 77-300 people on their journey to freedom. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The 2nd Fugitive Slave Act, signed 57 years after the 1st. The 1st act of 1793 allowed slave owners to look for escaped slaves within slave states. The 2nd act compelled citizens to assist in the capturing of slaves and denied slaves the right to a jury trial. It put the responsibility of finding and returning escaped slaves in the federal government. The backlash from this law led to an increased number of abolitionists, more personal liberty laws, and a more efficient underground railroad. -
Publishing of Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe who was a antislavery writer. It tells the story of a slave who saves the life of a little girl whose father buys Tom. He was about to be freed when he was purchased again by a malicious man. Tom was whipped to death after he refused to tell his owner about where some escaped slaves are. This book was loved by Northern abolitionists while banned in the South, because of its harsh depiction of the reality of enslaved people. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Senator Stephen Douglas, proposed a bill to organize the Nebraska Territory. The bill would give the states the right to vote on whether or not slavery would be legal in said state. He added an act to the bill that repealed the Missouri Compromise and created the two new territories, Nebraska and Kansas. He added that act because he needed proslavery votes. President Pierce signed the bill, Nebraska was declared a free state but Kansas was anti and pro slavery. This created the Republican party. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford + Dred Scott Decision
The Dred scott decision was a case that ruled a slave that resided in a free state/territory was not entitled to his freedom; African Americans were not and would never be U.S. citizens; and the Missouri Compromise of 1820 stating that all territories west of Missouri were free, was unconstitutional. Dred Scott was a slave who tried to file a lawsuit for his freedom in Missouri because he was in a free state and therefore free from slavery. It eventually made it’s way to the Supreme Court. -
John Brown’s Harpers Ferry
John Brown was an abolitionist who wanted to attack slavery and started his plan for a rebellion in 1848. He attacked 5 men while fighting over the land of Kansas. He gathered a group of over 20 men to assist with his rebellion. In October 1859, Harpers Ferry was occupied by the U.S. military arsenal and was the target of Brown’s attack. It was to be the first of many attacks but Brown was captured and hanged for treason. The rebellion deleted any possible reconcile between the North and South.