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Slavery and Continued Resistance
Beginning in 1619, when 20 people from Angola were sold into Virginia, racialized slavery existed in what would become the United States. Over the following centuries, policy would develop to cement a structure built upon white supremacy, affecting the economic, political, and social framework of what would become the United States. But all the while, enslaved people would resist in every day ways, as well as rebel, and maintain agency by creating culture, and preserving their humanity. -
Constitutional Convention
11 years after the Declaration of Independence proclaimed "all men are created equal," the US Constitution was written--largely by enslavers--with slavery codified into law. The Constitution included the infamous 3/5 Compromise--declaring enslaved people to be counted as part of a person, giving the South more power in the House. It also included a Fugitive Slave Clause which would serve as a model for future laws. This ensured that runaways would be returned to their enslaver if caught. -
Invention of the Cotton Gin
Prior to the 1790s, cotton was hardly harvested, for cleaning the cotton seeds from the fibers was a long and tedious process. Eli Whitney's 1793 Cotton Gin transformed this. His machine enabled cotton to be cleaned dramatically faster. As a result, cotton production soared, and by 1850, the US produced 75 percent of the world's cotton. Cotton became "king," and established the US as a world economic power--all on the backs of the enslaved, working in the cotton fields. -
Slavery grows as a result of the Cotton Gin
The Cotton Gin made cotton profitable, and the US rich. But the most dramatic affect was the impact on enslavement. Many had believed slavery would soon die out--soon in the North, and later in the South. But the demand for cotton production increased the demand for slavery. There were around 700,000 enslaved people in 1790; and nearly 4 million in the year of the Civil War (1860); nearly one in three Southerners was enslaved. Slavery became intricately connected to the growth of the US economy. -
Louisiana Purchase
President Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory--essentially the middle third of the current U.S.---in 1803 for 15 million dollars, 3 cents/acre. This would have two effects--first, settler colonialism in which Native land was stolen and Native people attacked; and second, the challenging question of whether new states added in that territory would allow slavery. This second question kept coming up as the country kept moving west, and continued to heighten tension between North and South. -
Formation of the American Colonization Society
Many Northerners--and some Southerners--believed slavery should eventually end. But most also believed White Supremacy should dominate, and did not want a large free Black population living in the US. Founded by prominent politicians, the ACS proposed sending free blacks to a colony in Africa (called Liberia) where they could live separately from the the White U.S. While most whites supported this, few Black people did, choosing instead to stay and demand equality in the country of their birth. -
Missouri Compromise
In 1820, there were 11 states w/ slavery, 11 that were free states. There was balance in the Senate. But as the territories from the Louisiana Purchase applied for statehood, the question became: can they allow slavery? A compromise was reached: Missouri would enter as a slave state, but Maine would become a free state, preserving the balance in the Senate. For any future new states in the Lousiana territory, if it was above the 36-30 parallel, it would be a free state; below it, a slave state. -
Publication of The Liberator
William Lloyd Garrison, a white man, became the most outspoken voice in the abolition movement with the publication of his abolitionist newspaper, "The Liberator." He and his allies--both white+Black--aggressively challenged not only enslavers, but Northerners who were colonization supporters, simply against slavery's spread west, or supported gradual abolition. For nearly 40 years, Garrison used his white privilege to spread the abolitionist message, and challenge politicians and the public. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
In Southampton County, Virginia, Nat Turner, and enslaved man, led one of the bloodiest and most successful slave rebellions in American history. Remarkably organized, Turner and his rebels killed around 50 whites over two days, and Tuner himself evaded capture for nearly 2 months. This rebellion led to a culture of fear throughout the entire South, in which nearly every state tightened control over enslaved people and grew increasingly paranoid of abolitionists and the North in general. -
Annexation of Texas
In 1836, the people of Texas declared themselves independent from Mexico, even though the Mexican gov't didn't acknowledge it. Texas applied to become a US state, prompting a fierce debate in the US Congress and Presidential election, as Texas was a vast enslaving region and could upset the balance in the Senate. But in 1845, the US Gov't accepted Texas as a new state, adding to the pro- and anti-slavery sectional divide in US politics. The official border of Texas, however, was not clarified. -
Mexican-American War
When the U.S. annexed Texas, the western and southern border of TX was unclear, and many Americans argued the US should take all the land of what is now Arizona, New Mex, Utah, Nevada, and Cali. In 1846, President Polk stationed troops at the Mexican border to provoke them to start a war--when it worked, the US defeated Mexico and forced them to cede the massive territory above. However, this heightened sectional tension as it became unclear if slavery would be allowed in this new territory. -
Wilmot Proviso
David Wilmot of PA tried to solve the question of whether slavery could spread into the Mexican territory by proposing the "Wilmot Proviso"--this would ban slavery in the new territory. After months of heated debate, it passed in the House but not in the Southern-dominant Senate. Failure to pass was seen by Northerners as evidence that the "slave power" in the South was destined to spread; Southerners saw its almost success as evidence that the North was launching a full-out attack on slavery. -
Compromise of 1850
As slavery continued to tear the North and South apart, Henry Clay proposed the Compromise of 1850 as a last ditch attempt to save the Union. In this compromise, three things were proposed: 1. California would be added as a free state; 2. A very harsh Fugitive Slave Law would be added to "protect southern property," and 3. the status of slave or free state in new territories would be decided by "popular sovereignty"--that is, the residents of that territory would vote. -
Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
In her book Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe--a white woman--wrote of an old Black slave named Tom, and exposed the evils and brutality of slavery. Stowe's depicted Black people with offensive stereotypes, and the work was criticized by many abolitionists. Still, the book was a bestseller, and many outraged Northerners became outraged at the South. Southern enslavers, meanwhile, claimed the book was full of lies, and, out of fear, doubled down on their defense and protection of slavery. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 banned slavery in the northern part of the LA Purchase. But in 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed (Southerners controlled Congress) which would allow two new states to enter--Kansas and Nebraska--and let the people in those states decide if they want slavery-called "popular sovereignty." This effectively cancelled out the Missouri Compromise, and enraged Northerners, since it opened the possibility of slavery in territory where it was supposed to be banned. -
Formation of Republican Party
In response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act--which was seen as unjust, since it would mean potential new slave states in land promised to be free by the Missouri Compromise--the Republican Party was formed in 1854 on a strong antislavery platform. Few Republicans were abolitionists--many had racist views, some supported colonization, but all were against the spread of slavery. At this point, this was the other major party besides Democrat, which generally had a more proslavery, Southern base. -
"Bleeding Kansas"
The question of whether Kans-Neb would became free or slave states was political. Antislavery northerners feared 2 Senators for new slave states, and poor whites feared huge plantations would exclude them from the land. Slavery supporters feared 2 "free" Senators that could hurt slavery. As the time to vote came, proslavery and antislavery whites fled to Kansas to vote-and brutal violence broke out. Nearly 200 people were killed over slavery in Kansas--a precursor to the Civil War. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott brought his case to the Supreme Court. He was enslaved in Missouri, but was then brought to the FREE Wisconsin territory, before being moved back to Missouri. He claimed since he was brought to a free territory, he was therefore freed. The court disagreed, and argued 1. Black people--free or slave--were never meant to, and could never have the rights of citizens and 2. The Missouri Compromise's limit on slavery was unconstitutional, and slavery could not be banned in new territory. -
John Brown's Raid of Harper's Ferry
John Brown, a white man, believed slavery was a sin and advocated for violence and slave rebellion to end it. He had previously taken part in the violence in Kansas, killing 5 proslavery men. Now, he attempted to lead a slave rebellion in Harper's Ferry Virginia. The rebellion failed miserably, and he was hanged. But the idea of a white man giving his life for slavery caused intense panic in the South--and militias began organizing. Brown also became a martyr for many Northerners. -
Election of Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln won the 1860 election as part of the new Republican party--and antislavery but not abolitionist party. Lincoln's platform called for the halted spread of slavery into new territories. As there were four candidates, Lincoln only won a plurality (he did not get a majority of the votes but had more than the other candidates). He also did not win a single Southern state. For the South, this election was the last straw: A month later, 7 states officially seceded, creating the Confederacy. -
Secession of the Southern States
Even in the months prior to the 1860 election, few Southern politicians supported secession. But as the reality of Lincoln's election dawned on them, their fear of losing the power of slavery turned many to support leaving the Union. In December, started by South Carolina--the states of the Deep South formed the Confederate States of America. In their declarations of secession, they proclaimed slavery, and the preservation of white supremacy, to be the cornerstone of their new country.
