Slavery Flashcards
Definition of Enslavement
- Social status with implications beyond the economic loss of control over the enslaved person’s human capital
- Enslaved people exist at the lowest level of society, with
their life dependent entirely on another person.
When were African slaves brought to the americas?
15th- 19th Century
How many Africans were enslaved?
-28 million people were enslaved
-10 million were sent to the Americas
- 4 million died in the capture and march to the African coast, or on the trip across the Atlantic
When was Slavery outlawed in England?
- 1706
- in 1807 slavery was abolished throughout the empire
What was the “fugitive slave clause”?
- allows chasing of slaves across borders even after the forign slave trade was outlawed
What was the 3/5 compromise?
It determined that three out of every five slaves was counted when determining a state’s total population for legislative representation and taxation
What was the importance of new states?
- The balance of power could shift as new states were added to the consistution?
What was the Northern policticians argument against slavery?
- it was beyond the power of the Federal Government to impose slavery, while Souther policticans focused on the constitutoinal protection of “property rights”
What was the Soouthern policticians argument against slavery?
- focused on the constitutional rotection of “property rights”
What role did enslaved people play in the economy?
- Many enslaved people brought skills and knowledge with them from Africa.
- Rice was production was brough by African workers in Carolina
- In some cases African workers can grow theor own food.
- Housekeepers
- cooks
- in some cases they could learn skills and income to buy their own freedom
What were the staple crops grown by enslaved people?
- Rice
- Sugar
- Cotton
- plantations were relatively “self sufficent” meaning the enslaved people grew crops and did other work in addition to the production of the main staple.
Who ended the international slave trade trade and when?
- Congress in 1808 (but this didn’t end the role of slave “slave traders” or the tinternation slave trade.
Why was internal trade of slaves vital?
- as production moved west into the lands of the displaced cherokee and the the Cree and the lands received fromt he louisiana purchase.
Which crop depleted soil raplidly?
Tobacco
Why did pantations move west?
- sought out new fresh ground to replace the decreasingly productive soil they
currently owned, and would move operations
How were moves west financed?
- Once production began, the product could secure bank loans
- Until then though…. slaves were used as securities
How did the property rights of land treated in Enland?
-unsecured creditors could get a writ to seize “goods and chattels” for auction to recover unpaid debts however, unless explicitly mortgaged, land could not be seized.
- It was extremely difficult and costly in courts to use land as a security
-In 1732, Parliament passed a law reducing all “goods, chattels and land” to the status of chattel, and thus exposing land and slaves to being auctioned for unsecured debt ( not good for slaves, broke up the families in auctions)
Where did slaves fit into property rights?
In some colonies slaves were consisdered linked to the land and in others they were considered chattel
What is the argument for the idea that slavery was the foundation of the capitalist economy?
- The industrial revolution began when goods prodcued by slaves came to England.
- The Atlantic economy spawned growth, investment, finance in England, America and elsewhere in Europe
- This allowed European powers to enter Asia to create the modern world.
Did Fogel and Engerman (1974) conclude that plantations were efficient?
- sure did
Their position was as follows - slaves were profitable
- slaves worked harder then white people
-Material life of slaves comparable to free workers in North
-The Southern economy was growing rapidly and per capita income as high
So this paper was a little bit controversial
Did Conrad and Meyer (1958) conclude that plantations were efficient?
- sure did
- found ROR for slave holders in the 1850s and found it to be comperable or better than other available investments.
-Refined over the following decade, repeatedly showing the there was no indication that slavery was fading away due to “unprofitability”, even at
current prices
Which slave owners were the only ones that were forced to compensate their slaves with land?
- The Cherokee
Who had the greatest numbers of enslaved Africans by 1825?
- The United States
