Slavery and Society: US History Textbook PDF

In the Sout hern Colo nies, mos t s1avery and Society ensla ved Afric ans work ed on plan tatio ns. ore than 300 year s, trade rs The way enslav ed peop le were treat ed for rn. ht milli ons of Afri cans to Nort h...

In the Sout hern Colo nies, mos t s1avery and Society ensla ved Afric ans work ed on plan tatio ns. ore than 300 year s, trade rs The way enslav ed peop le were treat ed for rn. ht milli ons of Afri cans to Nort h depe nded on their own ers. Ensl aved peo- orovg·ca sout h Ame rica, and the ple were often beat en and abus ed. It was Afl1eri , 'bbean- Thes e men , wom en, and very diffi cult to esca pe, but this did not can·idren were take n from their hom es, stop ensla ved peop le from tryin g. du. hi Ensl aved peop le were not free to spea k , chained toget her ms ps, and then sold. out agai nst slave ry, but they still resis ted Treatment of Enslaved People it. Som e rebel led. Othe rs brok e tools , The first Afric ans in the Engl ish colo- prete nded to be sick, or work ed slow ly. nies most likel y arriv ed in Virg inia in Puni shme nt for such acts was often hars h. 19. At first, the Engl ish colo nies used Ensl aved peop le tried to deal with their 16 , indentured serv ants as work ers. As hard ship s by keep ing their cultu re alive. more work ers were need ed, colo nial They told stori es and sang song s abou t gover nmen ts mad e slav ery legal. By the Afric a. By the late 1700 s, the Chri stian mid-1700s, slave ry was lega l in ev ery relig ion also beca me a sour ce of stren gth colony. The laws said that child ren born for some ensla ved peop le. to enslav ed peop le were also ensla ved. Families were often brok en apar t and 1il@1HWJRll#Rit 6 SUMMARIZE sold to diffe rent own ers. How did ensla ved peop le resis t slave ry? - PRESERVING CULTURE One way enslaved people kept their culture alive was through music. They sang songs and played drums and banjos. Some may have played a kalimba, or thumb piano (left). This portrait (right) show s an enslaved woma n from South Carolina. Cha pter 7 263  Plantation owners often hired an A Farming Economy overseer to watch enslaved people as they worked. The overseer's house was The economy of the Southern Colonies often near the fields. Enslaved workers' was based mostly on plantations, which houses were usually far away from the would not have been possible without the planter's house. Near their homes, some labor of enslaved people. The cash crops enslaved people kept small gardens that produced by enslaved workers made they tended after working the planter's some planters, or plantation owners, the land. richest people in the Southern Colonies. Planters ran the plantations, but they The Plantation System did not usually work on them. Enslaved The first plantations were built along people did the work. Planters sometimes the Coastal Plain. By 1750, settlers had worked for the community as judges or moved west and started large plantations members of the colonial assembly. Many farther inland. As planters grew richer, the planters hired teachers to educate their amount of land they owned also grew. children in the home. Enslaved children Some plantations looked like small vil- were not allowed to attend school. In fact, lages. There were many buildings, includ- it was illegal for enslaved people to learn ing workshops where enslaved people to read or write. Those who tried to learn made nails, bricks, barrels, and other had to do so in secret. They were Pun- items used on the plantation. ished if they were caught. 264 Unit 3 Life on Small Farms The economy of the Sou the rn Coloni es Free Africans depended mo stly on the cro ps from larg e A few Africans were able to buy the ir plantations. Ho wev er, mo st colonists freedom and start farms. Ho wev er, mo lived and wo rke d on sm all farm s. st did not wan t to be par t of the sys tem Former ind ent ure d ser van ts ofte n of slavery. Some free Africans did buy owned small farm s. Ho wev er, few eve rela- r tives, but only to free them. became rich. Mo st ow ner s of sma ll farm To escape slavery, ma ny enslaved peo s - did not ow n ens lav ed peo ple. Tho se ple ran away. Those wh o escaped wer wh o e did worked alo ngs ide the ir ens lav ed often cau ght and retu rne d to their ow ner s. workers but did not trea t the m as equ Some found safety in Spanish Florida als. or Since small farm s we re ofte n far awa were hel ped by Native American trib y es. from each oth er, chu rch services bec am e The Black Seminoles major events. Som e families trav ele d for hours to rea ch a chu rch. The re, the The Seminole tribe gave run awa ys foo y d attended services and vis ited wit h oth and shelter. The Seminole also gave er the m lan d if they gave bac k one-third of the farm families. crop they raised on it. Ma ny run awa ys IJ ijmjij:j§g t:SSUMMARIZE dre sse d like the Seminole and lea rne d How did most colonists in the Southern Col the ir lan gua ge. They bec am e kno wn onies as lllake their living? Black Seminoles. Chapter 7 265  HtSTOR Eliza Lucas Pinckney J Eliza Lucas Pinckney moved to South Ca.. ro 11na ·th her parents in 1738. When she was w1 16 years old, her father had_to re~urn to the West Indies. Eliza started expenment1ng with indigo seeds her father had sent her. She worked so hard that she wrote, " I hardly allow myself time to sleep or e t ,, After three years, Eliza was able to grow an a · indigo plant that produced an excellent dye. She gave some of her seeds to neighbors and friends. Within a few years, South Carolina ~ planters were selling one m illion pounds of indigo a year to clothmakers in Europe. Make It Relevant Why is it important to work hard at whatever task you have? Cash Crops too warm and wet for tobacco to grow well. Many farmers and plantation Seaports like Charles Town were owners began growing rice. In fact, important to the economy of the Southern rice became such a major cash crop in Colonies. Plantations produced tons of South Carolina that it was often called cash crops each year, and those crops Carolina gold. needed to be shipped to markets in On drier land, rice did not grow well. England and the West Indies to be sold. Here, farmers found they could grow indigo plants. These plants produced a Adapting to the Climate blue dye called indigo, which was used in Plantations in different colonies grew the clothmaking process. different crops. In Maryland, Virginia, and Indigo became an important cash crop northern North Carolina, tobacco was the after Eliza Lucas Pinckney experimented main cash crop. Growing tobacco required with the plant. By the 1740s, indigo was inany workers and a lot of land. After a major cash crop throughout South about seven years, tobacco plants would Carolina. Use up all the nutrients in the soil. As a result, farmers had to clear more land. READING CHECK 0SUMMARIZE In southern North Carolina, South What cash crops were grown in the Southern Carolina, and Georgia, the climat~ was Colonies? Chapter 7 269  I r, / Location affected the grow h The Economy Grows · too. By the m1d-1700s, town t Of c1ti~ ·. s alon. , Plantations were largely self-sufficient, southern Atlantic coast, such as t-} the but they depended on merchants and oth- and Savannah, had grown int 0rfo)l o lar ers for some goods and services. Traders cities. ge and merchants depended on plantations Baltimore, Maryland, was fotind for cash crops and other raw materials. 1729 on the Patapsco River '"hi eqin , v cha Depending on one another for economic into Chesapeake Bay. Balfunor 0ws e el