Slave Petition Analysis

John. W. Blessingame, The Slave Community: The Plantation Life in The Antebellum South (Oxford University Press, Inc: 1972, 1979).

The Charleston petitioners were asking for a repeal of the 1740 “Act for the better Ordering and Governing Negros and other Slaves’. This act prohibited free black’s equal treatment with in the judicial system, by denying them the right to a trial by jury and denying the ability to testify under oath. The group that lead this movement was known as the “Free Men of Color”. This document shows the inequality that was in the South colonies and showed the inequality was not only viewed among colonist but also among state officials. By taking away those rights for African Americans this gave attackers an escape for their punishment for the atrocities they committed by taking away the power of testifying under oath. This shows the Judicial system in the South was giving free slaves that had citizenship a disadvantage in the court room. The main argument used to justify the repeal of “The Negro Act” was they were free tax paying citizens and they should get all the rights of a free tax paying citizen and should not have any rights taken away because of their race. The petitioners reminded the Senate that they had "since the Independence of the United States contributed and do now contribute to the support of the Government by cheerfully paying their taxes." In the end their petition was denied and it was not till the later 1800s when the “Act for the better Ordering and Governing Negros and other Slaves” would be

The compromises made over slavery at the Convention had numerous consequences in later years. Because the Convention allowed slaves to be imported for twenty more years “17,000 or more” (pg 205) slaves were imported, in just the last four years of importation of slaves “South Carolina imported 75,000 Africans” (pg 205). The Convention also established the three-fifths ratio which gave southern slaves extra political power (pr 261) which they used to protect slavery (pg 205). They did this by ensuring “enactment of the 1840 gag rule” (pg 262) which stopped anti slavery petitions from making it to congress. They also used extra political power to make sure Missouri became a slave state when it was admitted to the Union (pg 262).

Back when people owned slaves, prior to 1865, slaves were not treated very well and they did not have many rights. They weren't given any rights and they were treated horribly. This was a major problem in the United States. To begin with, in document 1 it states that enslaved people did not have many rights. They couldn't have a wife, children, or a home.

During the late 1700s & early 1800s, there was an agricultural revolution in the U.S. that really benefited the south. Due to this revolution, the south heavily relied on slave labor and the demand for it went up. The cotton gin was invented and it leads to cotton becoming king. Two types of workers risen because of the industrial and agricultural revolution which were wage workers and slaves. Slaves were mostly used in the South and wage workers were used mostly in the North.

Europeans, after the rise of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, vindicated the enslaving of Africans by depending on religious authority because they supposedly followed God’s will (notes). According to Pope Nicholas V, the African enslavement has helped the Catholic Church (source A). In a 1455 letter, he wrote, “... A large number of these have been converted to the Catholic faith…” (source A). The quote suggests the pontiff held a positive outlook on slavery, but he only supported it for the conversion of the slaves (notes). Over 100 years later, a letter surfaced from Jesuit Brother Luis Bandaon to Father Sandoval that read he and other educated Fathers from Brazil support slavery for the purpose of more conversions and labor (source B and

The Fugitive Slave Act was an act that stated citizens of the United States were required to help capture runaway slaves. This act made a huge impact in the south and in the north. It was an issue for people against slavery and a victory for those for it. The Fugitive Slave Act made it so that everyday people who would help slaves were now to scared to do anything about it because they could get punished too. The Fugitive Slave Act led to problems for the underground railroad and for abolitionist who were helping free slaves. The Fugitive Slave act also led to a growth in illegal slaves. In my opinion, the Fugitive Slave Act was one of the most important issues during slavery and the fight to end it.

First, there were many slave states back in the day. All of the slave states contained slaves working for their owner.The slave states included, AL, AR, DE, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MI, MO, NC, SC, TN, TX, and VA. Most of the slave states were in the south. Some were in the North the ones in the North, had an easier time being slaves because they didn't have crops to worry about. They just had to make clothes and clean.

In attempt to give slaves equal rights to the common American man, activists argued that “thay (they; slaves) have in Common with all other men a Natural and Unaliable (inalienable) Right to that freedom which the Grat Parent of the Unavers hath Bestowed equalley on all menkind and which they have Never forfuted by any Compact or agreement.” The slaves feel violated because they look just like the average white American citizen and are not given guaranteed rights that white citizens have.

This petition was towards the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which they criticized for encouraging cruelty and brutality and the supporting of capturing free black slaves

“After the Civil War black southerners were no longer slaves, but they were not yet free (Slavery by Another Name).” Many southern blacks rushed to celebrate their new found freedom through marriage and coming together as families. However the joys of emancipation did last, for many white southerners were turned bitter to the core for the destruction of their economy. And many felt the newly released slaves to be competitors in obtaining land and wealth. The documentary “Slavery By Another Name” tells the narrative of a just a few African American men who lived through the era between emancipation and the signing of Circular 3591 by Franklin D. Roosevelt which gave authorities across the country the power to finally crackdown on involuntary servitude on December 12, 1942. It also reflects on one of the darkest times in american history and shows how the expansion of America was paved by the suffering of an entire race.

On January 13, 1777 seven African-American men in Massachusetts came together to go to the courts and their goal was to gain freedom. These men were slaves and in order for them to be set free they had the choice of running away, with the possibility of getting caught, or gathering a petition to take to the Massachusetts court. Just because these men had a petition does not mean that it would be passed. The Massachusetts colonial government had no say in making slaves free or not. Back in the day slaves were seen as people that were not book smart because they lacked education and that meant they could not read or write but they knew their rights. The slaves were much underestimated

Anytime we hear the word "slavery", we tend to think back to a time of great controversy within America. Although slavery has long been abolished, it is still important to look back at information about the slave trade to better understand such a complex system. The Slave Sale (1775-1865) data-set is an example of how we can use historical facts to create stories and arguments about how the slave system operated. The data presented in the spreadsheet is about the basic information used when selling a slave. Within the spreadsheet there are nine columns: state, county, date entry, gender, age, appraisal value, skills and defects. Unfortunately, the data is only specific to seven southern states: Georgia, Louisiana, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Mississippi, and Maryland. However, the data-set still provides a variety of information, such as numerical, textual and geographic data. For instance, the age, entry date and appraisal value of a slave would represent the numerical information. While gender, skills and defect would be textual. Finally, the states and counties would represent the geographical information.

Many people dream of being able to live the American Dream and sadly, many people fall in the wrong hands and get cheated on a fake American dream. Although, America is always advertised as “The Land of the Free” slavery is still going on and no one seems to be aware of it or concerned about it. Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter talk about slavery in The United States, in their article, Slavery In The Land of the Free. In this article, Bales and Soodalter talk about how slavery is still happening in the country, but in many different ways. Bales and Soodalter use stories, statics, and comparisons of every slavery case there is in America. However, most of the stories they told were about Hispanics being in slaved, and did not really include stories of other races

It could be considered almost ludicrous that most African-Americans were content with their station in life. Although that was how they were portrayed to the white people, it was a complete myth. Most slaves were dissatisfied with their stations in life, and longed to have the right of freedom. Their owners were acutely conscious of this fact and went to great lengths to prevent slave uprisings from occurring. An example of a drastic measure would be the prohibition of slaves receiving letters. They were also not allowed to converge outside church after services, in hopes of stopping conspiracy. Yet the slaves still managed to fight back. In 1800, the first major slave rebellion was conceived. Gabriel Prosser was a 24 year old slave who