Period 7
2 January 2014
In the time period between 1775 and 1830, African Americans started to gain more freedom in the North while the institution of slavery expanded in the South. This change occurred because of the different viewpoints and lifestyles of each region. The North being more industrial did not need labor work since most of the work was done in factories rather than a farm and also religious groups were against slavery. Compared to the South, with the invention of the cotton Gin by Eli Whitney, the South needed more labor work since their society depended more so on the agricultural side of things including farming, and thus they resorted to slavery. During the American Revolution, the British granted slaves freedom if they were to fight for the cause on their side rather than on the American side which was considered treasonous. Lord Dunmore’s proclamation offered freedom to those who would rebel from their masters and its purpose was to disable rebellion.(Doc A) Because of this proclamation, some slaves decided to leave the farms and help fight for the British to get their freedom. After the American Revolution, The North slowly started to rid itself of slavery while the South implemented slavery into their daily lives.The need for slavery in the South was mainly due to the production of cotton. With the invention of the Cotton Gin in 1793 by Eli Whitney cotton became a cash crop for the Southern society. The cotton gin automated the seed separation process while before that slaves had to do the work by hand. The cotton gin made it easier to produce cotton therefore many more farmers invested in cotton and bought more slaves to produce and pick cotton to sell. By the end of 1830, the amount of slavery in the North decreased 0-10% while areas in the South had 50% or more (Doc C). In the North, free African American men were not allowed to vote and take part in any political activity such as that a free white male would in the country. African Americans still had to pay taxes but they were not allowed to vote and they were not considered citizens but they were free and many African Americans became dissatisfied and disappointed. One person who got annoyed with the government was Paul Cuffe. Paul Cuffe’s petition essentially was asking the Massachusetts government to either give free African Americans voting rights or to stop taxing them.(Doc B) Another person who was tired of not being treated like a citizen although he was free was Prince Hall. Prince Hall argued that African Americans despite their hard labor and contributions they had made were not treated like Americans. On the other hand he also pointed out that in spite of all the jobs that are bombarding the slaves, they would overcome those hardships and would eventually obtain their freedom by fighting with the guidance of God.(Doc I) Enslaved Africans in the South also resisted their position of subservience. The Stono Rebellion in 1739 was an uprising of slaves in South Carolina, leading to the tightening of already harsh slave laws. Another rebellion that tightened slave laws was the Nat Turner rebellion in 1831. Slave laws were laws in each US state, which defined the status of slaves and the rights of masters. These codes gave slave-owners absolute power over the enslaved Africans. While some enslaved Africans were disobedient to their masters others were afraid to rebel against their owners. Many enslaved Africans looked to religion and peace rather than uprising against their owners.( Doc G) For example, Richard Allen was the founder of the first methodist church in Philadelphia which helped many free African Americans who were in trouble.(Doc D) Because the North and South had many differences in their perception of slavery, this caused many conflicts within the country. Slavery had been in the United States since 1619 and whether to keep it or not was a tough decision for some states. Many people tried to come up with different ideas to solve these issues among society and keep peace, but unfortunately in the long run the country split into two in 1860.
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