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Antebellum Era Dbq

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One of the most significant eras in the United State's history was the Antebellum Era due to technological, religious, and social advancements. Despite many improvements, the Antebellum Era was a period where slavery was commonly and typically practiced. Throughout the seventeenth century, European settlers replaced indentured servants with enslaved Africans, who were considered affordable and cheap compared to indentured servants. Due to the expansion of slavery, many people who strongly opposed slavery, abolitionists, started many movements to put a stop to slavery. These movements resulted in a polarization between abolitionists and antiabolitionists. During this era, slavery gradually expanded, and many were forced to work in extreme …show more content…

Due to their different political views and beliefs, many clashes and disagreements would occur. Southern enslavers believed that slavery was rightly justified since they had been providing them with food and housing. However, to many Northerners, slavery was seen as a "sin," and they believed it was unfair to force someone into slavery because of their origins. Tensions grew so high that they only tried to settle disagreements by fighting and involving violence. As a result, many abolitionists started lots of revolts and movements. One of the most famous abolitionists, John Brown, led his followers to seize the largest federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia in hopes of causing a vast slave uprising. Despite being executed for his actions, many abolitionists decided to follow in his footsteps and started to engage in violent, aggressive measures to ensure the end of slavery. In addition to John Brown, Fredrick Douglas was a former enslaved person who quickly became a notable abolitionist. Fredrick was involved in many abolitionist movements and usually led many of them. His main goal was ensuring freedom, and emancipation was part of the war's primary outcomes. Moreover, he was involved in the Dred Scott court case. During the Dred Scott Decision, the Supreme Court denied African Americans citizenship in America regardless of whether they were free or …show more content…

At the time, there was a social division between different types of slaves. "There are three distinct classes of slaves in the South." (The Different Classes of Slave Society). The three classes consisted of domestic, skilled, and field enslaved people. Domestic slaves served their "owner" and performed various household tasks. Most of them were very intelligent since they could read and write. "These slaves soon learn the language and readily adopt the manners of the family to which they are attached." (The Different Classes of Slave Society). Next were the "skilled" slaves who were trained in manual labor. Skilled slaves included mechanics, washwomen, and laborers. Since many were carpenters and mechanics, they were permitted to work in town. However, the money that they made had to be paid back to their owner. Lastly, the lowest group were known as the field slaves. Field slaves were the ones who worked in plantation fields. They worked on producing cash crops such as cotton, sugar, and tobacco. They worked in horrible conditions and were looked down upon by almost everyone. "They are not only regarded as such by the whites but by the two other classes [of slaves] who consider them infinitely beneath themselves." (The Different Classes of Slave

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Slaves were put into all types of work. “The 125 slaves on one plantation, for instance, included a butler, two waitresses, a nurse, a dairymaid, a gardener, ten carpenters, and two shoe-makers. Other plantations counted among their slaves engineers, blacksmiths, and weavers, as well as domestic workers from cooks to coachman” (Foner 425). Some slaves were put to fuel the steamboats by cutting woods, labor in coal and iron mines, in the southern ports the slaves manned the docks, also laid the railroad tracks. The local authorities put slaves to construct and repair bridges, roads and other facilities.

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Slaves played a huge role in the early American colonies because “communities were designed around slavery”. Slaves were commonly seen and worked throughout all colonies but were heavily used in the South. The Southern slaves were “forced to work under harsh conditions for long hours”. The majority of the men worked on plantations doing manual labor and the often times women were house servants. Their punishments could included being beaten, starved, tortured and or killed.

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This was not the only violent conflict between the Northern abolitionists and Southern farmers, as John Brown, a strong abolitionist, led a raid on Harpers Ferry in Virginia to try and spark a slave rebellion. In a political cartoon, Brown is shown as a hero and leader (Doc 4). But by many many southerners he was seen as insane, and as an aggressor for causing the deaths of multiple lives, adding on to the already high tensions in the

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John Brown was a fervent abolitionist who dedicated his life to the cause of ending slavery in the United States. He was involved in several violent confrontations with pro-slavery forces in the territories of Kansas and Missouri, where he earned the nickname “Osawatomie Brown” for his bravery and ruthlessness. He is best known for his daring raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859, where he intended to seize weapons and ammunition and distribute them to enslaved people in the South. He hoped to ignite a massive slave revolt that would overthrow the slave system and create a new republic of free people. However, his plan failed, as he was quickly surrounded by local militia and federal troops, led by Colonel Robert E. Lee.

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They were treated the worst out of any of the other groups, mainly because of their skin color. Whether they were slaves or free men, they were all oppressed. Free blacks were able to do more than slaves, but they always ran the risk of being captured and brought back into slavery. Even if they had their papers showing proof of their freedom, free African Americans could still be captured and sold into slavery illegally. Escaped slaves ran an even higher risk of being captured because of their lack of the documents.

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Slaves were treated poorly. They only got fed peas corn and some meats. Slaves would mostly work outside in the barn or in fields as field hands. If they did,they did all the farming and cleaning. If they were a house slave

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There were a lot of abolitionist in ending slavery in America but three where Frederick Douglass, David Walker, and William Lloyd Garrison. Frederick Douglass played a big part in ending America’s slavery. He lived in Washington, DC, Rochester, NY, and Baltimore, MD and lived from 1818 - February 20, 1895. Douglass

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The jobs that the slaves had were undoubtedly difficult. However, the slaves on plantations had jobs that usually required much more heavy physical labor. “For the bulk of the southern population-free and slave-engaged in agriculture, life was mean and labor was

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After slavery was abolished in the North, it became a peculiar institution of the South, which meant that it was an institution unique of southern society. Slavery was a system of labor in which the slaves suffered very difficult life conditions, violent punishments, and injustices. Most slaves lived on plantations or farms. Most slaves were field workers, while a small percentage worked on the industry. Usually, the slaves who worked in urban areas had more autonomy than those who worked in rural areas.

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The majority of slaves bought were used for labor in the owner’s plantation, only a selected few worked on the domestic duties of the household. The slave's job type determined their quality of food, clothing and shelter they would be provided. Domestic slaves worked in the house and their duties included: cleaning, cooking and tending to their owners demands. Working inside the house these slaves were usually better feed, given hand me down from their owners and living quarters were usually within the home and nicer than field slaves received. Field slaves would tend to the needs of the plantation which included harvesting crops, animal care and any outdoor chore that need to be completed.

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Between the years of 1670 and 1750, the enslaved population in the northern colonies remained at a steady number. In the southern colonies, population of enslaved African Americans increased from 15 percent to almost 40 percent of the total population. Slave labor allowed southern farmers to plant and harvest more crops without having to pay for labor, leading to the emergence of the wealthy planter-class that defines the antebellum south. Without the labor of enslaved people, this planter class would not have amassed exorbitant sums of wealth. Having slaves allowed these families to become even wealthier, helping them buy more slaves.

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There wasn't such a diversity of slaves in the South, most slaves worked on large plantations. Other slaves were maids, cooks, valets, coachmen, carpenters, and blacksmiths (Pinney). Although, these slaves did not have such a huge impact on the economy as the slaves that worked on the plantations. This was called productive slavery, which was when slaves did hard physical labor, such as working on plantations (“Slavery”). Two thirds of slaves ended up being bought in Southern colonies where they worked on sugarcane plantations.

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