ANTEBELLUM SLAVERY APUSH PERIOD 5 THE ANTEBELLUM PERIOD

ANTEBELLUM SLAVERY APUSH PERIOD 5

THE ANTEBELLUM PERIOD Antebellum refers to the period of time in America leading up to the civil war Slavery became a part of the social, political, and economical aspects of the Antebellum South Slavery was beginning to end, except in the South Northerners abolished slavery and worked to abolish it in other states Federal government prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory Banned external slave trade Abolition movements said slavery as sinful and immoral

SLAVERY IN THE NORTH Slavery was beginning to end in the North but not in the South States above Mason-Dixon line abolished slavery Abolitionists (usually Northerners) worked to abolish slavery in other states Federal government prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory Banned external slave trade Abolition movements said slavery as sinful and immoral

SLAVERY IN THE SOUTH Treatment of slaves Brutality, discrimination, whippings, executions, rapes, beatings Slaves resisted Rebellions, defiance, and running away

SLAVERY IN THE ECONOMY Plantation owners, investors, and overseers relied on slavery to make profit Cheap labor force, get lots of work done, bring in more money If slavery was abolished they would lose a lot of money, so they fought desperately to keep slavery Large part of south’s economy and therefore the nation’s economy People worried the nation’s economy would fail if slavery was abolished North dependent on crops from the south

LIFE OF A SLAVE Denied basic education Prohibited from assembling for religious gatherings Prevent potential escape or rebellion Punished for disobedience and to assert dominance Whipped, shackled, hanged, beaten, burned, mutilated, branded, and imprisoned Women – rape and sexual abuse

Some slaves worked in urban areas as domestic servants, but most worked on plantations or large farms Cash crops – rice, tobacco, sugar, indigo, and cotton Good soil and climate Invention of the cotton gin increased cotton production in the South and Southwest Increased demand for slaves Many attempted to escape slavery through the Underground Railroad Go North to freedom

RESULTS Disagreements between the North and South over slavery was one cause of the Civil War President Abraham Lincoln freed slaves in the rebellious Southern states with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 Thirteenth Amendment permanently abolished slavery throughout the entire United States in 1865