The Evolution of Slavery in the United States

The Evolution of Slavery in the United States

The Origin of Race-Based Slavery in the United States

Indentured servitude was initially the main source of labor in the American colonies, but as its popularity waned, race-based slavery took hold.

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The Middle Passage

The sea voyage that transported African slaves to the Americas, often under brutal conditions.

Slave Trade

The first Africans in the British colonies were likely indentured servants, but slavery evolved into a lifelong and hereditary condition defined by race.

Treatment of Slaves

Slaves worked in various settings, with differing levels of hardship and autonomy.

Nat Turner's Rebellion and Increased Restrictions

Nat Turner's Rebellion in 1831 led to harsher slave laws.

Conflict over Slavery

Abolitionist movements grew, led by figures such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, but faced opposition, as seen in the Dred Scott Case.

Emancipation

After the Civil War, the Reconstruction period offered a brief window for African American advancement, but soon restrictions and discrimination prompted many to migrate north.

Northern Migration

The movement of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North for better opportunities.

Definition List

Indentured Servitude: A system where Europeans worked for a period to repay their passage to America. 

Middle Passage: The sea voyage that transported African slaves to the Americas, often under brutal conditions. 

Auction Block: A platform where slaves were sold to the highest bidder, frequently resulting in family separations. 

 learned trades but had their wages taken by masters.
Nat Turner's Rebellion: An 1831 slave revolt in Virginia that led to increased slave restrictions.
Abolitionism: The movement to end slavery, promoted by activists like Garrison and Douglass.
Dred Scott Case: An 1857 Supreme Court decision that denied citizenship and rights to African Americans.
Reconstruction: The period after the Civil War aimed at rebuilding Southern society and integrating freed slaves.
Great Migration: The movement of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North for better opportunities.

Definition List

Field Slaves: Slaves who worked on plantations performing hard labor in agriculture. 

Urban Slaves: City-dwelling slaves who often learned trades but had their wages taken by masters. 

Nat Turner's Rebellion: An 1831 slave revolt in Virginia that led to increased slave restrictions. 

Abolitionism: The movement to end slavery, promoted by activists like Garrison and Douglass.
Dred Scott Case: An 1857 Supreme Court decision that denied citizenship and rights to African Americans.
Reconstruction: The period after the Civil War aimed at rebuilding Southern society and integrating freed slaves.
Great Migration: The movement of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North for better opportunities.

Definition List

Abolitionism: The movement to end slavery, promoted by activists like Garrison and Douglass. 

Dred Scott Case: An 1857 Supreme Court decision that denied citizenship and rights to African Americans. 

Reconstruction: The period after the Civil War aimed at rebuilding Southern society and integrating freed slaves. 

Great Migration: The movement of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North for better opportunities.

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