African American History, November 10

Chapter 5 Notes:

After 1783 there was a growing trend in the North that favored emancipation. The Mid-Atlantic area also agreed but it took longer because whites were invested in the continuation of slavery.

The US constitution was a major force for the continuation of slavery. Key clauses helped strengthen the institution of slavery in the South

The emergence of the cotton industry (and invention of cotton gin) increased the need for slaves. Most of the cotton was exported to England who was the world’s largest supplier of textiles.

There was also new land for the United States. The Louisiana Purchase opened a debate about whether the new territory would permit slavery

Free black communities developed institutions to strengthen their standing. The first was the mutual aid society that served as a type of life insurance and also financed early abolitionist activity.

The Church served as the core of the African American community.

Black schools were supported by the church and mutual aid societies

By the 1790s there was a small black elite class in the North

Slave rebellions became more violent in the south and whites instituted new laws that limited the possibilities of an insurrection.

In the years after the War of 1812 there was an increased amount of friction over slavery in the new territories
The Missouri compromise (1820) was an effort to maintain sectional balance by allowing Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state and Maine to enter as a free state, while banning slavery north of the 36’30’’ line of latitude.