APUSH Review: Video #22: African American Communities And The Missouri Compromise

Summary

This video discusses the formation of African-American communities during slavery, highlighting strategies used to maintain dignity and family structures, such as creating surrogate families and using music for coping and religious practices. The video also explains the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which maintained a balance between free and slave states by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, and established the 36°30' line for future state determinations. The compromise helped temporarily ease tensions but was later overturned by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, leading to further conflict over slavery.

Takeaways

• 📚 African-American communities, especially among enslaved people, developed strategies to preserve dignity and family structures.
• 👨‍👩‍👦 Surrogate families were created by enslaved individuals to cope with the separation of family members sold to distant plantations.
• 🎶 Music played an important role for enslaved African Americans, helping to pass time, provide comfort, and was integral to religious services.
• ✊ Enslaved African Americans joined political efforts to change their status, such as the American Anti-Slavery Society.
• ⚖️ The Missouri Compromise, also known as the Compromise of 1820, sought to maintain a balance between free and slave states.
• 🗺️ Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state in 1819, threatening the balance between free and slave states (which was 11 each at the time).
• 🛠️ The Talmadge Amendment proposed gradual emancipation in Missouri but was rejected by the Senate, showcasing growing tensions over slavery in Congress.
• 🧑‍⚖️ The Missouri Compromise had three parts: Missouri entered as a slave state, Maine as a free state, and the 36°30' latitude line determined future free/slave territories.
• 🕰️ The Missouri Compromise maintained balance for 34 years until it was overturned by the Kansas-Nebraska Act in the 1850s.
• 🌍 As the U.S. expanded, particularly after the Mexican-American War, the issue of slavery in new territories became a central and contentious debate.

Q & A

What strategies did enslaved African Americans use to preserve their dignity and family structures?

Enslaved African Americans created surrogate families when family members were sold to distant plantations. This allowed them to cope with the separation by maintaining a family-like support system. Music and religious practices also played a key role in preserving their sense of community and identity.

How did music influence the lives of enslaved African Americans?

Music helped enslaved African Americans pass the time while working and was an essential element of religious services. It served as both a form of resistance and a means to maintain cultural and spiritual connections.

What was the American Anti-Slavery Society, and how did African Americans participate in it?

The American Anti-Slavery Society was a political movement aimed at ending slavery in the U.S. Enslaved African Americans supported these efforts by contributing to the fight for emancipation and participating in actions to change their legal status.

What was the Missouri Compromise, and why was it important?

The Missouri Compromise, passed in 1820, was a legislative agreement that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance between free and slave states. It also established the 36°30' line, which divided future states into free and slave territories based on their geographic location.

What impact did the Missouri Compromise have on the balance of free and slave states?

The Missouri Compromise maintained a balance of 12 free and 12 slave states, preventing either side from gaining dominance in the Senate. This balance lasted until the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, which ultimately overturned the compromise.

What was the Talmadge Amendment, and why did it fail?

The Talmadge Amendment proposed the gradual emancipation of children born to enslaved people in Missouri, freeing them once they turned 25. Although the House of Representatives favored it, the Senate rejected it, so it never came to fruition.

What was the significance of the 36°30' latitude line in the Missouri Compromise?

The 36°30' latitude line was established as a boundary for slavery in the Louisiana Territory. States north of this line were to be free states, and those south of it were to be slave states, creating a geographic division that would guide future state admissions.

How did the Missouri Compromise affect tensions over slavery in Congress?

The Missouri Compromise temporarily reduced tensions by balancing the number of free and slave states, but it highlighted the growing divide over slavery. This division would later re-emerge with greater intensity, especially after the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

What was the long-term impact of the Missouri Compromise on U.S. expansion?

The Missouri Compromise set a precedent for managing the expansion of slavery in new territories, but as the U.S. expanded beyond the Louisiana Territory, particularly after the Mexican-American War, the question of whether new territories would allow slavery became the central issue.

Why did the Kansas-Nebraska Act overturn the Missouri Compromise?

The Kansas-Nebraska Act, led by Stephen Douglas, introduced the concept of popular sovereignty, allowing settlers in new territories to decide whether to permit slavery. This directly overturned the Missouri Compromise's established guidelines on slavery north of the 36°30' line.