Slavery - Crash Course US History #13

Summary

In this Crash Course U.S. History episode, John Green discusses the grim reality of slavery in America, emphasizing its profound impact on the nation's economy, society, and culture. He explores the slave-based economy's role in the South's agricultural focus and the North's industrialization, the brutal conditions slaves endured, and their resistance through family, religion, and acts of defiance. Green also addresses the intellectual justifications for slavery and the eventual inevitability of the Civil War due to the conflict between the institution of slavery and American ideals of liberty and equality.

Takeaways

• 📜 Slavery was a fundamental and deeply entrenched institution in American history, lasting from 1619 to 1865.
• 💰 The southern economy relied heavily on slavery, especially for cotton production, which fueled the industrial revolution in the North and global trade.
• 🏗️ The South remained largely agricultural and underdeveloped industrially, with much of its capital tied up in slave labor, hindering technological progress.
• 🧑‍🌾 Most slaveholders owned fewer than five slaves, and a large number of southern whites, though not slave owners, supported the institution for social and economic reasons.
• 📚 Southern intellectuals justified slavery as a positive good, with figures like John C. Calhoun promoting the belief that slavery benefited both races.
• 👨‍👩‍👦 Slaves resisted dehumanization by forming families, with marriage and parenthood providing a sense of dignity, though these families were often torn apart by slave sales.
• ⛪ Religion played a crucial role in slaves' lives, focusing on Biblical stories of liberation, despite slaveholders trying to control religious teachings.
• 🚶‍♂️ Many slaves resisted oppression by running away temporarily or permanently, with figures like Harriet Tubman helping others escape through the Underground Railroad.
• 🔫 Armed slave rebellions were rare but significant, with Nat Turner's 1831 rebellion striking fear in the South and leading to harsher laws against slaves.
• ✊ Slaves fought back against their oppression in subtle ways, such as work slowdowns, sabotage, and maintaining a sense of humanity through faith and family.

Q & A

What was the significance of cotton in the Southern economy during the 19th century?

Cotton was the most important commodity in world trade by the 19th century, with 3/4 of the world's cotton coming from the American South. It was crucial for the North's industrialization as cotton textiles were one of the first industrial products.

How did the Northern states benefit economically from the Southern slave-based economy?

Northern merchants became rich from cotton shipments overseas, northern bankers financed the purchase of plantation land, and northern insurance companies insured slaves as property. Northern manufacturers also sold cloth to the South, which was used to clothe the slaves.

What was the impact of the slave-based economy on the South's industrial development?

The profitability of slave-based agriculture, particularly in cotton, meant that the South remained largely agricultural and rural. It produced only 10% of the nation's manufactured goods and had very little industry or technological innovation, such as railroads.

How did the slave-based economy influence the urbanization of the South?

Slave-based agriculture siphoned money away from other economic endeavors, leading to little urbanization in the South except in a few cities like St. Louis, Baltimore, and New Orleans.

What was the typical size of slaveholdings in the South, and how did this affect the social structure?

The majority of slaveholders owned five or fewer slaves. Most white people in the South owned no slaves at all, but even the poorest whites supported slavery due to aspirational reasons and the legal and social status it provided.

How did Southern intellectuals justify slavery?

Southern intellectuals encouraged ideas of white solidarity and argued that slavery was beneficial. Some claimed that slaves benefited from being fed, clothed, and cared for by their masters.

What was the role of religion in the lives of slaves, and how did it serve as a form of resistance?

Religion was an important part of slave life, with many focusing on Biblical stories of overcoming oppression. Slave preachers became leaders, and religion provided a source of hope and dignity, which slave owners tried to suppress.

How did slaves resist their dehumanization within the system of slavery?

Slaves resisted dehumanization primarily by forming families, which provided a refuge and source of dignity. They also resisted through religion, education, and acts of defiance such as work slowdowns and sabotage.

What were some of the famous slave uprisings in the United States, and what was their impact?

Famous slave uprisings include Gabriel's Rebellion, the German Coast Uprising, Denmark Vesey's plot, and Nat Turner's Rebellion. These uprisings were often met with harsh responses from slave states, leading to stricter laws and increased brutality.

How did the idea of 'paternalism' affect the perception of slavery in the South?

Paternalism allowed slave owners to view themselves as benevolent, contrasting their 'family-oriented' slavery with the 'cold, mercenary capitalism' of the North. It was a way to rationalize the institution of slavery and maintain the social order.

Outlines

00:00

😔 The Impact and Legacy of Slavery in U.S. History

This paragraph introduces the topic of slavery in U.S. history, emphasizing its significant and somber impact. John Green discusses the economic and social importance of slavery, noting that it was a cornerstone of the southern economy and played a crucial role in the industrialization of the North. He points out the irony that while the North outlawed slavery, its economy still profited from it through the trade of cotton and other services. The paragraph also highlights the extent of slavery's reach by 1860, with four million slaves in the U.S., and how it shaped the South's economy and culture, leading to a lack of industrial development and technological innovation. The discussion also touches on the various ways in which slavery was justified and the efforts of southern intellectuals to promote white solidarity and the idea of slavery as a 'positive good.'

05:05

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Slave Resistance and the Importance of Family and Religion

This paragraph delves into the harsh realities of slave life, including the coerced labor, brutality, and dehumanization that slaves faced. It contrasts this with the resilience and resistance of slaves, who found ways to assert their humanity through forming families and practicing religion. Despite the efforts of slave owners to suppress these aspects of slave life, slaves managed to create communities and maintain a sense of dignity. The paragraph also discusses the role of religion in slave life, with slaves finding hope and inspiration in Biblical stories of liberation and resistance. The narrative includes examples of slave resistance, such as the formation of families against the wishes of slave owners, the importance of slave preachers, and the role of the Bible in fostering a sense of hope and community among slaves.

10:06

✊ Forms of Slave Resistance and the Inevitability of the Civil War

This paragraph explores the various forms of resistance that slaves employed against their oppression, ranging from running away to participating in armed rebellions. It discusses the significant, though risky, acts of resistance such as the escape of Harriet Tubman and the rebellion led by Nat Turner. The paragraph also acknowledges the more subtle forms of resistance, like work slowdowns and sabotage, which were crucial in maintaining a sense of humanity and dignity. The narrative concludes by emphasizing that slaves' resistance, even in the face of severe punishment and the threat to their lives, was a testament to their determination to assert their humanity. This resistance, in turn, contributed to the growing tensions that would eventually lead to the Civil War.

Keywords

💡Slavery

Slavery refers to the system in which individuals are treated as property and are forced to work against their will. In the context of the video, it is a central theme as it discusses the history of slavery in the United States, its economic impact, and the struggle of enslaved people. The video emphasizes how slavery was deeply ingrained in American society and economy, shaping not only the South but also the North through its connections to industrialization and trade.

💡Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant. In the video, cotton is highlighted as a major commodity that drove the southern economy and was crucial for the industrialization of the North. The demand for cotton and its role in world trade made it a significant factor in the profitability of slave labor, as the American South produced 3/4 of the world's cotton.

💡Market Revolution

The Market Revolution refers to the economic transformation in the United States during the early 19th century, characterized by the shift from a subsistence economy to a market economy. The video explains that the South's slave-based economy was not separate from this revolution, as the cotton produced in the South was essential for the industrialization of the North, which was part of the Market Revolution.

💡Dehumanization

Dehumanization is the act of depriving a person of their individuality or humanity. In the video, dehumanization is discussed as a key strategy used by slaveholders to justify and maintain the institution of slavery. By treating slaves as less than human, slaveholders could rationalize their actions and the brutal conditions under which slaves lived and worked.

💡Resistance

Resistance in the context of the video refers to the various ways enslaved people fought against their oppression. This includes forming families, practicing religion, running away, and even armed rebellion. The video highlights that while armed resistance was rare and often suicidal, the everyday acts of resistance, such as work slowdowns and maintaining a sense of humanity, were powerful forms of pushback against the system of slavery.

💡Paternalism

Paternalism is the practice of treating people in a way that is overly protective or interfering, like a father would treat his children. In the video, it is mentioned that some slaveholders used paternalism to justify slavery, arguing that they were providing care and protection to their slaves, thus portraying slavery as beneficial rather than exploitative.

💡Yeoman Farmers

Yeoman farmers were small-scale farmers who owned their land and worked it themselves. The video describes these farmers as owning the poorest land, being relatively poor, and supporting slavery, possibly due to aspirational reasons or the social status that the racist system provided even to the poorest whites.

💡Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was a secret network of people and safe houses that helped enslaved people escape to freedom in the northern states or Canada. The video mentions Harriet Tubman, who was a conductor on the Underground Railroad, making multiple trips to help others escape slavery.

💡Nat Turner's Rebellion

Nat Turner's Rebellion, also known as Turner's Rebellion, was a violent slave uprising that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1831. Led by Nat Turner, a preacher and enslaved man, a group of slaves killed around 60 white people. The video discusses this event as one of the most successful slave rebellions in terms of the number of people killed, but it also led to harsher laws and increased oppression of slaves.

💡Racism

Racism is the belief in the inherent superiority of one race over another, which often results in discrimination and prejudice. The video discusses how racism was used to justify slavery, with slaveholders and supporters arguing that black people were inherently inferior to whites. This racist ideology was used to maintain the social order and the institution of slavery.

💡Civil War

The Civil War refers to the conflict fought between the United States (the North) and the Confederate States of America (the South) from 1861 to 1865. The video suggests that the struggle with the legacy of slavery and the differing economic and social systems between the North and South made the Civil War inevitable, as the contradictions within the American idea could not be reconciled.

Highlights

Slavery was a central and devastating institution in U.S. history, spanning from 1619 to 1865.

The Southern economy was heavily dependent on slave labor, particularly for cotton production, which was a key commodity in global trade.

The North benefited from slavery through financing, insurance, and the sale of goods to the South, despite the outlawing of slavery in many Northern states.

Slavery influenced the economic development of the South, leading to a focus on agriculture over industry and a lack of technological innovation.

The majority of slaveholders in the South owned five or fewer slaves, and many white Southerners did not own any slaves at all.

Slavery was justified by some Southern intellectuals and plantation owners through racist ideologies and biblical interpretations.

Slaves resisted their oppression through forming families, which provided a source of dignity and resistance against dehumanization.

Religion played a significant role in the lives of slaves, with many finding solace and inspiration in biblical stories of liberation.

Slaves engaged in various forms of resistance, including running away, work slowdowns, and sabotage.

Notable slave rebellions, such as Nat Turner's, caused fear among white Southerners and led to harsher slave laws.

The most successful form of resistance for slaves was maintaining their humanity and identity in the face of a system designed to dehumanize them.

Slavery's legacy continues to impact American society, highlighting the importance of understanding its history.

The transcript emphasizes the importance of recognizing the agency and resistance of slaves, contrary to common misconceptions.

Slavery was not only a moral and social issue but also a significant economic and political factor in the United States.

The transcript discusses the role of slave labor in the industrialization of the North and its global economic implications.

The South's economy was characterized by a lack of diversification due to the overwhelming focus on slave-based agriculture.

The transcript provides a critical examination of the justifications for slavery and the ideologies that supported it.

Transcripts

Hi, I'm John Green, this is Crash Course U.S. History, and today, we're going to talk about slavery, which is not funny.

Yeah, so we put a lei on the eagle to try and cheer you up, but let's face it, this is going to be depressing.

With slavery, every time you think, like, "Aw, it couldn't have been that bad," it turns out to have been much worse.

Mr. Green, Mr. Green! But what about –

Yeah, Me from the Past, I'm going to stop you right there, because you're going to embarrass yourself. Slavery was hugely important to America.

I mean, it led to a civil war and it also lasted what, at least in U.S. history, counts as a long-ass time, from 1619 to 1865.

And yes, I know there's a 1200-year-old church in your neighborhood in Denmark, but we're not talking about Denmark!

But slavery is most important because we still struggle with its legacy.

So, yes, today's episode will probably not be funny, but it will be important.

[Theme Music]

So the slave-based economy in the South is sometimes characterized as having been separate from the Market Revolution, but that's not really the case.

Without southern cotton, the North wouldn't have been able to industrialize, at least not as quickly, because cotton textiles were one of the first industrially products.

And the most important commodity in world trade by the nineteenth century, and 3/4 of the world's cotton came from the American South.

And speaking of cotton, why has no one mentioned to me that my collar has been half popped this entire episode, like I'm trying to recreate the Flying Nun's hat.

And although there were increasingly fewer slaves in the North as northern states outlawed slavery, cotton shipments overseas made northern merchants rich.

Northern bankers financed the purchase of land for plantations.

Northern insurance companies insured slaves who were, after all, considered property, and very valuable property.

And in addition to turning cotton into cloth for sale overseas, northern manufacturers sold cloth back to the South, where it was used to clothe the very slaves who had cultivated it.

But certainly the most prominent effects of the slave-based economy were seen in the South.

The profitability of slaved-based agriculture, especially King Cotton, meant that the South would remain largely agricultural and rural.

Slave states were home to a few cities, like St. Louis and Baltimore, but with the exception of New Orleans,

almost all southern urbanization took place in the upper South, further away from the large cotton plantations.

And slave-based agriculture was so profitable that it siphoned money away from other economic endeavors.

Like, there was very little industry in the South.

It produced only 10% of the nation's manufactured goods.

And, as most of the capital was being plowed into the purchase of slaves, there was very little room for technological innovation, like, for instance, railroads.

This lack of industry and railroads would eventually make the South suck at the Civil War, thankfully.

In short, slavery dominated the South, shaping it both economically and culturally, and slavery wasn't a minor aspect of American society.

By 1860, there were four million slaves in the U.S., and in the South, they made up one third of the total population.

Although in the popular imagination, most plantations were these sprawling affairs with hundreds of slaves,

in reality, the majority of slaveholders owned five or fewer slaves.

And, of course, most white people in the South owned no slaves at all, though, if they could afford to, they would sometimes rent slaves to help with their work.

These were the so-called yeoman farmers who lived self-sufficiently, raised their own food, and purchased very little in the Market Economy.

They worked the poorest land and, as a result, were mostly pretty poor themselves.

But even they largely supported slavery, partly, perhaps, for aspirational reasons, and partly because the racism inherent to the system gave even the poorest whites legal and social status.

And southern intellectuals worked hard to encourage these ideas of white solidarity and to make the case for slavery.

Many of the founders, a bunch of whom you'll remember, held slaves, saw slavery as a necessary evil.

Jefferson once wrote, quote, "As it is, we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go.

Justice is on one scale, and self-preservation in the other."

The belief that justice and self-preservation couldn't sit on the same side of the scale was really opposed to the American idea,

and, in the end, it would make the Civil War inevitable.

But as slavery became more entrenched in these ideas of liberty and political equality were embraced by more people,

some southerners began to make the case that slavery wasn't just a necessary evil.

They argued, for instance, that slaves benefited from slavery.

Because, you know, because their masters fed them and clothed them and took care of them in their old age.

You still hear this argument today, astonishingly.

In fact, you'll probably see asshats in the comments saying that in the comments.

I will remind you, it's not cursing if you are referring to an actual ass.

This paternalism allowed masters to see themselves as benevolent and to contrast their family-oriented slavery with the cold, mercenary Capitalism of the free-labor North.

So yeah, in the face of rising criticism of slavery, some southerners began to argue that the institution was actually good for the social order.

One of the best-known proponents of this view was John C. Calhoun, who, in 1837, said this in a speech on the Senate floor:

"I hold that, in the present state of civilization,

where two races of different origin and distinguished by color and other physical differences as well as intellectual, are brought together,

the relation now existing in the slave-holding states between the two is, instead of an evil, a good. A positive good."

Now, of course, John C. Calhoun was a fringe politician, and nobody took his views particularly seriously.

Stan: Well, he was Secretary of State from 1844 to 1845.

John: Well, I mean, who really cares about the Secretary of State, Stan?

Danica: Eh, he was also Secretary of War from 1817 to 1825.

John: All right, but we don't even have a Secretary of War anymore, so...

Meredith: And he was Vice President from 1825 to 1832.

John: Oh my god, were we insane?!

We were, of course, but we justified the insanity with Biblical passages and with the examples of the Greeks and Romans,

and with outright racism, arguing that black people were inherently inferior to whites.

And that not to keep them in slavery would upset the natural order of things.

A worldview popularized millennia ago by my nemesis, Aristotle. God, I hate Aristotle.

You know what defenders of Aristotle always say?

"He was the first person to identify dolphins."

Well, ok, dolphin identifier.

Yes, that is what he should be remembered for, but he's a terrible philosopher!

Here's the truth about slavery:

It was coerced labor that relied upon intimidation and brutality and dehumanization.

And this wasn't just a cultural system, it was a legal one.

I mean, Louisiana law proclaimed that a slave "owes his master... a respect without bounds, and an absolute obedience."

The signal feature of slaves' lives was work.

I mean, conditions and tasks varied, but all slaves labored, usually from sunup to sundown, and almost always without any pay.

Most slaves worked in agriculture on plantations, and conditions were different, depending on which crops are grown.

Like, slaves on the rice plantations of South Carolina had terrible working conditions,

but they labored under the task system, which meant that once they had completed their allotted daily work, they would have time to do other things.

But lest you imagine this is like how we have work and leisure time, bear in mind that they were owned and treated as property.

On cotton plantations, most slaves worked in gangs, usually under the control of an overseer, or another slave who was called a "driver."

This was back-breaking work done in the southern sun and humidity, and so it's not surprising that whippings – or the threat of them – were often necessary to get slaves to work.

It's easy enough to talk about the brutality of slave discipline, but it can be difficult to internalize it.

Like, you look at these pictures, but because you've seen them over and over again, they don't have the power they once might have.

The pictures can tell a story about cruelty, but they don't necessarily communicate how arbitrary it all was.

As, for example, in this story, told by a woman who was a slave as a young girl:

"[The] overseer... went to my father one morning and said, "Bob, I'm gonna whip you this morning."

Daddy said, "I ain't done nothing," and he said, "I know it, I'm going to whip you to keep you from doing nothing,"

and he hit him with that cowhide – you know it would cut the blood out of you with every lick if they hit you hard."

That brutality – the whippings, the brandings, the rape – was real, and it was intentional, because, in order for slavery to function, slaves had to be dehumanized.

This enabled slaveholders to rationalize what they were doing, and it was hoped to reduce slaves to the animal property that is implied by the term "chattel slavery."

So the idea was that slaveholders wouldn't think of their slaves as human, and slaves wouldn't think of themselves as human.

But it didn't work. Let's go to the Thought Bubble.

Slaves' resistance to their dehumanization took many forms, but the primary way was by forming families.

Family was a refuge for slaves and a source of dignity that masters recognized and sought to stifle.

A paternalistic slave owner named Bennet H. Barrow wrote in his rules for the Highland Plantation:

"No rule that I have stated is of more importance than that relating to Negroes marrying outside of the plantation... It creates a feeling of independence."

Most slaves did marry, usually for life, and, when possible, slaves grew up in two-parent households.

Single-parent households were common, though, as a result of one parent being sold.

In the upper South, where the economy was shifting from tobacco to different, less labor-intensive cash crops, the sale of slaves was common.

Perhaps one-third of slave marriages in states like Virginia were broken up by sale.

Religion was also an important part of life in slavery.

While masters wanted their slaves to learn the parts of the Bible that talked about being happy in bondage,

slave worship tended to focus on the stories of Exodus, where Moses brought the slaves out of bondage,

or Biblical heroes, who overcame great odds, like Daniel and David.

And, although most slaves were forbidden to learn to read and write, many did anyway. And some became preachers.

Slave preachers were often very charismatic leaders, and they roused the suspicion of slave owners, and not without reason.

Two of the most important slave uprisings in the South were led by preachers.

Thanks, Thought Bubble.

Oh, it's time for the Mystery Document?

We're doing two set pieces in a row? All right. [buzzing noise] [music]

The rules here are simple.

I wanted to re-shoot that, but Stan said no.

I guess the author of the Mystery Document.

If I am wrong, I get shocked with the shock pen.

"Since I have been in the Queen's dominions I have been well contented, yes well contented for sure, man is as God intended he should be.

That is, all are born free and equal.

This is a wholesome law, not like the southern laws which puts man made in the image of God on level with brutes.

O, what will become of the people, and where will they stand in the day of judgment.

Would that the 5th verse of the 3rd chapter of Malachi were written as with a bar of iron,

and the point of a diamond upon every oppressor's heart that they might repent of this evil, and let the oppressed go free..."

All right, it's definitely a preacher, because only preachers have read Malachi.

Probably African American, probably not someone from the South.

I'm going to guess that it is Richard Allen, the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church?

[buzzing noise] DAAAH, DANG IT!

It's Joseph Taper, and Stan just pointed out to me that I should have known it was Joseph Taper because it starts out,

"Since I have been in the Queen's dominions..."

He was in Canada. He escaped slavery to Canada. The Queen's dominions!

All right, Canadians, I blame you for this, although, thank you for abolishing slavery decades before we did.

[electric sounds] AHHH!

So, the Mystery Document shows one of the primary ways that slaves resisted their oppression: by running away.

Although some slaves like Joseph Taper escaped for good by running away to northern free states,

or even to Canada, where they wouldn't have to worry about fugitive slave laws, even more slaves ran away temporarily, hiding out in the woods or the swamps, and eventually returning.

No one knows exactly how many slaves escaped to freedom, but the best estimate is that a thousand or so a year made the journey northward.

Most fugitive slaves were young men, but the most famous runaway has been hanging out behind me all day long: Harriet Tubman.

Harriet Tubman escaped to Philadelphia at the age of 29, and over the course of her life, she made about 20 trips back to Maryland to help friends and relatives make the journey north on the Underground Railroad.

But a more dramatic form of resistance to slavery was actual, armed rebellion, which was attempted.

Now, individuals sometimes took matters into their own hands and beat or even killed their white overseers or masters.

Like Bob, the guy who received the arbitrary beating, responded to it by killing his overseer with a hoe.

But that said, large-scale slave uprisings were relatively rare.

The four most famous ones all took place in a 35-year period at the beginning of the 19th century.

Gabriel's Rebellion in 1800 – which we've talked about before – was discovered before he was able to carry out his plot.

Then, in 1811, a group of slaves upriver from New Orleans seized cane, knives, and guns, and marched on the city before militia stopped them.

And in 1822, Denmark Vesey, a former slave who had purchased his freedom, may have organized a plot to destroy Charleston, South Carolina.

I say "may have" because the evidence against him is disputed and comes from a trial that was not fair.

But regardless, the end result of that trial was that he was executed, as were 34 slaves.

But the most successful slave rebellion, at least in the sense that they actually killed some people, was Nat Turner's in August 1831.

Turner was a preacher, and with a group of about 80 slaves, he marched from farm to farm in South Hampton County, Virginia,

killing the inhabitants, most of whom were women and children, because the men were attending a religious revival meeting in North Carolina.

Turner and 17 other rebels were captured and executed, but not before they struck terror into the hearts of whites all across the American South.

Virginia's response was to make slavery worse, passing even harsher laws that forbade slaves from preaching, and prohibited teaching them to read.

Other slave states followed Virginia's lead and, by the 1830s, slavery had grown, if anything, more harsh.

So, this shows that large-scaled armed resistance was – Django Unchained aside – not just suicidal, but also a threat to loved ones and, really, to all slaves.

But, it is hugely important to emphasize that slaves did resist their oppression.

Sometimes this meant taking up arms, but usually it meant more subtle forms of resistance,

like intentional work slowdowns or sabotaging equipment, or pretending not to understand instructions.

And, most importantly, in the face of systematic legal and cultural degradation, they re-affirmed their humanity through family and through faith.

Why is this so important?

Because too often in America, we still talk about slaves as if they failed to rise up,

when, in fact, rising up would not have made life better for them or for their families.

The truth is, sometimes carving out an identity as a human being in a social order that is constantly seeking to dehumanize you, is the most powerful form of resistance.

Refusing to become the chattel that their masters believed them to be is what made slavery untenable and the Civil War inevitable, so make no mistake, slaves fought back.

And in the end, they won. I'll see you next week.

Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller.

The script supervisor is Meredith Danko.

Our associate producer is Danica Johnson.

The show is written by my high school history teacher Raoul Meyer and myself.

And our graphics team is Thought Cafe.

Every week, there's a new caption to the Libertage, but today's episode was so sad that we couldn't fit a Libertage in...

UNTIL NOW! [Libertage Rock Music]

Suggest Libertage caption in comments, where you can also ask questions about today's video that will be answered by our team of historians.

Thanks for watching Crash Course, and as we say in my home town, don't forget to be abolitionist.