Anglais Civilisation "a house divided"

CIVI 1: The BLACKS in the USA

A HOUSE DIVIDED

“ All men are created equal “. The words of the Declaration of Independence were meaningless for the 4 million American Blacks held as (= considered as) slaves. Slavery had already been abolished in England and in France. In 1808 Congress abolished the Black Ivory Trade (commerce de “bois d’ébène”) But the North and the South of the United States were still divided over the slavery issue.

Slavery in 1860 :

There were :

• Free-soil states: 

California, Oregon, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York

• Western Territories in which slavery was abolished by Congress in 1862:

Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Washington, Dakota

• Slave States also called the Dixie Land: 

Texas, Missouri, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware

Slavery and Abolition :

Most slaves had difficult living conditions on plantations: no individual freedom, no right to education or to family life, hard work, little food, inadequate housing an d clothing, little or no medical care. They were considered their master’s property.

Several slave rebellions, like that of Nat Turner, in Virginia in 1831, frightened white slave owners terribly, but they could not change the system. Many slaves attempted to escape to the North where they would become free men. There were 130, 000 fugitive slaves in the North in 1830 and 200, 000 in 1850.

Masters naturally tried to capture these runaway slaves by organizing hunting expeditions and offering bounties (= recompense) to bounty hunters (= chasseurs de prime ) who could return fugitives.

Former slaves like Frederick Douglas or David Walker organized escape routes (= circuits d’ évasion), providing money, food and hiding places for fugitives. Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad helped more than 300 Blacks to freedom between 1849 and 1860.

Northern Whites also contributed to the abolitionist cause. Humanitarians organized themselves into abolitionist societies. Harriet Beecher Stowe of Massachusetts wrote “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” in 1852, a powerful novel which converted many readers to the antislavery cause.

A HOUSE DIVIDED

Part 1 : Introduction = SLAVERY from the beginning to 1860

Part 2 : SLAVERY and ABOLITION

a. Life on PLANTATIONs means : Things PROHIBITED :

- It’s forbidden for the « slaves » to communicate between each others during work.

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