Chapter11: The Pecular Institution , GML questions

                                                           
1. Given that by 1860 the economic investment represented by slave population exceeded the value of the nations factories, railroads, and banks combined, explain how important slavery was to the national economy and the emergence of the United States as a great power.

 -Slavery was essential to the national economy of the United States because slaves worked on the cotton fields, which was the greatest fields that receive money. Without  slaves, Americans would have not  much cotton, without cotton no mills would be open and people in the north wont have the chance to buy and export clothes to other countries. Slaves made the clothing possible because their was several slave families working in the fields and with no workers their is no product. Cotton was a big part of the economical investment in the U.S. because they would sell it everywhere and that was how the south made most of their money which funded transportation services that help get cotton to Europe( big buyers).   Most slaves lived in fields because that was were the difficult intensive labor (that nobody wanted to do) was.

2.Describe slave culture , explaining the similarities and differences among various regions.

- At first slave language was difficult because several slaves had came from different part of Africa but then as they started to produce more slaves they created and mix languages. Slaves mixed African beliefs with Christianity because when the Second Great Awakening occur, slaves were told that color, sex, and age do not matter because Go will protect you no matter what. Some white owners will take their slaves to church because the main church guy would tell slaves to no run away and that its "wonderful" to have white owners that have slaves. Similarity, with whites slaves inherited some of the cult of domesticity because the men would do the more difficult job and the women the "easier" even though they had to work. Slave men could not defend their women from white attacks or bring money to the house so it was similar in a different way. In some slave farms slaves would gather up to make shouts and dancing usually with a banjo.

3.Why did many white southerners support slavery even when the dis not actually own any slaves?

    -Several white southerns that did not own slaves supported slavery because they grew up the belief that slaves are worth nothing because they are colored and that white are superior. Mostly because of racism white did not like slaves they saw they as "dirty aliens" (not even human) that were only good for working and they often felt disgusted by them just because of their color. They would call them names, and just because most of the society had slaves, that also meant that most of the society only wanted workers and they didn't like slaves so they grew up in a period of hatred and racism.

4. What meanings of freedom were most important to the slaves?
   - The most important meanings of freedom were the slaves did not want someone( a white person) to be controlling their every move, be obligated to work, religion ...mostly they wanted their own will to do what they desire and be part of the U.S. society that has diverse races.

5. What forms of slave resistance were practiced in the American South?
    - The Amistad was a movement in 1839 when 53 slaves decided to take over a slave ship and made the captain go to Africa. Small resistance was killing a white family for hatred of sexual abuse, poisoning food, and not listening to their master. Nat Turner's rebellion was a form of resistance were Turner led a uprising were him and about other 80 slaves would go of killing whites. Free blacks would write narratives about their lives and even books or stories in newspapers that represented a knowledgeable resistance outreaching to everyone in society who read the newspaper.