Slavery and AbolitionUnit 1- Slavery and the Nation Divided

Essential QuestionsWhat are the obstacles to altering an

institution, such as slavery, that are fundamental to the region’s economy and its way of life?

In what ways did the United States attempt to compromise on the ethical issue of slavery?

I. Slavery in the SouthAbout 2.8 million rural slaves

Worked mostly on plantations (cotton and tobacco, biggest cash crops and exports)

About 400,000 urban slaves

II. Abolitionists- People that supported the abolition, or ending of slaveryA. William Lloyd Garrison- white

abolitionist and editor that called for emancipation, the freeing of slaves with no payment to slaveholders

B. Frederick Douglass- born into slavery in 1817, he was taught to read and write by the wife of his ownerHe escaped slavery in 1838 and

became a popular anti-slavery speaker Published his newspaper called The

North Star

Nat Turner- Born into slavery, he was a gifted preacher that believed God had chosen him to end slaveryNat Turner’s Rebellion- Turner and

80 followers attacked four plantations and killed 60 whites

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBH3Xzz3Y3E

III. Slave Owners Defend slaveryA. Education to slaves was outlawedB. Some southern states debated ending

slavery, but rich slaveholders had the power to keep slavery in the antebellum (Pre-Civil War) South

C. Abolitionists tried to end slavery in Washington D.C., but a gag rule was put into place- limited debate on a topic