Africans in America; 104; Judgment Day; Interview with Daniel Littlefield, Carolina Distinguished Professor, University of South Carolina

the prescription whoa whoa whoa ninety city's northern white people quickly abolitionists until he sold a slave through and freedom is absolute and handcuffed the men are part of the map to terms but for more than black people slavery and freedom or relatives free blacks often suffered from the effects of discrimination and slavery had limited possibilities in peace and freedom and possibilities and freedom or is a slave who was killed who was a driver might have a great deal of responsibility and i didn't have a great deal of relative freedom in terms of making decisions in terms of respect you got in slavery and

there were stories of a free black people of the slaves who operate pretty much like their electric people no fried northerner would want to change places with a slave over privileged our hallways are much more responsibility he exercised about nevertheless idiot conditioned them to think of slavery and freedom relative album absolute terms and so that when northern abolitionist hard abolitionists took some of the positions they get very hard and fast positions in terms of morality of freedom and immorality of slavery black people looked at those issues in slightly different ways they could see for example working with an abolitionist want northern abolitionist

aw that many of these bees these commissioners were prejudiced and many of them would not hire blacks many of them treated blacks and bitterness to way in the same way that that planters did so but people suddenly realize that the north was not them it was an ideal as a chorus more than a white abolitionists wanted to devote all the time too the abolition of slavery and northern blacks had a wider range of concerns over concerned about the discrimination and concerned about prejudice they were concerned about job opportunities you know is hugo chavez mobilizing more of

your story well for a sliver skipping to the north racist committee and one of the interesting things is slower to although many northerners i remembered as head of the sympathy for runaway slave a foot of something for the root for the underdog and trying to runaway slaves that sympathy was much greater if the slave kept going when they were willing to often not always but often willing to help slaves escape but it's just a couple more manual which candidate would that was much better than for slaves and we slice episode when the local community so there was a great deal of and it was amazing

well because america was a racist society and the worst stereotypes about about blacks about the black laziness about like a responsibility and there were his competition to the fear of the competition among working class white people so all of this and one of the things that that to de tocqueville the french visitors who came to america night committing thirties what are the things that you discovered was that today the northern racial prejudice world's greatest in those areas it hit the fewest blacks and so that presenters was afraid of it was even greater in the north and in the south because among people and fewer contacts with the people all they had were there stereotypes and ma never really known any

black prison didn't fit the stereotypes the world well offer free but first well one of the things that's important in and just as opposed to sociology for example is just change over time so if you were a free black and the north at the beginning of the nineteen century you might feel relative optimism deepening over your living if you were a free black in philadelphia which has a large relatively act two popular by competition in terms of social institutions and so forth you might have some optimism about success if you're

a black living in boston where there are fewer blacks and constantly face more discrimination he might be less optimistic but as this mighty centered vast that they were after liberating thirties things start to deteriorate and it was a lot of competition from immigrant didn't exist and the beginning of the century and the it'll also there to enter into voting for example and eighteen thirties a number of the state's change laws that forbade blacks to vote who have had the vote to previously there were opportunities fewer opportunities in many areas for getting jobs for example during the early nineties and two blocks of virtually monopolize selling was just on the street in philadelphia and those kinds of jobs that didn't always

last throughout throughout the nineteenth century before the irish large irish immigration and eighteen thirty two cell blocks of monopolize jobs of big steel doors with irish immigration it was good to the competition between a black slash for those jobs but lost a lot of those jobs now at all of the servants in new york city where order to get to be black end before they turn thirty years after that conflict over one historian says that the number of irish a service in new york city a number of let's put five to win so far oh what happened over the course of the nineteenth century from him again until about the middle of the nineteenth century was at the economy and the political situation for black people were deteriorated to an end cities well one of the things that really started to happen

after if slavery ended for from northern boxes boxes to develop their own institutions and actually some that began before before slavery and animals but the blocks were discriminated against in religious institutions churches and so one of the things that works or should it was deformed and a religious son their own religious institutions and of course the common people on the other jones and richard allen in philadelphia who eventually ended up fine funding that became the aftermath is a fiscal church you had a movement for separation among blacks in another northern city's at work as well and then in new york and in baltimore and elsewhere in years and its because of these actually separate movements of four separate black congregations that permitted to the aftermath of a methodist episcopal church to become sort of a national organization by

by uniting the separate if separatist movements and other places in the north and so in an ant philadelphia you also had to neighborhoods that were largely black there were not really all clap and in most cases but the majority black and so they work the neighborhood there are meetings at churches and those kinds of things which up to good to give their peculiar sense of cohesion and so forth and then once the abolitionist movement at develop after a competitive that is that the removal is not an abolitionist then black people could work was with white people and in terms of mobilizing against to not only slavery but aspects of discrimination in northern cities for cycling and schools were most schools that were set up were segregated schools

are so blacks did corporate was with local militias and in terms of trying to get innovative schools or you only successful mean there were there were individual efforts in most cases these efforts didn't last very long by and large schooling was was segregated but there were quite an abolitionist quite in the commissioner's attempts to teacher too two to change the situation when lebanon is trying to do with the current mission that is is a vision of those in the songs so how mozart did we can prove our listeners and sean what's the oceans as well well liu all black crow organizations from eritrea beginning and seventeen eighties with lettuce the

first black organization performed at the african society of affairs in society in her newport rhode island a followup on at the thrift in society in philadelphia an incentive eighty seven but an amends from that point onwards nearly all of these these black organizations were self help and self improvement they wanted to date they advise their members to refrain from joplin as two to be frugal to make sure the marriages were so modest tu tu tu tu own land to live more the apartment for often do so these organizations have religious dimension how all of which were designed to to set to suggest to to white people that to the stereotypes that were held by most white people about blacks were were

wrong but there was a feeling that black sent it to sort of prove their supposedly that by their example a live down these fees these stereotypes and an n and then into song and often used these ideas ideas sort of became a commonplace do for for for local musicians inserted into the twentieth century you will well the black abolitionists did not true and discrimination based on objective two to two quiet prejudice arts commission even among even among abolitionists there was three one abolitionists who are

delicious food and attentive to integration of schools who were introduced a young black student in to his classroom and he said that and the other students the white student got along well with a vivid they didn't seem to recognize him as the older ah and there's these kinds of attitudes that were a prominent among white abolitionists such they were a cause of tension there was another white abolitionists who you mentioned that he worked on the street with a lot a person that the darker than i became the more of nablus since he became because people couldn't say that so that there were there were these kinds of tensions resulting from the prejudice that that that quiet abolitionists had over the ingredient is something important thing about these abolitionists is that they they believe in evolution and worked with black people despite

these prejudices are still causing tensions the other thing was that they knew their business new the white abolitionists viewed pollution and as part of a larger group of consents of reforms temperance women's rights and dirty sometimes blacks are more concerned about evolution isn't going to end the kind of things even though there were black and what concerns about setting also contend with temperatures well but but done very different perspectives on what was important and then on the way in which they viewed the various types of reforms do get calls considerable attention of course

ms wilentz put up two because among white abolitionists the robo are divisions over for example the question of women's rights in the summer militias stalk the women's rights movement it been trying to do to the state's rights for women was traumatic and too much and some of the important or is understood and it was important well we might distinguishes his sermons drew between anti slavery feelings an abolitionist aside from sports that develop with an abolitionist movement over the best strategy to end slavery and they spent over things like women's rights despite over things like political action some believe that political action was justifiable mr julian

slavery others there's an admissions believe that political action wasn't because they believe it so that the political system was immoral but as slavery was immoral know for political action was a moral other wishes filled after eating forty that this was not the case that the political system was and moreover was aware that people were using a political system political system was so i will siphon that it's that split among abolitionists there was also by the eighteen fifties large numbers of people in the north are people who were not abolitionists who had had an anti slavery stands defiant as being opposed to the spread of slavery they didn't really care whether slave or continue to exist in the south which seized it ah but they were opposed to the spread of slavery and that's what the republican party was formed it was formed to do to try to stop the spread of slavery

most of they raided the people who join the republican party and who were opposed to the spread of slavery or by no means abolitionists in and they were careful to try to to make that distinction so they give a huge slavery and the spread of slavery has been destructive of the rights of working class white people the competition with slaves that would end their view cheapens flavor ah and so recently didn't listen to divide black for a number of reasons so they were anti slavery in the sense of keeping slavery word was that they weren't a malicious reasons that they didn't want to necessarily abolish slavery what is it it simply has to do with with racial

prejudice you have all of these concerns about over so that their there's something bb the prejudice that delegates who lacks two of the lowest level of society means that blacks are given jobs and why people generally don't want to do is i'm black people dan are going to send jobs as white people that cheapens the job because it's consider to be a so called nigger job and get it to do and it becomes not respectable for for why people to do and and that was the thing about stephen dorff it was hard work it was dirty work depicted in moscow where people didn't want to do it the irish came over who were poor they started to take those jobs but dunning offering to absorb the prejudice or commercial produced prejudice are they

debate at certain points didn't want to corporate with blacks and doing those jobs are part in terms of the start the in terms of the status was that there was a competition so so well but but generally a job that was considered to be a good job that was acceptable for blacks was was not a giant it was acceptable for why that's the question they don't want to later today well competition with the medical competition implies equality if you argued that white people or unequal

than the competition is it shouldn't be equal and so you can't compete with with blacks equally for the same jobs because it lowers you if you're doing that same kind of job now so what employers would attempt to take advantage of these stereotypes by paying people less money than whites that would be one way of trying to rationalize hiring black people but the effect of that however was to increase competition because obviously if you're paying like people less and an end and the economic circumstances of blacks who says that they're going to be willing to take less about how to take a lesser are not work at all this then i would encourage an employer to warm and poor unemployed blacks so you have some kind of a circular argument developing

black labor is cheaper because blacks are inferior and the thing you got to do is to stop the competition with plots for sometimes a status and secondly in terms of the economic competition sue robel you understand that well how did this video but that attention was affective it it depends on what current of time but that attention was it was very effective in the

north and even to some extent in the south during other wasn't much competition subjects of content running away but was pretty ineffective in the grip of the revolution because of the rhetoric of slavery and freedom who were those so common people justify their rebellion against the british came in terms of turning in terms of fitting attempted to slaves them in terms of the king attempting to deprive them of the right of enrichment and so you had the development universe the universal ization of this price of things going into it ullman have certain rights this did calls northerners and southerners and particularly in the chesapeake to think about the relationship a vestige of slavery to these tvs right and a recognition of this contradiction i get calls know that most of those were due to end slavery and that period

but to the father you got from the revolution until the nineteenth century the less effective these ideas were so that in the nineteenth century of the roughly about eighteen thirty army so that it was after that time and you start to have the deprivation of political rights of blacks who had had it before in places like philadelphia it was a nineteen thirty eight that the detroit and philadelphia which it hadn't been listening to which it had earlier than and other places and in tv rating to it but blacks were deprived of the right to vote and then in a new york court but there were there were told to cover the right to vote to research the case on the right to vote to restrictions on why people are probably removed they were they were kept on people and an unmanned predator restrictions were enough that asserted his franchise

blocks so that this project you're you're having at it the reaction against the earlier liberalism and so in this period and black vegetation was likely to call for such retaliation from the white population that's industry but to have racial riots and he's like cincinnati in philadelphia the city of river levee at something like five situation or so that made it thirty five are eating forty five sos so we're on morals and causing people to to reflect seriously harmed the contradiction with the with the question of independence by that time most people didn't want to hear about it and that's again what makes the abolitionists distinctive unique one of the things that publishers can

something was that not that that slavery was inconsistent with the declaration of independence with malicious were very unpopular in a white abolitionists were killed when mort garson was was constantly attacked and eliza lovejoy was killed in alton illinois so it was a very popular but was never published it wasn't her popularity to hesitate for food locker actually order black or white abolitionists were or attacked in an indian to before for black abolitionist of other detainees was even greater we're probably reasonable well hers goes forward in terms of the blue took crops overgrown it was for a new frontier difficult for taxing work in contrast to to

cotton fizzled environment physical environment the only rule on a hot steamy do you know the constant inundation of the field that you have to do to get rice to grow in which he feels sick stay under water for wild which a permit the water to start making some skewers could could could grow there but they are on the phil's work where jane ann and this listen to going to to call in maryland is uncomfortable it was wet clothes smelly could be snake written i was it was not very you know it was not a very pleasant way of cultivating a crop but equally more

talks maintaining the director's wrong building the dikes which were large structures several feet high all of which were constructed by hand to a massive there were massive pieces of construction and that was hard work solutions had to be ditches her and to be clear though this was all very physically taxing hard work and a malarial area where you might be surprised to have to begin with that it had was not a very pleasant way of living and in many ways in terms of this slave labor there are some signs that you could make slaves do that you

couldn't if you could have pain free labor enough to do and one of them was working on and some of some of the malarial islands and in georgia where there was a great deal of uncertainty can't just didn't stay there because of poor conditions and even overseas would leave during certain times of the year during certain academic says they occasionally got some slaves away but it was not over or a pleasant place to invent some of the worst kinds of disease ridden areas ridden areas it was not a very pleasant place to work and it was it was not a place that you could've played most people to her it is well the african nature of

slate culture in south carolina and georgia was an aspect of the fact that we had large numbers of flows been brought over into the region within relatively short period of time an end today in the lowland regions of the areas where demographically mostly black and so blacks were able to associate with that would be to do a more often associate with the blacks and it was with my people so you were able they were able to maintain a greater element for aspen coltrane didn't say slaves in the chesapeake come over over a much longer prove time and much smaller groups in terms of language the development of the deity <unk> decision to send one which in different regions which you're very similar to creole on which is in the west indies in other places which are largely africa

but a lot of grammatical structure the trailer section and now with interest in the girl a courtroom that's developed in a manner most of my older there's a there's a tune to it to preserve it abut are also says they were on the islands or near rivers they were able to maintain the african traditions of fishing gathering shellfish crayfish and other kinds of the check other elderly some of those extradition certain tv tradition to her canoeing and in the colonial period most of the pure oaks were or woman by blocks and blocks to come over with the skills of that nature they were able to two sometimes estimates on the american skills we tour with that but those are also traditional african one reason for traditional african

skills as well ok so own story has the pages the kinds of things that the african women well the that the nature of the terrain sort of help because facilitate that the survival of some african person's first in terms of the great majority of the majority of african majority of the population facility the survival of linguistic patterns consider the development of the golan due to jupiter other cruel and has a room of imminence of post partisan fishing which show people from the niger delta the sally denton coast did they rule to use those partisan crab fisherman controlling the use of canoes which young africans other

big they didn't use ocean going vessels were masters at to navigating the can be the two rivers authority areas of the niger delta and they were able to use those skills hand and brought skills and in terms of both naked burial practices day they don't care at decorating the graves in an african man or how you see that throughout the region so georgia so don't know a number of ways in which aside from duke that the techniques of of rice collisions often use of a mortar and pestle twitter african tradition and sometimes disturbing the lull to say the help of the local flora the more than that then prepares to appear at concerts as well the basket making which is also connected to the cultivation of rice they brought over african

methods of mecca basket making in their native american basket making techniques as well but that duty african techniques were distinctive in those you can see in the soft on a region so that rice is grown and in south africa so many of the people who came over at some some knowledge of of rice cultivation so there are there are many ways in which african sense of qana georgia region the northern regions were able to maintain a significant elements of african culture but relations with the us there's a huge question we were

well one of the things that i think distinguishes so but families all around the new world have to do with they are the young fluidity or malleability of the family structure the senses led families could be and often were broken up there was a way in which show slave communities were able to absorb other members or youngsters coming from other places we're practically adopted by members of an individual slave community you have to develop effective can affect even even when i was eight kit we need people and would be told that they were our cousins even though we didn't have any relationship to the city how to develop these days that relationship

which which a group of historic <unk> to talk about starting to develop and only on on a slave ship in unknown to make her for example people who can move around on home ah the same slave ship consider themselves members of a family and then they can see themselves brothers and sisters in some cases such an extent that marriage would bring people were considered to be ancestors and so did this principle developed as a result of both parties is over those with experience know there were african now one of the things that that that serve bacon every an important aspect of slave families was the major focal nature of them he's been looks listeners tend to be

michael much a focal areas organized around the mother in the womb for civil rights of the way in which curtis envisioned slaves promises that they've thought and turned some of the mother and the chilling effect this way from what was going to be broken up and the person who was most likely first to be sold away would be under certain conditions would be maybe even a man up that call when it lives in the traditional way of them in one of the one of them most recent studies of of slave families and nine states serve suggest that most slave families were much a focal with her father maybe in the area but very few of them were actually kong residents really situated as both male and female living with children in the same household

even though it used to be thought that most slave children were handed nine states were raised into crown hall souls the most recent studies suggest that this is not the case that even when there was a man and a father recognize a man and a woman recognized as the mother and father recognized as parents of the children large number of these parents though weren't lived on different plantations and the children would be with the mother and so this was a primary last locusts of the former slaves situation that that would not necessarily mean that there was no mail image for the male juvenile so fuel to a mother and an end which is why this more elastic nature of mostly from he's become important because in the absence of a man on the plantation the father on the plantation other men might step in to fill the role of a

father an uncle or a larger brother nephew whenever there was a recognition that that that men have certain roles is issued it as it were under slavery but but but the coal residential nuclear household that doesn't mean that was the ideal hundred and one white families was was the exception rather than the rule among black families now well be a number one reason you might not find out until you were told that you might not find out until you were actually affected fifty four examples upon a thought that you might run away and i singing on their own and not been in fine until you get there and were and trying to cover other way other wise can find that you're going to be sold away but other open but the ugly indeed the news might come from to because

through a servant who who overheard planters mistresses talking about them and there are a number of ways or slaves not being blind kid kid see that assertion of a plantation all an end and know that there's some of it was not to be so they could see people getting sick and when i'm asked armistice going to die and marriages they would know that whether there will be sold or not somebody would be going away and they were all men present to mend since that's two to them being so rich which which say to get set in an ironic in a way about the young malcolm x and no one of his speeches in the nineteen sixties had two core was talking about making conscious within the house liaison to feel slighted and he was saying that when the

field slave and then when the when the master got sick the house servant so wishing getting well that he did well this pope feels live might wish you would die well there is a way with that might be true for some of that kind of dichotomy between feels live in house certainties it is more exaggerated thing and it's often made out to be undoable slaves in an under the euro house of them it was also yeah under the constant supervision of a planter or mistress in a way that that feels hustlers might not be so it wasn't necessarily an enviable situation to be in but that aside the death of a planter very often meant the division of the plantation and the destruction of a slave candidate so and if you're

a really awful man people might want to die but that would be modified by the thought of the book was conducted ft da da can see it well if this is things aren't his son to determine the partition and they weren't getting us into stock that they needed to borrow food was in short supply or close a warrant for the common man but that could be evidence that the economy of the plantation was deteriorating and so they might not at all be surprised to win was dissolving can whistle not only about i imagined that could come as a as a complete surprise to some people is with the master was all spending the money in and everything was was going along fine until all of a sudden he turned a banquet didn't uruguay be very subtle very certain

that if if if anybody is people talk about the many collectors sort of messages were worried about the condition of the plantation and they were talking about its lasers and hear about in the news would certainly get out to an end and this would be one of the things of slaves would be concerned about because of that the destruction of the slave communities and one thing that's important about that and in view of the fact that they're probably most parents didn't live together with the children and children would have contracted to relationships with other male figures in the community is that gerbils male figures with me who who might be a father figures with the dough or other kinds of supporting mayor figures there might be separated from those as well as from the biological father who might or might not be a strong president cynthia ann and the channel's life so the section of

the community was a very significant problem for slaves is that what does that mean well i mean certainly a us as if a slave was one of those who was fortunate enough to live in a crow residential nuclear family mother and father and the children live together in the same household suddenly there'd be very important if it is if a planter decided he wanted to keep the slave that that slave family together their work there would be about than that that shouldn't we shouldn't be memorized as if as has a year consideration and in terms of how what the how the slave you that but probably most slaves were

living in that kind of solution even if they knew who their father was and he lived right across the road they still didn't live together and so and in that case the city wouldn't need and the wooden wannabe sold away from that the father would say you know in keeping the family together as in most cases probably platters were thinking of the mother and the children of the mother father and chocolate almond that that's that's hall plant is generally viewed slave family in these metaphorical sense you know but willis earnest recently argued that the va much a focal nature of mostly felons is not really the problem is to say and to do that there are different ways of constructing families and and a western nuclear core residential pattern there's only one way i mean an

african families often much a focal to carry if if if there's more than one wife the child it stays home with his own mother hee hee would have relationships with his father or with dick in english but two competing under the year they'd be so insistent on with his uncle doesn't matter if it's a matrimonial system under some trees to the mother his primary on religion would be with his uncle and his father still wanted to do it would be a matter for clinton to of love of his to stand with his mother so that that's that's not so the fact that a slave family and my view organize that way could representative eu survival of math and pattern even though the circumstances of the consumption with woody would be different but the problem is that their slaves they did not commit have the mother for the fall the war the penny of the parents the kind of control

that kind of decision making of that art that is essential to a working family situation but but but there are perhaps most slaves lived in such a focal situation rather than they do you a critical question why do you have to grow look to coast living together so nicely because you can be a little slice of the victims and it isn't much and you know i think i think that i do you leave they would have the same kind of view of water from what it is ah but the masters view of the slave family it might not be what the what the master see as a slave family might not

necessarily be what the slaves used as a slave family most plan to submit the slye family they were taken primarily of a mother and children not necessarily of a mother father and children but even at even george washington who comes up really well in terms of most leaders of the revolution until i mean just for example did a lot of talking about handling about slavery and its concern about slaves and that kind of thing but it wasn't actually trying to do it but it was george washington by freeing his listeners will often has walked his wife died within a world free there's no question that he did texans and another thing that he did after the war he was sensitive enough to have a moral objection to sewing slips away from a plantation only economically oh that would've benefited him and the three thirty one of gaza's only can comic but anxious to china not to sell slaves but in terms of disrupting say families you did

not create a situation where they all those core residential it and in many of his city's his slave couples was separated from different farms in and so even an aunt in a situation where you had a benevolent and sort of morally concern slave holder the deed did that the district but the family structure were was not the ideal from a new western corner of you that whole question of all black twitter and its presence and the question is it was it wasn't there wasn't fear well the two things a loss of status and economic competition since

blacks were considered inferior if they were going to be hired there were going to be paid less than white people so that was the economic consider so if if if if for example if it's if you could b if you could hire blacks the was no problem all things legal you might want to do that that was a threat the others that had to do with with with status if it was a job that blacks did paul from whites didn't want to do it if the whites were going to do it they didn't want blacks to do it because it represented a loran of the status of the job rice cultivation was economically very renewable the rise in an eighteenth century south have probably one of the fast growth

growth rates in the world and the nineteenth century the wealthiest earners in america and the largest slave holders a world where rice growers the only over the area and the ministers that are out there approach that idea would be in some of the larger rice sugar plantations in louisiana now but too but the largest single slave woman and interstates was was a rice platter and to wealth of that was was rose was fantastic magicians basis no for men the number i couldn't recall the top of my head but it was a there were a small number of love of contours of what the state is of that size

and roy's second the words limiting in terms of who could do it because to do it takes so much money to take so much wealth to begin with a you know a person could very easily start to devalue could start you could raise cotton or tobacco by yourself and your family and then if you're successful you could grow you can do as a way you have to have a large state to begin with and so it was limiting added a soft on a aristocracy and was it was developed many have an aristocratic society because only wealthy people could that really a record rate is rice and that helped to emphasize the years to protect nature of self conscious society what is it

well i think only one of the most important sense that as it's not to choose to listen to an historian if the couple isn't slavery the development of of the western world based on slavery and you know it gets its ramifications extended every place has to his pieces about couples and slavery city and it argues that the slaves they contribute to the development of cobblers and janet which contributed into slavery but i'm an innocent us citizen was based upon slave labor and initially that's what fuel the industrial revolution also there was no aspect of of world development that that was an influence by slavery during the trip when slavery existed as leslie exist though he continued

i'd just been to the mountains in germany you know slavery wasn't abolished and brazil which until they can it isn't letting one point in it so it existed that it had lasted a long time and many people were influenced by weather when i lived in a slave society or not