American Dream Week 3 Part 2

1. The American
Dream
Week 3, Part 2
Keiser University eCampus

2. Week 3
Struggle for Inclusion:
Part 2, African Americans

3. Timeline of American Slavery
20 Africans are
brought to
Virginia as slaves
in 1619.
There are about
500,000 black slaves
in the colonies in
1775.
Eli Whitney invents the
cotton gin in 1793,
creating a boon in the
cotton industry.
The first of the
Fugitive Slave Laws is
signed in 1793.
All Northern
states
abolish
slavery by
1804.
The slave
population
reaches nearly 4
million by 1860.
In 1860-61,
eleven states
secede from the
Union to form the
Confederate
States of
America.
In 1831, a slave
revolt led by Nat
Turner results in
the death of
more than 60
whites.
In 1820, the Missouri
Compromise is
signed.
In 1861, the
Confederate Army
fires on Union
troops in Fort
Sumter, beginning
the American Civil
War.
On April 9, 1863,
General Lee
surrenders at the
Appomattox Court
House, signaling the
end of fighting.
In 1688, the first
antislavery
resolution is
adopted by the
Pennsylvania
Quakers.
Massachusetts is
the first colony to
legalize slavery in
1641.

4. Exclusion from the American Dream
As the New World was settled by Europeans, the need for laborers grew.
However, the environment was harsh, workers were difficult to find, and
the mortality rate was high.
Many immigrants who came to the New World in the 1600s and 1700s
did so as indentured servants. These workers agreed to work for a
period of time in order to pay for their passage to the New World. After
the agreement was fulfilled, the immigrants were released from service.
Another way the need for laborers was met was through the enslavement
of Native Americans. Many Native American tribes used war prisoners as
slaves, and this practice sometimes resulted in the sale of such slaves to
the European settlers. The escape rate was high because of the
knowledge the Native Americans had of their environment, and as a
result, many were sold into slavery far from their homes.
As a result, another option to obtain workers grew in popularity: the
Atlantic slave trade.

5. Exclusion from the American Dream
The Atlantic slave trade seemed to provide an answer to the problem of insufficient
workers. Atlantic slave trade lasted nearly four centuries, and millions of African men,
women, and children were sold into slavery. European ships traveled to Africa to trade
goods for slaves and then took the slaves to the Americas. The ships then typically
took goods from the Americas back to Europe, creating a triangular trade.
BBCWorldService. The story of Africa: Slavery [image]. Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/9chapter4.shtml

6. Exclusion from the American Dream
The voyage from Africa to the Americas was a harsh one. People were
packed into the ships to maximize the number of slaves that could be
transported, and millions of Africans died during the trip across the Atlantic.
Encyclopedia Britannica. Transatlantic slave trade [image]. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/transatlantic-slave-trade

7. Exclusion from the American Dream
Slavery grew in the American colonies, mainly in the south. Slaves were
used as labor on tobacco, rice, and cotton plantations, and the invention of
the cotton gin in 1793 further established the importance of cotton (and the
slave labor used for it) to the south’s economy.
Slaves were property and were bought and sold as such. Slaves who did
not meet their master’s expectations or attempted to escape were
sometimes subjected to harsh and cruel punishments, including beatings,
starvation, whippings, mutilation, branding, and sexual abuse.
The first Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1793. Under the law, local
governments could capture and return slaves to their owners, and anyone
who helped a fugitive could be punished.
In 1850, the second Fugitive Slave Act was passed. It provided even
harsher penalties for anyone aiding a runaway slave.

8. Exclusion from the American Dream
The Underground Railroad was a network that helped slaves escape. There
were safe houses where runaway slaves could hide on their journey north to
Canada. The number of slaves who actually escaped successfully was
small, but coordinated efforts such as these served to challenge the
institution of slavery.
The opposition to American slavery continued to grow and was reflected in
literature in the form of slave narratives and abolitionist texts.
Examples of slave narratives include Frederick Douglass’s Autobiography
and Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Abolitionist texts
include Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and The Liberator, an
abolitionist newspaper, founded by William Lloyd Garrison.

9. Exclusion from the American Dream
The Harlem Renaissance (1917-1937) was a literary, intellectual, and art movement
that shaped African American identity.
Following the end of the Civil War, more African Americans had access to education
and opportunity, which resulted in the forming of a black middle class. However, in
1896, the Plessy v. Ferguson case heard by the Supreme Court established
segregation as constitutional, stunting the hope of racial equality. Segregation and
racism were especially powerful in the South, and a result of continued oppression and
poor economic conditions in the South, millions of African Americans moved north. This
movement was known as the Great Migration.
An abundance of housing in Harlem led to many African Americans settling there,
including many talented artists and entrepreneurs. Art, music, and literature celebrated
African American culture and became a way to express ideas related to civil
rights. This explosion of cultural expression became known as the Harlem
Renaissance. Writers such as Langston Hughes, a poet, and Richard Wright, a
novelist, had a significant impact on the Harlem Renaissance. They wrote about
African American life, racism, and identity in America.

10. Exclusion from the American Dream
In the last two weeks, we have touched on how women, members of the LGBTQ
community, Native Americans, and African Americans have been excluded from the
American Dream. We have explored how the idea of “hard work brings success” does
not always apply to everyone.
Next week, we’ll talk about the how the American Dream applies to today’s society. Is
the American Dream alive and well for all Americans, or is it a dream from the past?
or