The Peculiar Institution Essay

Submitted By mxnnyy
Words: 3009
Pages: 13
Open Document
Manny Rodriguez

4/30/15
The Peculiar Institution

Chapter 1 (The Setting) The author takes this chapter to set the scene and talk about the history of slavery. In
Section 1, Stampp talks about how people say that slavery came about in the south. People say that slavery is natural to have in an agricultural society and that plantations needed slaves to survive. Although there were plantations before slavery started and after it was abolished. Next in Section 2, Stampp explains some myths about slavery and how they are untrue. One of the myths were that black people were needed because white people couldn't stand to work in the hot climate. This is completely untrue because white people have worked in the climate both before and after slavery. Another myth is that black people were genetically built to be slaves. This is false because black people were almost the same as white people with just personality were a little simpler than the white people.
In Section 3, the author explains how the south defends themselves saying that they didn't invent slavery, they just inherited it. Slavery dates back to Ancient Egypt, and a lot of old societies such as the Greek and Romans, depended on slavery. Also, even in the colonies before they had their independence from Britain, the indentured servants, although we're working for their freedom, were basically slaves. In Section 4, Stampp describes the similarities between black slaves and white servants. Up until 1660, white and black servants worked together and hung out after work and sometimes has kids together. But after that laws were passed making black slaves completely property and made it illegal for whites to marry the black slaves. In

Section 5, the author talks about some statistics of slavery in the south such as how many slave owners there were compared to the total population. In 1860, there were 385,000 slave owners among 1,516,000 free families. Throughout this Chapter I learned about a good deal of information about slavery. I never knew that slavery existed back in Ancient Egypt. I also didn’t know that the slaves and white servants would get so close to each other before the laws were passed not allowing them to do so. I used to be under the assumption that almost everybody who lived in the south was a slave owner but now i know that that is not true. I learned that the slaves from back then were extremely misunderstood and were nothing like they were believed to be.
Facts
­Slaves were so common and necessary for the south because they were huge on agriculture
­Africans could have adapted to American culture and been apart of the society in a generation or two if they were given the chance
­Slavery dates all the way back to Ancient Egypt
­Ancient Roman and Greek Cultures were based on slavery
­Africans becoming slaves had a lot to do with the fact that they had much different religious beliefs than the Europeans.
­The first cargo of slaves were brought to Virginia all the way back in 1619 by the Dutch.
­By the 1860s, the South was basically the only place in the world that still had slavery.
­Black slaves and white servants were very much alike back before 1660
­Slavery continued long after it was illegal to import them into America.

­88% of slave owners owned less than 20 slaves, 72% less than 10, 50% had less than 5.
Chapter 2 (From Day Clean to First Dark) This chapter details the system of labor completed by the slaves. In Section 1, the author explains the amount of slaves and the type of things the master and his/her’s family would do based on the amount of slaves. For example, if a farm had a very small amount of slaves, the master and his kids would probably do work along side the slaves whereas if a farm had a large amount of slaves the master would probably just organize the work for the slaves to do. In
Section 2, Stampp tells about what slaves would do at different
Show More

Related Documents: The Peculiar Institution Essay

Peculiar Institution Slavery

mentioned, many immediately think of the slave trade between Africa, Europe, and the Americas. This form of slavery reached the colony of Jamestown in 1619 to help with the production of cash crops such as tobacco. In Kevin Stampp’s book, The Peculiar Institution; Slavery in the Ante-Bellum South, many aspects of slavery, such as workload, composition of families, slave life outside of work, and discipline of slaves. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, is a story written about the lives…

Words 1887 - Pages 8

The Peculiar Institution: Slavery In The 1800's

Slavery was known as "The Peculiar Institution " in the 1800's. They were very important for work in the south. Slaves also had a hard time for families they created. Whenever slaves had a hard time with their master they would usually resist in many ways to survive. Then the slave's life was so unfair that the master would lash them even if they did nothing. The American law didn't even involve enslaved families. With the slaves very important to work for the south they would be penniless and would…

Words 619 - Pages 3

An Empire for Slavery Book Essay

Randolph B. Campbell's An Empire for Slavery: The Peculiar Institution in Texas provides in an in depth look at the slavery existence in the state of Texas. He provides the factors that explain the establishment and growth of slavery. Campbell also explains the economic and legal institution of Texas, and explores the physical and psychological effects of both slaves and their masters prior to the Civil War, during, and after emancipation. Campbell provides clear detail of slavery's impact on Texas…

Words 1535 - Pages 7

Personal Narrative Essay: The Crimes Of Saint Brown

thing about it. We boast about our freedom while Negros are still in chains in the South. No matter! The so-called crimes of the Saint Brown that had him executed will be continued by another! Brown’s spirit will march on and obliterate this peculiar institution. Every man’s God-given right is freedom, regardless of color, so who is a man to judge God’s word and act upon it? If deemed necessary, I will sacrifice my life to make our country a better place. It is our duty to speak out. How can the south…

Words 254 - Pages 2

Slavery In The Southern States

Fathers owned slaves, but by the time of the Constitutional Convention, many hoped that slavery would quietly disappear. In order to preserve the new union, however, they made small concessions to Southern states that would ultimately cement the institution in Southern life and allow the growth of pro-slavery sentiments in all of the South regardless of socio-economic standing. Although most white Southerners…

Words 1334 - Pages 6

Essay about American Slavery

American Slavery 1619-1877 Book Report History 1050 6/18/2013 Introduction “American Slavery, 1619-1877” by Peter Kolchin gives an overview of the practice of slavery in America between 1619 and 1877. From the origins of slavery in the colonial period to the road to its abolition, the book explores the characteristics of slave culture as well as the racial mind-sets and development of the old South’s social structures. This paper is divided in two sections. The first…

Words 912 - Pages 4

Macon’s Bill No.2 and How it Led to the War of 1812 Essay

Daniel Encarnacao Mrs. Scott U.S. History I Honors/AP 11/8/2013 Chapter 12 Questions 1- What was Macon’s Bill No.2 and how did it lead to the War of 1812? Macon’s Bill No.2 was the Congress’ measure to dismantle the embargo completely if the French or British were to stop, the French stopped first so they traded with the French causing war. This lead to the war of 1812 because it showed that America needed to trade with a higher power (France or England) in order to survive. 2- Who were…

Words 1072 - Pages 5

Proslavery Defense In Eric Foner's Give Me Liberty !

and other types of publications. However, the life of the mind thrived in the south, and the region did not absent novelists, political philosophers, and scientists. Thirty years before the Civil War began, the northern criticism of the “peculiar institution” began to deepen, proslavery thought…

Words 335 - Pages 2

Uncle Tom's Cabin Dbq Essay

Since the days of our Founding Fathers, slavery has been a controversial topic in the United States. As the country expanded, many Northern abolitionists opposed the “peculiar institution” for moral and political reasons. However, the spread of “King Cotton” continued to dominate the Southern way of life, which contributed to a North-South divide over the issue of slavery. Tensions increased between the years of 1776 and 1852, due to various underlying forces and specific events. The growing opposition…

Words 813 - Pages 4

Use Of Satire In Cat's Cradle

Vonnegut uses a literary method known as satire in order to expose the flaws in two rather large institutions that so many rely on and have complete faith in, these institutions being science and religion. By doing so, Vonnegut is successful in making the flaws these institutions possess known to the reader and provides them with an opportunity to challenge their ideas and opinions about these institutions. Vonnegut begins to satirize religion early on in the novel by creating a fictional religion…

Words 830 - Pages 4