Question

E AaBbCcDd AaBbCcDd AaBbC AaBbCcD AaB 1 No Spac.... Heading 1 1 Normal Heading 2 Title Paragraph Styles Read and respond to it It always surprises me the vast amount of information you can out of a graph or chart. When reviewing the chart, I have come to the conclusion that by 1780, the two states that had the majority of the black community was Virginia and South Carolina. This fact alone proved to me how in the dark I am when it comes to African American History. If you were to ask me what state I believed to have had the biggest slave population in 1780, I would have guessed Georgia. By reading this graph though, by 1780 Georgia in fact had the smallest African American population because Georgia was not established until the 18th century. The reason I believe that Virginia and South Carolina had the black majorities is because they were one of the first states to have slavery legalized. While most of the other states legalized slavery in the 1700s, Virginia legalized slavery in 1661 and South Carolina legalized it in 1682. If these two states had more slaves than white people, I believe that they made the choice not to revolt against the whites in order to keep the peace. All the black community wanted was to be free and equal. In the article "Petition of 1779 by slaves of Fairfield County", it states that * we perceive by our own Reflection, that we are cndowed, with the same Faculties, with our Masters, and there is nothing, that leads us to a Belief, or Suspicion, that we are any more obliged to serve them, than they us, and the more we Consider of this Matter, the more we are Convinced, of our Right (by the Law's of Nature and by the whole Tenor, of the Christian Religion, so far as we have been taught) to be free; we have Endeayoursd rightly to understand, what is our Right, and what is our Duty, and can never be convinced, that we were made to be Slaves" This sentiment shows the mentality of the slaves during this time. They did not want to resort to yiolence and they did not want bloodshed. This petition is evident that the blacks simply wanted to be treated fairly and cqually. If blacks outnumbered whites and chose to revolt, it would lead to chaos, anarchy and make freedom further out of reach. The role that punishment played in maintaining slavery is fear and power. They treated slaves like we would treat a pet. If they do something bad, we would punish it. If they try to run away, we would punish it. Punishment brings on a sense of ownership. It's sort of like "you belong to me, so I can do whatever I want with you". The why didn't the blacks revolt question triggered lots of thoughts and ideas in my head. It got me thinking about the article "Preamble of the Free African Society". In the article it states "We, the free Africans and their descendants, of the City of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, or elsewhere, do unanimously agree, for the benefit of each other, to advance one shilling in silver Pennsylvania currency a month; and after one year's subscription from the date hereof, then to hand forth to the needy of this Society, if any should require, the sum of three shillings and nine pence per week of the said money: provided, this necessity is not brought on them by their own imprudence". This supports my theory that the black community did not want to revolt that they only wanted to secure their freedom. It's amazing to me how the newly freed black community came up with such a program as this to help other free people.

Answer 1

In 1780, the two states where the population of black people was abundant or in majority was Virginia and and South Carolina. These are the two states where slavery was legal at the time of 1780's. The slavery was legalized in Virginia in 1661 whereas in South Carolina in 1682. The petition of 1779 by slaves of Fairfield County was mainly concerned that the black people wanted themselves to be treated fairly and equally. The main aim of black people were to secure their freedom. They didn't want any kind dog war of revolt.