Lecture on Women in the Antebellum Era and the Role of Slavery

Introduction

• Focus on experiences of enslaved women and women as enslavers in the 19th century.
• Importance of understanding women's roles in the system of slavery.

Economic Influence of Slavery

• Slavery's impact on U.S. economy primarily associated with cotton.
• Cotton as the primary export from the U.S., especially for British textile industry (80% from U.S.).
• Value of enslaved people in 1860 estimated at $3 billion, surpassing value of cotton and infrastructure.
• Enslaved people's value was foundational to the national economy.

Women as Enslavers

• Daughters in enslaving families could inherit enslaved people, circumventing traditional inheritance rules.
• Example of Martha Washington and other women owning enslaved people.
• Women's property acts allowed married women to own property, challenging coverture.

Case Study: Whitney Plantation

• Originally an indigo plantation, later shifted to sugar production.
• Example of women owning plantations and enslaved people, such as the widow of Ambroise Heidel's grandson.

Demographics and Expansion of Slavery

• Census data shows expansion of slavery in the U.S.
• Shift of slavery from Northern states to the South and West.
• Domestic slave trade became prominent after the ban on transatlantic importation in 1808.
• Domestic routes involved moving enslaved people from Upper South to Deep South.

Impact of Domestic Slave Trade

• Term "sold down the river" originated from domestic slave trade.
• Enslaved people often separated from families, with no legal recognition of family rights.

Experiences of Enslaved Women

• Enslaved women faced vulnerability to sexual violence, especially in domestic roles.
• Example of Harriet Jacobs, who experienced dehumanizing treatment from her enslaver.
• Women often worked in domestic sphere, but faced constant surveillance and threat of violence.

Resistance and Agency

• Enslaved women used everyday resistance techniques (sabotage, feigning illness, etc.).
• Cultural agency through conversion to Christianity and development of spirituals.
• Secret meetings and maintaining cultural practices as forms of resistance.

Conclusion

• Slavery was central to U.S. economy in the mid-1800s.
• Women participated in slavery both as enslaved and as enslavers.
• Domestic slave trade perpetuated family separations.
• Enslaved women performed labor in both agricultural and domestic spheres, facing dangers in both.
• Various forms of resistance by enslaved women to navigate their oppressive circumstances.