Lecture Notes: The History of Slave Catching in America
Introduction
Discussion of the violent and racial context of slavery.
The story of James C. Knox, a slave catcher in 1856, highlights the dangers and brutality of slave catching.
The Evolution of Slave Control Systems
1600s: Early control systems created to maintain slavery.
Neighbors initially volunteered to catch runaways.
South Carolina mandated all whites to serve as slave hunters by 1690.
1704: Creation of citizen police patrols known as "trolls".
1722: Brutal punishments established for runaway slaves, including castration and branding.
The Growth of Plantation Society
Arthur Middleton and the wealth from slave labor in South Carolina.
The fear of rebellion due to the increasing African slave population.
Major Slave Rebellions
1739 Stono Rebellion: Led by a slave named Jemmy, showed the fear of organized slave revolts.
Aftermath led to stricter laws like the Negro Act of 1740 and more organized slave patrols.
The Role of Slave Patrols
Patrols acted as a state-sponsored racial police force.
Used to maintain control and prevent slave gatherings or escapes.
Involved all white men, often of military age, and sometimes led to abuses of power.
The Revolutionary War and Its Impact
British offers of freedom to slaves who joined their cause during the Revolutionary War.
Post-Revolution, the continuation of slave patrols and expansion of slave catching services.
The Underground Railroad and Resistance
Methods slaves used to escape, including help from abolitionists.
The Fugitive Slave Acts increased the role of slave catchers, even in the North.
The Fugitive Slave Laws
1793 & 1850: Laws that mandated the return of runaway slaves, affecting free states as well.
The 1850 law made it easier for slave catchers to operate in the North and incentivized citizens to participate.
Events Leading to the Civil War
The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 intensified abolitionist sentiments and resistance in Northern states.
Tensions between abolitionists and slave owners escalated.
The Civil War and Its Aftermath
The war led to the eventual breakdown of the slave patrol system.
The end of the war and the Emancipation Proclamation allowed many slaves to self-emancipate.
Post-War Changes and the Rise of the Ku Klux Klan
The collapse of the slave patrol system led to new forms of racial oppression, such as the KKK.
The Klan acted to control the black population through terror, echoing the methods of slave patrols.
Conclusion
The historical cycle of racial oppression and control from slavery through the Civil War and into the rise of the Klan demonstrates the persistent struggle for African-American freedom and agency.
Study Points
Understand the evolution of the slave control systems from the 1600s to post-Civil War.
Recognize the role of legal frameworks, such as the Fugitive Slave Laws, in perpetuating slavery.
Note the significance of major slave rebellions in shaping policy and public perception.
Examine the impact of the Civil War on slavery and how former systems of control adapted into Jim Crow and KKK activities.