"For most of it's history, New York has been the largest, most diverse and most economically ambitious city in the nation. No place on earth has welcomed the human enterprise more warmly. New York was also, paradoxically, the capital of American slavery for more than two centuries. ... 'Slavery in New York' spans the period from 1600-1827 when slavery was legally abolished in New York State... it focuses on the rediscovery of the collective and personal history of African and African Americans in New York City." ( www.slaveryinnewyork.org)
Navigate through the New York Historical Society's online exhibit "Slavery in New York" at:http://www.slaveryinnewyork.org/gallery_1.htm
Examine at least three of the online galleries. Summarize the new information you learned from these exhibits (make direct references to primary source images and documents by gallery number as if writing a DBQ). What were some reasons why slavery was so widely practiced in New York while other major northern cities had a far lower population of residents living in slavery? Identify two events/ trends that led to the abolition of slavery in New York. Conclude your post by explaining why you believe most New Yorkers (and Americans, for that matter) know very little about slavery in New York.
Minimum 200 words. Please respond to at least one other post.Due Friday, 12.28.07
Happy Holidays!
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12 comments:
Qadeem G.,A Block
Qadeem G.,A Block
According to gallery 2 of http://www.slaveryinnewyork.org,the Dutch produced sugar,and became wealthy off of slaves. Slaves
in New Asterdam were used to build roads,houses,and forts.
In 1664,the English seized New Amsterdam and made the trade of slaves apart of their economy.As a result,the number of slaves rose,according to gallery 3.Laws were set in place to control the slaves but some of the slaves rebelled and ran away,according to Gallery 3.
According to gallery 4,Slavery began to dissapear once the British took control of New York City.About 10,000 slaves were looking for free land and so General Henry Clinton offered freedom to all slaves who reached British lines.
When the British had control of New York City,the city became a free state for slaves and former slaves were paid by the British to do work and weren't considered slaves anymore.With this,former slaves began to engage in politics and enganged in spiritual healing such as gospel and the church(not necessarily the Roman Catholic Church).
The reason why some New Yorkers and Americans in general have little knowledge of slavery in New York could be becuase it isn't an interest of those who publish literature for the public or maybe New York wants to keep it's innocence and it's glorified image.Furthermore,such information about slavery in New York could result in issues that could hurt New York financially.
Mike McSherry
The website showed that when the Ducth owned New York, the Ducth used black slaves to clear land to grow crops, build houses, build forts,and roads. When England seized New York from the Ducth. As more people pouered in from England more slaves were brought to New York. By the 1740 20% of the people lving in New York were slaves. Soon slaves started to rebel or run away from their masters.When the revolution war started almost ten thousand slave joined the English armies with promises of freedom. But when the Americans shocked the world and won the war almost 3000 former slaves left America for England. The reason why there is very little imfo on this subject is becuase no one wants to talk proudly about. If you go anywhere slaves once worked you will probley not fid any ifomation about the slaves.
Quadeem G-: Thoughtful summaries though I feel your analytical piece would benefit from further development.
Mike - S-: You raised interesting points but your posts need to meet the 200 word requirement and comment on one other classmates' work.
Ama Kwakye
Block A
The slave trade is known as one of the most drastic and overwhelming migration. The trade was composed of hundreds of African Americans. In gallery 6 you can see the people trading. Some things that were being sold were casks. All the slaves used to help out with the trade. Many free people were trying to buy there families back for example Pierre Taos Sauté. The Slavery act ended in 1827, it was the end of the big slavery, not to say that slavery stopped completely. There were still places in the south that still today and then had slaves. Slavery ended due to the help of Britain once they tried to colonies New York. Slavery was so widely practiced in New York while other major northern cities had a far lower population of residents living in slavery because when slaves were seen they were captured and brought by masters to New York. Almost about 40,000 ships brought slaves across the Atlantic Ocean. The British taking over New York and The Gradual Emancipation Act of 1799 helped end slavery. The British having control was helping because then New York was no longer a slave state. Many New Yorkers have a small amount of knowledge about the slave trade because it’s not really talked about. Like if I didn’t learn about in this class I wouldn’t have had a good understanding about it or now what it was. I think it is good for New Yorkers to know about there past and maybe the world would be different.
Sam Goon
December 31, 2007
(Sorry it's late. I was away.)
The main topic in the galleries was slavery, particularly in New York because of it's popular worldwide connection. According to gallery one, trade amongst Europe, Africa, and the Americas became popular during the 1450s. By, the 1800s, slavery became very popular in New York. It was better known as "the most prosperous ports and financial centers in the world." This led to slavery being widely spread in New York, while the other northern cities had a far lower population. As Ama stated, "most of the slaves were African American." The countries were in competition of trade particularly in slaves, different goods, food, and ships. According to gallery three, the slaves were used as workers for merchants, farmers, and artisans. During the 1700s, more slaves were needed to help work. New York demanded a lot of slaves so that they can work on household chores and other things. But, then according to gallery four, after the American Revolution, Britain took control of New York. This was an event that led to the abolition of slavery in New York. "In June 1779, General Henry Clinton offered freedom to all slaves who reached British lines." This was a fresh start for the African Americans to become free at last. According to gallery five, another trend that led to the abolition of slavery in New York was with the help from the New York Manumission Society. They fought for the rights of an enslaved person because the Decoration of Independence states "all men are created equal."
The reason why slavery in New York isn't well known today is because in the north, slavery was completely abolished. But, in the south, slavery was a enormous issue and drew in more attention because it was much more serious. Even today, slavery still occurs mostly in the south because it's more of an agricultural society.
Ama- S- solid summary, but I feel the response could be more analytical. Also, this was posted late.
Sam Goon- G: thoughtful and informed, but late.
The gallery shared new insights about New York and how slavery was so widely practiced in New York while other major northern cities had a lower population of residents living in slavery. According to gallery two, Slaves were needed because they were used for their man labor. If the people wanted something build they would turn to the slaves to build it. Slaves built docks, roads, walls, and forts for people living in New York. People needed them in order build New York from the bottom up. At this time, the Dutch settled in New York where its economy needed slaves. Many slave owners made profits off their slaves. New York practiced slavery probably because the early settlers wanted to develop New York into a booming area. The slave owners needed work done but who else would do the work but their slaves. Like what Samantha said, about how many people were “in competition of trade particularly in slaves, different goods, food, and ships.” In gallery three, clearly slaves were needed for the skills they had such as being merchants, farmers, and artisans. By 1776, most of New York had African Americans that were enslaved. Since there were many slaves, slaves had the opportunity to meet with one another at many various spots. People would gather to start planning by making cityscapes. This trend led to the abolishment of slavery in this state. Even during the early stages of slavery, many revolts were planned like in 1712. Gallery two states that “Eventually the Africans won "half-freedom"”. People slowly gave black people space especially during the ruling of the Dutch. The Dutch gave land for African Americans to settle in known as “the land of the blacks”. I believe that many New Yorkers know very little about slaves in New York because of how history has portrayed New York as a free soil state. In New York slavery was abolished. Like what Samantha said about how the South considered slavery an issue. The North developed into an industrial place while the South depended on agriculture. Slaves were needed more for the labor while New York was more on business and trade.
Kamilla- G+: Insightful and detailed but late.
Mariel Elia
A Block
While reading the information in the galleries on the website. It showed that me that 12 million Africans were brought to America so they can work as slaves. Before 1776 almost all African Americans were enslaved. This took place in New York. Many people aren’t aware that New York was a homeland for slave owners as well as any other state. People are not educated of this fact because New York City is one of the biggest trademarks in America and it wouldn’t be very appealing to people if they knew that our beautiful New York City was captivating slaves at one point. “Blacks rented and bought their own residences." This could cause major problems because many people weren’t fair to the black community back in the 1700's and 1800's. Even though the stop to slavery ended it triggered another problem in America such as segregation.
The gallery that caught my eye the most was gallery 6 picture 3. http://www.slaveryinnewyork.org/gallery_6.htm.
if you click the picture to zoom in, you will see a few slaves unpacking casks. The reason this picture appealed to me the most is because unlike the way slaves were depicted in historical books and movies, these slaves did not seem to be under high security. Based on my study of this picture, i have found out that this picture is of the what we know as the south street seaport. this area of New York had a large business with slaves because this particular area of New York was one of the main places for trade in the East. Most New Yorkers do not know much about slavery in New York because normally, when people think about slavery, they think about the south only. The abolition of slavery was brought about due to war for slave rights.
Mike McSherry's statement about not finding information about slaves in the area that had slaves in my opinion is wrong. If you go to states that once supported slavery, you are bound to find some sort of historically reserved area such as fields in the south. information about slavery in New York is there, yet it is up to us to find out. we cant always expect someone else to tell us about the history of New York
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