Northern and Southern Slavery in the 18th century

Slavery was not the same institution in the northern and southern colonies during the 18th century. Major climactic differences and economic differences between the northern colonies and the southern colonies led to slavery's demise in one region and longevity in the other. While the thirteen original colonies were built and supported by the forced labor of thousands of Africans not all of them legally supported slavery by the end of the 18th century.

All colonies were built upon the backs of slaves. In the early 18th century, there was a rise in wages in England, leading to the decline in indentured servitude as a viable labor source in the English colonies ("Slavery in the North" n.d.). Furthermore, most white immigrants preferred to purchase cheap land and be independent rather than be indentured ("Slavery in the North" n.d.). The Dutch colonies, in particular New York, did not have a large influx of immigrants leading them to import slaves to build those colonies ("Slavery in the North" n.d.). New England merchants mainly profited from the transport and sale of slaves from Africa to the West Indies and from the sale of rum ("Slavery in the North" n.d.).Overall the northern colonies had many fewer slaves than the southern colonies. Since there were not as many, fewer measures of control were enforced to keep the slave population subjugated. Even so, there were pockets where the number of slaves exceeded the average for the northern colonies in general. 12.2% of New York was slave in 1771, 9.1% of Rhode Island was slave in 1745, where such pockets resided there were also stricter punishments enforced ("Slavery in the North" n.d.). There were two main areas of slavery in the North. One was in New England; it was a large center in the slave trade, transporting slaves to Brazil and the West Indies. Slaves brought to this port were often involved in small scale farming, were bought by families as domestic servants, were sold to the shipyards for building ships or were sold to artisans and skilled tradesmen. Often a slave could learn a trade for wages ("Slavery in the Colonies" n.d.). The work of the northern slaves was thus more diverse than their brethren in the South. In the middle colonies, slaves were more involved in large scale agriculture. The harsh northern climate tended to make such agriculture unprofitable for many months of the year. Slaves during the winter months could become a burden if there were too many of them. Most slave-holding households in the north only owned about two slaves ("Slavery in the North" n.d.). Slavery in the North was not an agrarian institution.

The American Revolution killed the fragile institution of slavery in the north ("Slavery in the North" n.d.). British troops freed slaves wherever they occupied. Since they occupied the northern colonies more extensively than the southern colonies the slave population was freed faster in the North. Out of all the northern colonies, only New Jersey gained slaves during the revolution ("Slavery in the North" n.d.). After the American Revolution, many state legislatures outlawed slavery within their states. Many slave-owners freed their slaves in the spirit of the revolution. Northerners, however, had ambivalent if not hostile feelings about allowing freed blacks to live amongst them. By the end of the 18th-century slavery was virtually non-existent in the northern colonies. Northern colonists however still profited from the slave trade and the products of slavery up until the Civil War ("Slavery in the North" n.d.).

Before the rise in wages in England, indentured servants were a cheap labor source for the southern rice and tobacco plantations. The climate in the south was perfect for large scale agriculture, leading to a need for abundant labor (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 2006, 70-73). At first, it was difficult to justify the expense of slaves when there were indentured servants. When indentured servants became more expensive and more volatile (after Bacon's Rebellion) more effort was made to import African slaves (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 2006, 70-73). In the 18th century, slavery was legally justified, and slaves and their children became property for their entire lives. In the 17th century in the British colonies, baptized slaves could gain their freedom since it was considered illegal to enslave Christians. The Royal African Company lost its monopoly on the African slave trade on the east coast (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 2006, 70-73). New England shippers filled the New World's appetite for slave labor and increased the supply of slaves to the southern ports.

There were two main areas where slavery was concentrated in the southern colonies in the 18th century: the Deep South and the Chesapeake Basin (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 2006, 70-7314). In the Deep South (South Carolina and Georgia) life was very harsh for African slaves. The climate was extremely hot and humid and the work was labor-intensive. The rice plantations were small and far apart making it difficult for slaves to visit friends and family. The climate and work were so harsh that only fresh imports could keep the slave population growing (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 2006, 70-73). In the Chesapeake Basin (Virginia) the weather was more temperate and the work was less arduous. In this region, tobacco, a less work-intensive crop, was cultivated. The plantations here were larger and closer together making it easier for friends and family to visit. By the 1720s the population of female slaves had increased leading to the possibility of families. In the Chesapeake, the slave population increased via both imports and natural increase (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 2006, 70-73). Few slaves became skilled artisans, tanners and carpenters. The introduction of slaves in the south led to a larger disparity between the landed elite and the lower classes. Large plantation owners had to capital to invest in large numbers of slaves and to keep them fed and housed. Small farmers managed about two slaves on average while others owned no slaves at all. The black codes enforced strict punishments for slaves who attempted to escape or to rebel. In some states, it was even prohibited to teach slaves how to read (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 2006, 70-73). In essence, the establishment of the black codes led to a racial hierarchy among the poorer whites and the slaves leading to the diffusion of class tensions ("Slavery in the Colonies" n.d.).

By 1790 about 94 percent of the 698,000 slaves lived below the Mason-Dixon line ("Slavery in the North" n.d). This resulted from the successful establishment of slavery in the south and its dissolution in the north due to climatic and economic factors. Slavery in the north was essentially urban whereas it was rural in the south. Owning slaves in the north simply was not as profitable as it was in the south. However, it was still very profitable for New England merchants to transport slaves and slave-made by-products around the world. While New Englanders abhorred slavery for moral reasons it took another 60 years to destroy slavery as a sanctioned institution within the United States.

References

Kennedy, D. M., Cohen, T. A., & Bailey, L. (2006). The American pageant (13th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Slavery in the Colonies. (n.d.). Slavery in the Colonies. Retrieved February 19, 2014, from http://tdl.org/txlor-dspace/bitstream/handle/2249.3/663/05_slavery_colonies.htm?sequence=11

Slavery in the North. (n.d.). Slavery in the North. Retrieved February 20, 2014, from http://slavenorth.com/slavenorth.htm