Slavery and the Underground Railroad
Although we tend to think of slavery as being primarily a southern institution,
before the early 19th century, slavery existed in virtually every state
both North and South. New York's Hudson River Valley was no exception.
Some 15 percent of valley residents in the late-18th century were African American
slaves working, and living, on small farms or in shops throughout the
valley. Slavery was an integral part of the Hudson Valley economy. Although
slavery in the South was characterized by large plantations on which hundreds
of slaves lived and labored picking cotton or tending
tobacco, the Valley contained no plantations. Even the large landed estates,
like the Livingstons' or Cortlandts' were dominated by white tenants, not
black slaves. Slave families lived primarily on family farms, and worked,
ate, and lived with their owners - white Europeans.
After the American Revolution, slavery declined in importance
throughout the North, and several Northern states ended the institution.
Not so in New York. Slave labor had always played a more significant role
in the New York economy, and the institution emerged more strongly entrenched
in the society and economy of the state after the Revolution than it had
been before. Nevertheless, the Revolutionary War provided the opportunity
for those opposed to slavery, free whites and enslaved blacks, to challenge
the institution. Indeed, African Americans were at the vanguard of anti-slavery
protest in the years immediately following the Revolution. A new mood
of assertiveness revealed itself among slaves, who challenged the institution
most clearly by running away. The following readings
provide various perspectives on the institution of slavery in the Hudson
River Valley, as well as the growing struggle against it among both whites
and blacks.
"The African-American Struggle Against Slavery in the Hudson Valley" by Michael Groth
Please Note: This lesson plan involves reading 18th
and 19th century newspapers, wills, and probate inventories. It
is important to keep the materials in historical context.
PRIMARY RECORDS: Slavery & the Underground Railroad
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