Zinn Chapter 9
Catch 22 The Caged Bird Sings of Freedom
2. What actions did the U.S. government take to support slavery? Do these actions support Zinn's assertion on p. 139 that "Such a government would never accept an end to slavery by rebellion"? Why would the white elite want to determine when and how slavery would end? The U.S. government supported slavery by refusing to enforce the law that prohibited the shipping of new slaves into the nation, passing new laws that burdened slaves, and repeatedly making decisions in Supreme Court cases that did not bode well for the fettered men and women, among other actions. One such law that further bound the slaves was The Fugitive Slave Act: “The Fugitive Slave Act passed in 1850 was a concession to the southern states in return for the admission of the Mexican war territories (California, especially) into the Union as non-slave states. The Act made it easy for slaveowners to recapture ex-slaves or simply to pick up blacks they claimed had run away” (Zinn, A People's History of the United States). This clearly portrays the government’s concern with national unity and power over slave emancipation. These actions also support Zinn’s assertion that "Such a government would never accept an end to slavery by rebellion" as the government needed to appease the South in order to keep the Union intact and since slavery formed the economic foundation of the South, they would not allow the slaves freedom as a result of rebellion. Only one slave rebellion ever brought an end to slavery in the Americas, and that was the Haitian Revolution. Slave rebellion in North America typically did little to end slavery, as can be seen with the revolt led by Nat Turner. Furthermore, the white elite wanted to determine when and how slavery would end in order to control the outcome in such a way that it was profitable or served to their self-interest.
6. How were the following used as methods of controlling not only the slave population but poor whites
2. What actions did the U.S. government take to support slavery? Do these actions support Zinn's assertion on p. 139 that "Such a government would never accept an end to slavery by rebellion"? Why would the white elite want to determine when and how slavery would end? The U.S. government supported slavery by refusing to enforce the law that prohibited the shipping of new slaves into the nation, passing new laws that burdened slaves, and repeatedly making decisions in Supreme Court cases that did not bode well for the fettered men and women, among other actions. One such law that further bound the slaves was The Fugitive Slave Act: “The Fugitive Slave Act passed in 1850 was a concession to the southern states in return for the admission of the Mexican war territories (California, especially) into the Union as non-slave states. The Act made it easy for slaveowners to recapture ex-slaves or simply to pick up blacks they claimed had run away” (Zinn, A People's History of the United States). This clearly portrays the government’s concern with national unity and power over slave emancipation. These actions also support Zinn’s assertion that "Such a government would never accept an end to slavery by rebellion" as the government needed to appease the South in order to keep the Union intact and since slavery formed the economic foundation of the South, they would not allow the slaves freedom as a result of rebellion. Only one slave rebellion ever brought an end to slavery in the Americas, and that was the Haitian Revolution. Slave rebellion in North America typically did little to end slavery, as can be seen with the revolt led by Nat Turner. Furthermore, the white elite wanted to determine when and how slavery would end in order to control the outcome in such a way that it was profitable or served to their self-interest.
6. How were the following used as methods of controlling not only the slave population but poor whites