Summary: The Black Church, Entrenchment Of Slavery, And Freedom

From the years 1791-1831 slavery was a huge issue in America across the entire nation. With the cotton industry booming due to the invention of the cotton gin slaves were being bought and traded, not just all throughout the United States, but from international countries as well. I read five sections going into detail about this subject, which include: Philadelphia, The Black Church, Conspiracy and Rebellions, Growth and Entrenchment of Slavery, and Freedom and Resistance. The first section I covered was the section about Philadelphia, which seemed to be a place that gave free blacks hope for equality and a fair shot at a good life. Although these free blacks struggled with finding work and living in poverty, I found it very interesting how much more advanced this area was than many other areas in America. Anthony Benezet, for example, was a man who very strongly disagreed with the idea of slavery and fought for education for slaves, as if he knew that they would be free very soon. He was a white man who seemed to ignore the …show more content…
A large part of this movement took place in Philadelphia, which is not surprising after learning how progressive they were in the first section. In this city the American Society of Free Persons of Color, (later named the National Negro Convention), was created. This organization started a movement that helped these free blacks have a better life and eventually led to the first public school for people of color, which was a huge step since they were not yet allowed in white public schools. At this time period black women were way ahead of their time and causing change in their communities. These women were working outside of the home and helping provide for their families, which was not common for white women for quite a while after this. This was a time that many black women were activist and worked hard to make the changes in how society treats them that are present