CHAPTER 11 Assignments/Activities

ATTENTION: Answer the following questions for assignments listed in a Word document and submit them through the assignment Drop Box.

INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES (IA):15 Points. A. 1-5 (5), B. 1-2 (4), C. 1-2 (3), D(3).

PARAGRAPH RESPONSES (PR): 15 Points C.3 (5), ., E (10).

1. Re-read pp 281-283.  Review the Map 11-1 p. 282 and Figure 11-1, p. 283.

Cite five specific facts that link the increased production of cotton to the territorial expansion of slavery.

1. Chaffey Library eRes, “The Trials of a Slave Girl.” Answer questions 1-2. Not questions in excerpt.
1. Based upon your reading of this excerpt from Harriet Jacobs’ narrative, what power and influence did the matriarchs of the slave family have in both the slave community and among white owners?  (Matriarchs refers to slave women, like Harriet’s grandmother).
2. Why do you think the wives and mothers of slave owners did not do more to stop the physical and sexual abuse of female slaves? Keep in mind what you have learned about the status of women in society in general.

1. Chaffey Library eRes. George Fitzhugh, The Blessings of Slavery (1857).  Answer questions 1-3.
1. How does Fitzhugh support his claim that, “The negro slaves of the South are the happiest, and in some sense, the freest people in the world”?
2. Identify and explain the author’s arguments in favor of the institution of slavery.
3. As a final part of this assignment, write a one paragraph response from Harriet Jacobs to George Fitzhugh refuting his ‘blessings of slavery’ idea.  Reference the satirical painting, “Virginia Luxuries” which is on the Moodle Chapter 11 assignment page as you challenge Fitzhugh’s idealized version of slavery.

1. Overview.  Review the table on p. 297 of the text and cite three facts you have discovered and how it helps you understand the class distinctions of southern society.

E. Chaffey Library eRes.  Study the review of Stephanie McCurry’s 1995 puiblication, Masters of Small Worlds.  As always, review your text as well focusing on the fact that only 25-30 % of Confederate soldiers were slave-owners.  There is also a reference in the text to the idea that for the Confederacy, ‘It was a rich man’s war but a poor man’s fight’.  Write a thorough explanation, at least two paragraphs,  summarizing McCurry’s research as to why these Southerners fought to preserve slavery for the elite class.