Harriet Jacobs and the American Civil War

The American Civil War (1861-1865)
• Fought over the issue of slavery, particularly the expansion of slavery into the western territories • Seven slave states seceded (separated) from the United States • Created the Confederate States of America, also known as the Confederacy or simply the South • Remaining states became the Union or the North • Foreign countries refused to get involved throughout the war, despite requests for help from the South
Harriet Jacobs (1813-1897)
• African-American writer and escaped slave • Became an abolitionist speaker and reformer • Wrote one of the first female autobiographical slave narratives • Provided a detailed account of the sexual harassment and abuse female slaves experienced • Victim of the Fugitive Slave Laws
– These states included Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida
• Lincoln rejected secession as illegal, but stated that he would not be the one to start a war • The South took control of several federal forts within the territory they claimed • A peace conference failed to reach a compromise, and both sides prepared for war • The South assumed that European countries would help
– Required police to return runaway slaves to their owners – Even slaves who reached the North were still in danger of being caught and returned to the South – Freed slaves were also victims of these laws
• In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected president • Lincoln was opposed to the expansion of slavery into new western territories • The economy in the South relied on slave labor in order to produce and harvest cotton • Southern states wanted slavery to expand, while Lincoln refused • On March 4, 1861, seven slave states seceded from the United States of America
• Born a slave in Edenton, North Carolina • Father was an enslaved black carpenter owned by Andrew Knox • Mother was an enslaved black woman owned by John Horniblow • Jacobs inherited her status of slave from her mother • At age 6, mother died and Jacobs lived with her mother’s mistress, who taught her to read, write and sew • In 1825, mistress died and Jacobs was given to her mistress’ niece, who was only 5 years old • Child’s father, Dr. Norcom, became unofficial master
• One of the earliest true industrial wars • Railroads, the telegraph, steamships, and massproduced weapons were used throughout • Civilian factories, mines, shipyard, banks, transportation, and food supplies were used • The civilian involvement foreshadowed World War I • Remains the deadliest war in American history • About 750,000 soldiers died, and an unknown number of civilians as well • Some estimates state that 10% of all Northern men 20-45 years old, and 30% of all Southern white males 18-40 died
– Europe at this time relied on cotton produced in the South – England in particular had a close economic relationship with the cotton-producing South
• On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation • The Proclamation declared that all slaves in the rebellious Southern states were free • Applied to 3.1 million of the 4 million slaves in the United States at the time • Also ordered that some freed slaves could join the Union Army • Did not compensate the owners • Did not outlaw slavery itself • Did not make ex-slaves (called freedmen) citizens • Made the end of slavery a war goal, along with the reunification of the United States
• Jacobs was sexually harassed by Norcom • He refused to allow her to marry anyone • Jacobs took a white lover in order to escape Norcom’s attentions • Had two children, who were born slaves despite having a free white father • Norcom threatened to sell Jacobs children if she continued to refuse his sexual advances • In 1835, Jacobs escaped and hid in her grandmother’s attic • In 1842, escaped to the North while her lover purchased his own children and sent them North • In 1852, Jacobs finally received her freedom
– These states were Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia
• The North took control of the border states and established a naval blockade that damaged the economy in the South • England considered joining the war, but decided against it after the South lost an important battle
ቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱ
• On April 12, 1861, the South attacked Fort Sumter, a fort held by Union troops • Lincoln asked each state to provide troops to retake the fort • Four more slave states, which had previously refused to secede, finally joined the South