Jun 13 2011 06:55 am
Posted by under ADMIN ONLY - featured,June 14 Assignment
Assignment due 6/14
Website:
–Visit and browse through:
http://www.slaveryinnewyork.org/tour_galleries.htm
Blog:
–Respond to this post with one comment (1 paragraph in length)describing something new that you learned about slavery on the website, or respond to a comment that is already up by clicking “reply” next to an existing comment. In both cases, add something new to the conversation and refer specifically to the website to indicate exactly what content on the site you are talking about.
62 Responses to “Assignment due 6/14”
Natalia Abramov-V. on 13 Jun 2011 at 10:53 am #
Perhaps as with many others, my history of slavery in America was limited to identifying the South as slaveholders and the North with freedom. This website allowed me to learn about and bring focus to the true history of Northern slavery, specifically slavery in New York, the place I now call my home. I learned about the African Burial Ground in lower Manhattan discovered in 1991, which sheds a new truer light on the history of New York.
The sheer number and statistics of history of slavery in America is eye opening. I was not aware that the Atlantic Slave Trade was the largest forced migration in world history and that 12 million Africans were captured and enslaved in the Americas.
xiaoyun xu on 13 Jun 2011 at 11:20 am #
I feel the same way. I learned America history both in here and China. I had been told that slavery in America took place in the middle and southern America during the 16th, 17th, 18th century. I was surprise to find out what truly happened about slavery in New York. When I read through the New York’s Slave Laws, it’s still hard to believe that New York, as the city of freedom, had laws about “all children born of slave mothers shall be slaves as well”. Moreover, I learned, compare to other part of American, slavery remained economically important in New York until 1827.
I am glad that history of slavery in New York now has been added to my knowledge. And it should be add to textbook, pay serious attention about this subject.
kenji.ueno on 13 Jun 2011 at 12:42 pm #
I agree with the comment that up until taking this course I didn’t have knowledge of Northern slavery in the United States, here in New York. I was surprising to see how the cities and states were run by trading slaves in the daily basis after English took over the New Amsterdam, and by the 1740s, almost two out every five householders had at least one slave. It was shocking to know that there was a place called the Meal Market in which the slaves are priced and recalculated their value daily, and this place was created by the New York City itself. I feel I learned something new and very important from the website, which I think I couldn’t learn if I didn’t take this course although I’ve already took American history class before.
Abraham Lin on 13 Jun 2011 at 5:17 pm #
Like the rest, I did not know how big and important slavery was in the North. I knew it was around in some parts of the North but the majority of slave holders existed in the South. The website taught me that the New York City was also the capital of American slavery. The city’s economy was largely built around the supplying ships for the trade of slaves and what the slaves produced such as tobacco and cotton. Even though New York City was the capital of American slavery, it was also the place where the efforts to abolish slavery started. Eventually, during the American Revolution, New York City became a major center of free black life in America. By 1827, slavery was abolished in New York.
el125594 on 14 Jun 2011 at 8:03 am #
The website points out the slavery in NY, clearly almost everyone was surprised to hear about slavery in the north rather than the common knowledge of slavery in the southern states. Slavery is a very touching subject when looking at it from the moral position, people are working hard jobs and in return they get something which is enough to survive, so they can work the next day. What surprised me the most is the number of slaves that were actually shipped out and the number of slaves that actually made it to the states. around 12 million people were enslaved, comparing it to the population at the time, this is a great amount of people. On the other hand, looking at slavery from the economical point of view, it made a lot of sense to have slaves in NY. The fastest growing city in the world needed cheap/free labor and slave trading had also added to its economy. I believe that slavery had a great factor in the great city we live in now, without it NY would have been completely different.
Omar Abdel Salam on 13 Jun 2011 at 1:05 pm #
This website surprised me greatly. It taught me several new facts about slavery. Like the comments above I always thought slavery mainly took place in the south, but I was surprised to learn that it occured in the north. I always viewed New York as being very liberal and very diverse and very open to the culture and races of other and certain people would not legally be treated in such an inhumane way. This website made me realize that in the case of slavery New York was just as bad as other states in the south. I was also amazed over how long it took for New York to abolish slavery. I thought New York would have been the first city to abolish slavery and would play the biggest role in the movement for the abolition of slavery. The fact that states such as Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts all freed there slaves before New York and that New York did not free all its slaves until 1827 completely blew me away. I was also stunned based on how poorly and horribly these slaes were treated. For example, the picture that showed the ship in which the slaves came to America in upset me greatly. They were laid down as if they were boxes being transported given no personal space and no room to move at all for a long time as the trip from Africa to America is a long trip. also the story of Pegg the runaway slave depicted how gruesome slaves were treated. In the runaway slave ad, she was described as having ” a middle finger of her left hand crooked and cannot straighten it” this shows how badly she was abused by her owner. This website made me wake up and realize how awful and terrible slavery actually was.
ff122986 on 13 Jun 2011 at 11:57 pm #
I definitely agree with you, the information concerning slavery is at most very disturbing and at times outragingly shocking in it’s true form. I saw on the web site however, that it was the slaves who helped new yorkers fight the war of 1812 against the British and as a result, New York was grateful to pass the Abolition Act of 1817. A similar repeat of history came during the Vietnam war where black were not welcome in society but went to war to help the very oppressors that oppressed them. The irony of it is that the US was fighting for freedom in both wars.
jason.zhu on 13 Jun 2011 at 1:16 pm #
This website about Slavery in New York filled me with knowledge about where I live. Growing up in New York and throughout all my education I only heard about slavery in New York once or twice. I learned that New York was the capital of American slavery for man than two centuries. More than 80 Africans were captured and enslaved in America per day and over 40,000 ships was used to bring them over. During the Dutch rule, enslaved Africans built whatever was needed. they build roads, a dock, houses, and forts to protect against the native and rival English Colonies. From this website, it i learned that slavery contributed a lot to New York’s development and I don’t think many people knows that.
christian.robles on 13 Jun 2011 at 1:41 pm #
The website on slavery really gave me a lot of extra knowledge I didn’t know about. For example I had no idea that New York was the capital of American slavery for more than two centuries. I always thought that slavery was more in the South and not at all really in the North especially New York. I agree completely with Omar that Massachusetts, Pennsylvania & Vermont freed their slaves before New York did and didn’t free all the slaves until 1827. Their should be more history in textbooks about slavery in New York because clearly as the other students so far we did not know that slavery was a big part of a place we all call home.
junko.todoroki on 13 Jun 2011 at 2:12 pm #
I agree with the comments above. My knowledge of slavery in the U.S. was limited to the South. I didn’t have much knowledge of Slavery in New York. I thought North had more freedom than South in fact under the “Fact Sheet”, I learned that there were more slaves in New York than in any American city other than Charleston, South Carolina. It was new for me and was shocking to me. It was also new to me to read “the laws affecting blacks in Manhattan”. I was surprised that there were laws such as “slaves could not gather in groups larger than three” and “white residents were required to take any slave found in the streets after dark to be whipped,” also about the prices of slaves, and so on. Through the website, I learned how whites dehumanized blacks in the city. I think I gained the knowledge of not only the history but also many details of slavery in New York.
Sujan Shrestha on 13 Jun 2011 at 2:51 pm #
This website taught me by giving different information about slavery in New York. I was surprise to learn that New York was also paradoxically, the capital of American slavery for more than two centuries. Twelve million Africans were captured and enslaved in Americas, more than 80 per day for 400 years. By the 1740’s, 20% of New York’s inhabitants were slaves and two out of every five households had at least one. The first New York State constitution written in 1777, based itself on the Declaration of Independence was the first step toward ending slavery. After 1827 slavery was ended in New York. The North’s history of slavery was forgotten. Slavery lasted long time in New York, for fully 200 years, until it was abolished in 1827. I think slavery should be included in history textbooks.
Mendo on 13 Jun 2011 at 2:55 pm #
I agree with all the comments mentioned above that how shocking and hard to believe that New York city used to be the main capital of American slavery for 200 years! As i was reading about the New York Historical society, I realized the vital role of slavery trade in terms of boosting the New York as one of the most powerful city in the business sector.During 1700-1900, the color difference between white and black people was the main identification that separates the strength and weakness of people living in the city. Black people were treated as an animal for example; tying them like a dog, making them work every single household works, and also involve them in building infrastructure, fort,and the wall which we now know as a name of Wall Street.
Today, whenever we use the word “Liberty” meaning freedom , New York City comes into our mind; and i never thought the act of slavery could even exist in this land of freedom not for 2 or 5 years but 200 years. So, i think the life we are experiencing today in New York city with the hope of learning or experiencing something somehow also because of all those slaves who worked hard on construction and development.
amenaghawon.enoma on 13 Jun 2011 at 2:59 pm #
My knowledge on slavery is not primitive but today I learned something new. What really attract me about the exhibit is when it said the moral outrage on slave trading sparked the first international human right movement. I never thought during that century that internationally a community can come together to condemn a practice that has been in existence for centuries. What I also learned is how the British and the Colonist use freedom against the slave if they prove their loyalty. This was present during the American Revolution when the British took over New York. After the revolution New York population of Blacks were freed. I knew in history that in the north African Americans were free but I did not know before the Civil War they were given rights similar to their white counterparts. The only difference where they were ranked in the social class.
dimitris.kouvaros on 13 Jun 2011 at 3:05 pm #
I thought i knew enough about slavery before but now since I did some thorough research throughout the website, I got some new information that I had no idea about before. Somethings that became new to me now and shocked me were the Triangle Slave Trade and the fact that slave trade tied the world together. I knew it was an important part in many places around the world. But the fact that the whole world relied heavily on it shocked me completely. Other things like the laws affecting blacks in Manhattan was new to me. For blacks to vote they needed to pay a $250 charge while it was free for whites. Other things like blacks only were allowed to have funerals in the day or for it to be illegal for a slave over the age of 14 to be out at night without a lantern. This website taught me a lot of unknown facts about slavery that only a handful of people would know.
jaiying.lin on 13 Jun 2011 at 3:06 pm #
Before having the tour in this website, I thought the struggles and debates about abolishment of slavery in America started only right before the Civil War. With taking the gallery tour, I realize New York City was the one of the north cities which took early steps to emancipate black slaveries in the city by the end of the 1700s. However, because of New York city emphasized developping commerce and needed great amount of labor force, it was difficult to abolish slavery in a short time. Therefore, New York passed the emancipation law in 1799, about 14 years later than Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Rhode Island enacted acts on abolition of slavery.
Crystal Garris on 13 Jun 2011 at 8:24 pm #
I agree with your comment. And adding on, I didn’t realize that the slaves were responsible for so much of the building of New York City. However, it was also one of the earliest places where slaves started to receive some type of freedom. With the Dutch giving “half-freedom” to the Africans, they were able to have their own homes even though they were still being taxed and had to work somewhat against their will. This was a great stepping stone in the abolishment of slavery.
Hailie J on 13 Jun 2011 at 3:25 pm #
Tour galleries of the Slavery in New York surprises me. Even though I have been reading and watching videos to learn American history, I didn’t realize that the population of slavery in New York was higher than other major cities. What I have been told that is more slavery is in south rather than north, such as New York where represents city of liberty. Another new fact for me is that “the Atlantic slave trade was the largest forced migration in world history.” Since I don’t have enough knowledge of American history, this tour is really helpful and give me an opportunity to think about the truth of New York Slavery system. All in all, it is good to know more about the slavery history in New York this time!
raymond.yu1 on 13 Jun 2011 at 3:53 pm #
The slavery in New York tour gallery has really informed me a lot about slavery in New York. I never knew there was a conspiracy known as “two New Yorks”. The two New Yorks was basically an original map of New York that White slaveholders and leaders knew to be the only one in existence and another one that black New Yorkers mapped. This other map helped them escape from being watched every second and they could use this opportunity to take breaks. The African Burial Ground was also unvisited by the slaveholders, so this is a perfect place for slaves to communicate and catch up with each other.
ashleigh.baker on 13 Jun 2011 at 4:17 pm #
When learning the history of New York it is often overlooked the massive amount of hard work and labor provided by African slaves in literally forming the colonies foundation. We learn of the white patriots and government officials who drafted grand ideas to make the colony great, but it was the forced labor of the slaves that literally made New York. Prior to exploring this site it was refreshing to be reminded that the slaves were not completely submissive and since the 17th century were advocating and fighting for their rights. The website gives the names of eleven slaves who positioned and were granted freedom. However, freedom did not come that easily and they were only given “half- freedom”, where their children remained enslaved and they were taxed on property unfairly. It was interesting to learn that the American Revolution fueled the removal of slavery in the North and New York became a “sanctuary for 10000 freedom seeking African Americans”. In 1799 New York passed a separate emancipation law and although still treated as second class individuals, African-Americans were beginning to hold their heads high with their newly gained freedom and independence.
Rebecca Somers on 13 Jun 2011 at 8:40 pm #
I am replying to Ashleigh’s comment. I too was impressed to hear about all the hard work and physical labor the African Americans had to endure during the 17th and 18th centuries. In the Slavery link there is a “Photo glossary” section that shows the most typical tasks the slaves had at hand. For example, there is an image of New York slaves that worked on the Caribbean plantations where they endured hazardous and arduous conditions developing sugar cane. The Europeans profited off of the slaves hard labor converting sugar cane from the sugar plantations into molasses. There is also an image of a tobacco box created by a skilled slave that was sold in New York, and it reemphasizes the creativity and intelligence in the slave’s mind. This box truly is a gem.
I also did not know that in New York Washington Square was the first area designated to the free blacks. In the website, it has a glossary page that has “Land of the Blacks” defined as Washington Square in 1643. The Dutch West India Company gave these 100 city blocks to the first freed blacks, also considered to be “half free.”
I think this website and museum is incredibly significant because it keeps the African American legacy vibrant and everlasting. Even while African Americans were slaves they still had the courage and determination to produce music, practice their faith, and become entrepreneurs.
sharmin.sultana on 13 Jun 2011 at 4:49 pm #
The website is a great source of information regarding slavery; especially about slavery in the United States. I am absolutely shocked about the fact that 12 million Africans were captured and enslaved in the Americas. Among all the articles my attention grew upon African American lady Dorothy Creole. She was one of the first women slaves in the New Amsterdam. She was a god mother for a baby boy, soon the boy’s parents died; Dorothy and her husband adopted the boy. During this time the African American community started to help each other out according to the record.
I also found John Jay as a very important part of the history in abolishing slavery. Despite the fact that John jay’s father Peter Jay used to own huge number of slaves, John Jay sought to abolish slavery after the independence in the year 1777. He also subsidized school for African American and in 1787 he founded the free African American school, which had 56 students by the end of December 1788.
Xue Ying Chen on 13 Jun 2011 at 4:51 pm #
Just by reading through the text on the welcome page, I actually have learned something. I always thought that New York was a place for freedom. In fact, I was shocked that New York was actually the capital of American slavery for more than two centuries. My knowledge of slavery was mostly about the South. I have never thought that New York had played a big role in this. The slave trade was considered the largest forced migration in the world history, and there were about 80 slaves been brought in every day for 400 years. I was really surprised that slavery had existed that long. And New York wasn’t the first one to free slaves, and the emancipation came much later than Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
tahifa.rahman on 13 Jun 2011 at 4:54 pm #
I agree with all the above comments regarding slavery. New York City was the base for slave trade for more than two centuries. The slaves were tortured and brutally killed during that period. Most could not imagine slaves leading the same kind of hard lives in New York City that they had in the South. It was a misconception that New York was where the slaves found freedom and opportunity.
In 1991 a part of an old cemetery was found near a building in Manhattan. Historians claimed that it was an African burial ground. When scientist and historians dug up these graves they found remains of slaves, it illustrated astonishing stories about how slaves were treated during that time. The first story is about a woman and a baby. The woman was about 30, her newborn cradled in her arms most likely died at child birth. Like most African male and female she showed signs of disease and weak bones probably caused by heavy lifting that she had done while alive. Children under two had the high death rate among the enslaved African Americans and thus the extremity of this harsh life put mother and child at risk. This was one of the reasons why the slave population did not increase naturally but increased due to the import of slaves from Africa and the Caribbean.
Another story is about a woman in her early 20s. Generally it is hard to determine the cause of death but with the exception of this particular case. There was evidence that she had a blow to her head and her arms were pulled until the bones broke. A musket ball was found beneath her ribs and there were signs that she was shot. It was clear that she was murdered even though slave murder was not common.
It is extremely sad how slaves were treated during the colonial period. We did discuss in the class that slaves were treated brutally but I did not imagine the extent to which they endured the hardships of life and how badly they were treated.
jennifer.yu1 on 13 Jun 2011 at 5:07 pm #
There were several historical facts that I found eye opening while reading the PDF file under the Education section titled, “White New Yorkers in Slave Times”. I have assumed slavery started from English or Dutch rulers forcefully taking African Americans from their land and shipping them out to various colonies. I was surprised to read that the advent of slavery which dates back to 1400s was with Europeans buying prisoners of war from African kings. Also the word “slavery” which I used to associate primarily with African Americans is actually a term that comes from the Slavic people of Eastern Europe. They were the ones that were taken by force and enslaved after being conquered.
In addition to this, I always wondered how it was possible for many of the European settlers to be so accepting of a concept as immoral and inhumanitarian as slavery. I gained some insight to this question when I read about how slavery was seen as acceptable and normal. Today, we tend to connect slavery to exploitation, immorality, and ultimately to the lack of freedom. Our world in the 1600s did not hold the same negative connotation as it does today. There were servants and apprentices who worked under tradesmen and they were almost as equally not free as the slaves. Slavery and freedom did not hold the drastic contrast that it does today. Later in the 17th and 18th centuries, slavery was actually seen to be essential to people’s lives. Europeans firmly held on the belief it was in God’s plans for White Christians to be control and lead the world along with the idea that slaves were an essential factor to their prosperity. For those who were born at such a time where slavery was not solely an institution but one that is in alignment to their religion, to some extent it must have been rather difficult to uprightly oppose it.
wencong.zhu on 13 Jun 2011 at 5:13 pm #
this website about slavery in New York provides more knowledge of Nothern slavery to me. the first time of knowing slavery in the United State was three years ago that I immigrated to the Untied State from China. I have been told that slavery which just exsited in southern of the Untied State; the Nothern of the Untied State, such as New York , Boston etc were considered as a freedom palce by slaves. they all tried to escaped from the South to North because they believed that they would have liberty right there. after had tour in this website, i know that the slavery not only did exsite in the Southern of the Untied State , but also presented in the North. futhermore, in fact, the populartion of slavery was higher in New York than other cities.
from this website, we know the for the developement and construction of New York, slavery was an improtant element which contributed more.
suman.amatya on 13 Jun 2011 at 5:54 pm #
The website has a huge bunch of information on the slavery. It tells the reader about the detail history on the slavery – who, where and why these slaves were being brought? If I wirte all of this i think it would take the whole space. However, I would like to share Froot Manuel de Gerrit’s story which I learned from the website. The story not only made me think but also forced to me change the perspective on slavery. These slaves were not only brave but also they were the foundation of the cities. For example Manuel and his african american friends, who were captured by the Dutch and brought to Manhattan Island as slaves. Dutch need to contruct the buildings and roads and were sort of workers. Thus, the Dutch made them work without letting them go anywhere. Indeed, they were often chained together. One of the many contructions there were built was One Wall which is gone but sitll location of today is called the wall street. In fact, these slaves were one who helped to put New Amsterdam on its feet during that period. And even the Dutch new that how important these slaves were.
francesco.scalogna on 13 Jun 2011 at 6:27 pm #
This website opened my eyes up a lot more about how slavery impacted the northern states. I can understand why New York was one of the main access points for the Triangle Slave Trade being that it was one of the biggest trading ports in America. What really shocked me was that there were no images of African-Americans prior to the 1790’s. African-American New Yorkers lived there, slave or not, for 170 years before any images began to circulate around the city. It is mind blowing that not even one image made it through 170 years of existence.
Kevin Persaud on 13 Jun 2011 at 7:09 pm #
I personally found this website to be a very useful resource. It allowed me to absorb information about African Americans in New York. I was surprised to learn that although they didn’t receive emancipation until 1827; many people were able to gain half-freedom by the Dutch in the mid -17th century. It is true that slaves literally built New York City to be the great city that it is now and without them NY probably would have been able to grow as quickly as it did. I also felt that the British found the slaves a necessity to compensate for the lack of human capital as the city grew. This, in their minds, was able to temporarily compensate for the enslavement of African Americans. However, people were able to realize that slaves deserved the same rights as other people did and gradually gave them more and more rights.
Hitakshi Sharma on 13 Jun 2011 at 7:43 pm #
Just like most of the people that commented before me, I thought that slavery was mainly practiced in the South. I don’t recall learning about slavery in the North because mostly the North is always referred to as being a slave-free zone. I was surprised by the facts this website showed me about slavery in NYC. If you think about it, it does make sense for NYC to have slaves since NYC had many trade ports and slaves were being shipped in thousands across the globe. Something new that I learned after visiting the website is that African-Americans had their own burial ground. Segregation did exist between blacks and whites living in the US, but also when they died. The blacks were buried in a different ground than the whites. Also, I learned that some slaves that lived freely when the war was going on were terrified after hearing the news of the British defeat. Shortly after the slave owners came to capture the slaves that escaped. However, the British helped some escape the country. They then educated themselves and became advocates of black freedom.
Magdalena on 13 Jun 2011 at 7:58 pm #
One new thing that I’ve learned from the website was the fact, that was no single picture survived of African Americans who lived in New York during the first 170 years of the city existence. It would be ideal to conclude, that artist, as a people with greatest sensitivity, realized that the institution of slavery violates human rights, and they didn’t want to leave any documentation of that horrible events. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t their motivations. For most of the people, includes artists, African Americans weren’t perceived as a citizens, they weren’t perceived not even as a humans. Even though African American arrived as one of the first to New Amsterdam and later on constitute a plied very important role in creating and developing the city, they were treated as invisible when it came to rights and rewards. It very vividly points out, how diverse place the New York City was at that time. From one perspective it was a great city with potential, from the other it was a place build on racism and decriminalization. Fortunately, it changes when slavery was legally abolished in New York State in 1827.
Daniel Edward on 13 Jun 2011 at 8:03 pm #
I always new that there was slavery in the North. I was surprised to learn of the brutality that existed in the North. I always pictured northern slave owners as the nice owners that treated their slaves like servants rather than property. I always pictured the southern plantain owners to be the viscious slave beaters. In reality, slavery in the North was just as bad as slavery in the south. The owners were just as bad. There was no difference. In both the North and the South, slaves were treated as dogs or other animals. They were abused and beaten. They were forced away from their homes to travel thousands of miles to NYC. Around 80 slaves entered the city everyday. The whole concept that slaves in the North were better off than slaves in the south is a rediculous concept, In the end, slavery was the same through out the country. The North were not always the good guys. They just went to the good side sooner.
MentyS on 13 Jun 2011 at 8:15 pm #
The slavery history reminds me of the poems that I read when I was in high school. The poems were written by African-Americans, such as Langston Hughes and etc. Most of the poems were talking about how hard the lives were in South, since most of them lived in South. And how they early want to go to the North, where represents freedom. After exploring the slavery exhibit web, the first time I realize that New York was the capital of slavery for 200 years. The reason for so many New Yorkers know little about the slavery history is that the New York is the one of the first group of free slave states, which is what the school textbook taught. As result, we thought everyone has freedom in New York then and now. Moreover, slavery is a key contribution to the development of New York. They were the one built the wall for the Wall Street, they also built roads and so many important buildings at that time.
rc120825 on 13 Jun 2011 at 8:36 pm #
History is always important to a nation. When we talked about the history of america, slavery is the inevitable past that always is interested to people, specially, people like me who is a new comer. This website gives a lots of information about slavery: how it came into the American culture and how it was abolished. Slavery was introduced to american culture by the Dutch East India company by importing slave from africa via new york port. About to 40,000 ships were used to bring twelve million slaves form africa. During war, 10000 slaves were freed. Even there were several conventions were made by the founder fathers to confirm people natural and civil rights. The southern states were supported slavery because they owned property and they needed slave to work in their field. In contrast, the northern states yet started urban lifestyle and hold the thoughts. I didn’t know that black people had to purchase their freedom. Pierre Tpussaint purchased wife’s and niece’s freedom. Black prople were oppressed by the wight by economically, socially which led them to the civil war. By 1888, slavery was abolished.
auvee.bhattacharjya on 13 Jun 2011 at 8:50 pm #
The virtual tour chronicling slavery and the progression towards desegregation in New York was definitely enlightening. The history of slavery in New York is not something that I, admittedly, think about very often, so it’s definitely informative to have access to a crash course on the history of slavery in New York. In elementary school and beyond, students are taught that there was a distinctive separation between the North and South, in that the South fought FOR slavery, whereas the North fought AGAINST slavery. This virtual tour instantly showed me that New York was, in fact, a hub for slaves in the United States, contrary to the oversimplified information that we are fed in grade school. Another point that I found to be interesting was the sheer resilience of the slaves in question. While they were essentially considered to be mere pieces of property to their owners prior to the emancipation, but afterwords quickly began to enjoy and appreciate their freedom and follow their dreams, as illustrated in the biography section. Another thing that I found interesting was the Triangle Slave trade, and its importance to the world.
patricia.ibarra on 13 Jun 2011 at 8:51 pm #
As a foreigner student, I always thought slavery was concentrated in the South. However, after reading the information on this website, I found that New York was one of the last who delayed the freedom of many African American slaves. By doing so, it appears that New York had greed for the money because it wasn’t convenient for them to free the slaves. Moreover, when I thought that the British were the bad guys in this period in time they did do something good: to free some of the slaves that fought in the war. Unfortunately, New York refused to give up their slaves. New York needed free hard work and they could do whatever they want with the slaves after paying a few dollars for them and treat them like objects or animals. What was really shocking to see on the website was the list of “slave laws” that with the years got more and more cruel. For example, one of the rules in the list in 1702 was: “Masters may punish their slaves however they choose so long as they do not cut off their limbs or kill them.” Also, when I clicked on Gallery 3 of the website at the bottom was the link “visit a merchant’s house”. I saw the beautiful work done by slaves such as silverware and furniture. These items would be found in a wealthy merchant’s home. The message that this website wanted to make by categorizing each object with a “white“ and “black” story was to make us realize that each beautiful artwork had a sad and painful story behind.
jiada.chen on 13 Jun 2011 at 8:59 pm #
After visiting the website, I was surprised by how the world was different for slaves after 1800. Before 1800, slaves had little freedom–they had to pay taxes, could be called back to work anytime, and were not allowed for any movements or gathering. However, the Gradual Emancipation Act of 1799 was the first step of ending this miserable slavery. According to Declaration of Independence, “all men are created equal,” and the existence of slavery was apparently violating the statement. As blacks acquiring more free, they owned their property; they printed their essays and images; their children could go to schools. Among all those freedom they gained, the most important one, I believe, is the right of voting. This political power enabled them to altering the blueprint of American politics. Giving them the power of voting accelerates the process of establishing a society where discrimination would be eliminated, and the highest value of America–equality–could be held.
ap125170 on 13 Jun 2011 at 9:20 pm #
After visiting this website, I learned that from 1790 and following, was when African Americans began to appear in pictures of the city. Its crazy to think that after 170 years of African American New Yorkers being in the city, that there does not exist an image of them living in New York. Another things I learned was that African Americans at one point during slavery in New York were actually getting paid for their work by the British. They were able to set themselves apart from other slaves and start a life as an individual. It seems that New York treated slaves in a much better way. I feel that they took on slavery because at that time it was the norm in the world and made money being that New York is a very ambitious state.
Kate Pioreck on 13 Jun 2011 at 9:24 pm #
I found the second gallery on slavery during the Dutch settlement in New Amsterdam to be very interesting. As several people have mentioned, the majority of my exposure to the history of slavery in the United States has focused around events leading up to the Civil War. The role that slaves played in the Dutch settlement is often overlooked. Until exploring this website I did not realize how integral slaves were to the settlement. Specifically, I was not aware that slaves built the wall and the fort. The British Empire was certainly not the first to institute slavery but I think it is far more often associated with the British Empire and the American colonies than with the Dutch.
glejdis.xamo on 13 Jun 2011 at 9:30 pm #
As mentioned by my fellow classmates I as well did not know the serious role that New York played in the rise of slavery. New York had the largest colonial slave population north of Maryland. From about 2,000 in 1698, the number of the colony’s black slaves swelled to more than 9,000 adults by 1746 and 13,000 by 1756. Between 1732 and 1754, black slaves accounted for more than 35 percent of the total immigration through the port of New York. And that doesn’t count the many illegal goods of Africans unloaded. In 1756, slaves made up about 25 percent of the populations of Kings, Queens, Richmond, New York, and Westchester counties. These numbers are outrageous. From searching through the website and by doing some additional research, it has opened my eyes to much that I did not know about slavery.
rodrigo.rodriguez on 13 Jun 2011 at 9:57 pm #
After exploring the website, I was also surprised to find out that New York was the capital of slavery. Usually when I read about slavery, the goal of escaped slaves was to reach the North which was thought to bring more opportunities and freedom. Living in New York I just always got the impression that New York was the state that was leading the abolition of slavery but after looking through the website this was not true. Due to the economic importance of slavery, New York was actually not the first northern state to hop on the wagon. first came Vermont, then Pennsylvania,Massachusetts and then finally New York in 1827. another thing that was surprising to me was that there was not a single picture of a black person that survived and that they did not appear in any photographs until 1790’s. This is just something that is incredulous to me. Its like they didn’t exist or were not of importance to even be shown in any pictures.
marcin.gutowski on 13 Jun 2011 at 10:24 pm #
Like many comments above, my knowledge of slavery was limited to knowing that the south was where most of the slaves worked. The north was the direction of freed slaves and they would go there in search of work and acceptance. The fact that New York abolished slavery after Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, seemed a little bit confusing. It seemed to me as New York was one of the first states to abolish slavery. The web site also tells us that the American Revolution ended slavery in New York City. I thought that the slavery in NYC ended before the war took place. Another interesting fact that was unknown to me is that the Dutch New York was in a big part build by slaves. Before I thought that, the colony was built by new comers from Europe, not slaves.
gregory.heath on 13 Jun 2011 at 10:33 pm #
Contrary to popular belief (apparently), I actually figured that slavery HAD to be biggest in New York City. New York City was the portal to the new world, a fairly large amount of what southern colonies needed came through NYC’s ports. Slaves were no exception. Being worth a fortune, only the richest in any colony could possess them. In my opinion, this is probably part of the reason why slavery died off so early in NYC, because after the city became an industrial hub they served little purpose aside from luxury. Funnily enough, in big cities like NYC, industry tends to “enslave” whoever happens to be immigrating at the time. Today we spoke of the Irish and the free blacks in the city, they worked awful hours and got paid horrifically. In a sense these desperate workers may have proven to be even more profitable than slaves.
nataliya.vynnychuk on 13 Jun 2011 at 10:38 pm #
What I found the most fascinating about the website is its section “Education and Classroom materials”. There is a subsection that contains life stories about African Americans during slavery time.
The story about Regnier’s Mars, who was a member of the first big uprising of slaves in New York. Armed with knifes and hatchets, he along with other African Americans attacked and killed a few white people, for which he got arrested, and sentenced to be hanged.
Another story is about Charles Robert, who was an educated man that helped to run his muster’s business. However, his hardship was not appreciated, moreover his owner liked to abuse him often. After Robert managed to escape, his master’s printing business wouldn’t last long.
Yet the most exciting part for all African Americans was the American revolution, which played a key role in the history of slavery in New York. Given a chance to become free, many African Americans decided to fight on the British side. Encouraged by the promise, the slaves of Patriots tried to run away from their masters joining British troops, where they were welcomed. African Americans felt the changes coming, and by showing their loyalty to British army many of them would sacrifice their own lives.
After the war was over, and the British lost, desperate African Americans wouldn’t stop fighting for their rights. As a result, Sir Guy Carleton reached a compromise with George Washington giving all blacks, who where in New York on November 30, 1782 before the first peace treaty, what they all have fought for – freedom.
taimoor.shahid on 13 Jun 2011 at 10:38 pm #
Before visiting the website I didn’t know that such a huge amount of Africans were brought to US as slaves. 12 million is not a small amount. It is quite strange that enslaved Africans were working in New Amsterdam from its beginning. They cleared land, grew crops, built roads, forts and houses for the Dutch and at the end all what they received were hatred and discrimination. I didn’t know that New York was center of slavery. As website mentioned, in 1740, 20 % of NY inhabitants were slaves. Before 1776 every black New Yorker was enslaved and after 1783 black Americans with property got their voting right, they were able to buy and rent property. It is very amazing that after facing so many hardships and troubles African Americans didn’t lose their heart and at last won their battle of freedom
bstewart622 on 13 Jun 2011 at 10:47 pm #
I like most of my classmates found the virtual tour of the “Slavery in New York Galleries” extremely enlightening. It was very interesting to focus on slavery in a Northern state, because typically we focus on slavery in the South. I found the concept of Dutch New York extremely intriguing because of the idea of “half-freedom.” African Americans wee able to create one of the first free black communities. This website was extremely consequential because it allowed the exploration of the history of some of the first black African Americans’ struggle to freedom. I also liked the concept of a virtual museum.
Svetlana Kandkhorova on 13 Jun 2011 at 10:48 pm #
When i entered the website, it was really easy to navigate through. While reading through the galleries, i found that as others stated already, slaves were a major impact to the growth of new york city and other colonies. By the 1740s there were 20% of slaves living and working in New York City. But by 1780, General Henry Clinton offered freedom to all the slaves that reach the British lines. Therefore, thousands of African Americans crammed the streets of new york city. I’m surprised in the span of 40 years so many African Americans came to new york to escape slavery from other countries. This caused many competition between the workers.
Gabriela Serrano on 13 Jun 2011 at 10:56 pm #
I have been taught about slavery since elementary school all the way up to high school, but never in depth like I have learned in my previous spring semester and now my current semester in Baruch. I remember the common names like Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. Like most people I did not know how much slavery has played a part in New York City history. It always seemed that slaves tried escaping the south to go north to be free, and yet this was not even the reality. Taking citywide exams on history I do not recall answering questions about slavery. I guess maybe it is a topic that one cannot fully understand at a young age, which would be the only reason why it may not be taught in depth; and if its being taught it is pretty much sugar coated and kept short. I read the Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass last semester and once I had started reading I did not want to put the book down. It definitely had me in shock the descriptions of his experience of slavery, what he saw and what he had to go through. One does not believe these stories until one actually reads them or sees evidence. This website on slavery definitely is a good source to learn more from. The newest thing I have come to learn is how much slaves have helped built New York City and the different stages it had to take them to actually become free.
yeungyu.tsui on 13 Jun 2011 at 11:24 pm #
Before I visit the website, my knowledge of slavery is very limited, like most of the comments above, the website really expand my knowledge on slavery in New York. Through the gallery on the website, I learn more about the slavery in New York history and by open up a file called “Laws affecting Blacks in Manhattan”. I can see more brutal laws applied to slaves in that period. During The British Period, Slaves who made noise in the street on Sunday could be whipped and slaves could not gather in groups larger than three; 40 lashes on the naked back of offenders. Masters were free to punish their slaves for any misdeed however they chose, short of killing then or cutting off their limbs. It is hard to imagine how harsh life of being a slave and the inequality they were being treated.
yutik.lam on 13 Jun 2011 at 11:27 pm #
Actually I didn’t know much about slavery before I came to the United States. After visiting the website, I was shock to know how widespread the slavery was in this country. I can’t barely imagine that slavery played a really pivotal role in New York. I thought New York was the freest city and slavery only took place in the south. However the website tells me that New York was the capital of American slavery for more than two centuries. Almost every businessman in 18th century New York had a stake, at one time or another, in the traffic in human beings. Slaves constructed Fort Amsterdam and they built the wall from which Wall Street get its name. They built the roads, the docks, and most of the important buildings of the early city – the first city hall, the first Dutch and English churches, Fraunces Tavern, the city prison and the city hospital. Slaves have contributed a lot to build this city. The problem of slavery in the urban North probably was as serious as in the south. After all, the website impressed me so much. I can’t believe that slavery has lasted for fully 200 years in New York until it was abolished in 1827.
andrew.hahm on 13 Jun 2011 at 11:36 pm #
Upon reading about history of slavery in New York, I found it astonishing that New York, a center of freedom and liberty was ironically built by slaves. George Washington, the father of our Nation and the founder of the American freedom, owned hundreds of slaves (ironic as well). According to the website, 41 percent of New York households had slaves. The Union that was created before the happenings of the Civil War fought to get rid of slavery in all northern states and as history tells it, slaves were worth fighting for on both ends. Without the manpower and usage of slaves, the south would’ve gone bankrupt within months with no one to tend to their plantations and fields. The north sought for a freed America, an ideal America that was built on the idea of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The website brought a much more detailed insight on the history of slaves in New York during the pre-civil war era. The irony that I saw derived from how a city of freedom and culture was actually built by slaves themselves. I felt as if the website did an excellent job of informing in a critically analytical way, as well as portrayed sound reasoning and evidence that supported the overall idea of the website. This site should be a great tool for any educators who are looking for material to teach on the history of the slaves in New York.
jianping,Gao on 13 Jun 2011 at 11:50 pm #
When I visited the website, I was shocked by visitors’ responds. It seems like most of them never know that there was slavery in NYC. One important reason is revealed by a teacher, who said that there is nothing about slavery mentioned in the history book, especially before 1700. The gallery also mentions that as civil war approached, slavery in New York was all but forgotten. Only the south became identified with slavery. But the fact is slavery lasted long time in New York, for fully 200 years. One example is by the 1740’s, 20% of New York’s inhabitants were slaves and two out of every five households had at least one. Compare with other places’ slaves, slaves in New York even put more effect to get freedom. They experienced a lot. Until 1827, slavery was abolished in New York. So as one of the New Yorkers, we should know the history of the slavery in New York. We should be proud for the slaves since their unshakeable faith let them get freedom and they also contributed a lot to the New York. Without them, we can’t have today’s New York.
yuliya.akchurina on 13 Jun 2011 at 11:51 pm #
This is a helpful website. It describes the life and the role of slaves and in particular African Americans through out the American history. I have studied before slavery in the South and North of America, but this website gives more detailed and broader view.
White people- slave owners neglected slaves. Slaves had no rights, no price, no property, nothing. They were treated like a property and the only price they had is the price that was paid when they were bought. The thing that shocked me is the cruelty of white people toward slaves. Severe punishments for everything done wrong and the sophistication of punishments and regulations witch contained in the “Laws Affecting Blacks in Manhattan” and in “The closing vise: New York’s slave laws” are awful.
Who were slaves? They were exploited for doing the hardest work. They did basically everything or whatever their master wanted from them. Such life did not last long. Early death was common among slaves. As analysis of the bones founded in the “African Burial Ground” showed. Many of them did not live even until the middle age. They had different kinds of infections, diseases and ailments. Common ailment was arthritis of hands and legs from heavy lifting and hard work. Vitamin deficiency led to fragility of bones and rickets. Medicine of that time was poorly developed and that led to high children death. The first six month of child’s life were the most vulnerable and dangerous, by virtue of living conditions child mortality among slaves was much higher than among white people. New York slave population never increased naturally.
natalia.tatishvili on 14 Jun 2011 at 12:08 am #
This website has a vast amount of information about slavery, specifically in NYC. Since, I came to the United States seven years ago; my knowledge about slavery in the United States was very little to almost none. In the last few years I have gained some knowledge about slavery, but nothing as much as I did through this website. For example, I have learned from “gallery 6” that not one picture or image of black New Yorkers has survived up until the beginning of 1790s.Also, according to the website, “before 1176 almost every black New Yorker was enslaved.” These are just two examples out of everything that I have learned through this website. I am going to explore the website more and discuss it tomorrow in the class.
ka.lo1 on 14 Jun 2011 at 12:09 am #
According to the website,the Dutch legacy left its mark on New York slavery, even after the British occupation. The British at first handled slaves in New York on the same relatively humane terms the Dutch had set. In fact,the population already was racially mixed, and slavery in New York at first was passed down not exactly by race, but by matrilineal inheritance: the child of a male slave and a free woman was free, the child of a female slave and a free man was a slave.
By the 18th century, through this policy, New York had numerous visibly white persons held as slaves.Slaves who had worked diligently for the company for a certain length of time were granted a “half-freedom” that allowed them liberty in exchange for an annual tribute to the company and a promise to work at certain times on company projects such as fortifications or public works. Individual slaveowners, such as Director General Peter Stuyvesant, adopted this system as well, and it enabled them to be free of the cost and nuisance of owning slaves year-round that they could only use in certain seasons. For the slaves, ‘half-freedom’ was better than none at all.
As a result,l couldn’t even believe that 42 percent of New York’s households had slaves, much more than Philadelphia and Boston combined in the 17th century which was a huge number.
cheokhong.yu on 14 Jun 2011 at 12:42 am #
This website really prvides a comprehensive knowledge about slavery. After I visited the websites, it recalls some of my memory on the political science class. I really learn that most of the slaves are blacks and their life are really tough . In the 17th century, the enslaved slaves needed to to different kinds of hard work like building houses, road forts. Their status was really low. They didn’t have the freedom and rights that the normal people had. They were treated unfairly. At the period of 1777 to 1783, slavery was abolished in some states except New York. In 1799, the state finally enacted its own gradual emancipation law, promising freedom to all newborn blacks. I think the emancipation law really help the blanks a lot. The status of the blacks was higher than before. African children can go to school. Black men had the right to vote. They faced less discrimination than before. I’m very proud of the blacks that they keep struggling for the freedom even though they faced a lot of harsh and unequal treatment throughout the histroy. Finally they get the rights that the normal people have.
xiaoyan.chen on 14 Jun 2011 at 1:07 am #
From the website, we can learn about the slavery system development, change and abolishment. How the slaves life and their social status change during the different time of the American history. As we know the Atlantic Slave Trade was the largest forced migration in world history. There was about twelve million Africans were captured and enslaved in the Americans. By the mid-17th century, enslaved Africans were at work in New Amsterdam from its beginning. They cleared land, grew crops and built roads, houses, and forts. But as the economic system change, some northern states banned slavery, and provide for the gradual end of slavery. Before 1776, almost every black New Yorker was enslaved. The first New York State constitution written in 1777, the declaration addressed that “all men are created equally” By 1790, one in three was free. Authorities softened brutal colonial laws and made it easier to free slaves. The free backs’ social status still very low, but comparing as a slave, it had a certain improvement. For example after 1783, black and white New Yorkers began to learn about being free together. Blacks rented and bought their own residences. Their children attended the African free school or entered apprenticeships. Black men with property could vote. But the concord could not continue for a long time, in 1821 disfranchised almost all black men; and white laborers and Democrats used a more violent racism to exclude blacks from all but the most menial work. After the 1827 end of slavery in new York, abolitionists turned to liberation the enslaved in the American South. Years of sectional dispute split the nation into a slave South and a free North.
rb115770 on 14 Jun 2011 at 5:26 am #
Most of the comments above relate to the lack of knowledge that slavery existed in the Northern states after 1827. I, never would have known that this was true if I hadn’t seen this website. To be honest, I was shocked because I thought slavery pursued in the South only. To go to website and discover that in 1991, the African Burial Ground was uncovered in lower Manhattan, startled me. This event had New Yorkers come face to face with reality to realize that they silently enslaved African Americans. I find it funny that up to date, I have never heard of this. This discovery occurred before my birth, so why didn’t I learn about it? Were people embarassed of this news? I also didn’t know that slavery ended as early as 1827. In addition, I found this quote to be interesting. It reads “Not a single image of black New Yorkers survived from their first 170 years in the city, but beggining in 1790s, black people begin to appear in pictures of the city.
audrey.ryals on 14 Jun 2011 at 5:45 am #
I had no idea that slave owners put out wanted ads in the news paper when their slaves ran away. The smart ones that were able to escape slavery were featured in the paper in the most descriptive and degrading manner. For instance, Pegg, a 40 year old woman whom had escaped was listed as a runaway. Her owner put out a reward of $2 for any person who found her. He called her a negro wench in the wanted ad which is pretty insulting in todays vocabulary (not too sure of the meaning in that period of time) Her owner described her in great detail assuming because photography had not yet been introduced or popular around this time.
Dmitriy on 14 Jun 2011 at 7:35 am #
What interested me most was the drastic change slavery went through in New York. During the New Amsterdam age slavery was the backbone of society, at it was the trading of slaves and their forced labor which provided an economical base for the city. Yet during the revolutionary war New York became a beacon of hope to which free slaves came in order to escape their servitude.
Dmitriy on 14 Jun 2011 at 7:39 am #
Furthermore, not only were the former slaves given freedom, they were given identities and began to assimilate into society. This assimilation was demonstrated by their gospel music and arguments over politics. Its perfectly understandable why out of the 10,000 slaves who arrived during the revolutionary war, 3,000 went to England with the British.
priscilla.liu on 14 Jun 2011 at 9:50 am #
History was never one of my favorite subjects, and what I remember tends to be really random. In class today, I was shocked to learn that the Irish were practically in competition with the African Americans for jobs in the 1800s. It may be naive to think so, but I had always thought that the blacks were of the lowest class during this time period. Although I was aware that slavery had existed in the North, my knowledge of it, like many others, was limited to just slavery in the South. New York has changed a lot, and very rapidly from being one of the most popular ports in America to abolishing slavery in a course of several years.
HuiLing Liang on 14 Jun 2011 at 12:50 pm #
I am a person who barely interested in history subject, but throughout the class lectures and the assignments, I began to gain new knowlege of how people lived in the past. Though in current period, slaverly became unlawful, and this is no more issue nowadays, during the 1800s, the trade in slaves and the product of slave labor tied the world together. When I visited the website, the fact shocked me alot. But soon the moral outrage against slave trading sparked the first international humen rights movement and by 1888, slavery had been abolished throughout the New World.