Inside This Unit: The Full Breakdown
This unit examines the transatlantic slave trade, the Middle Passage, racialized chattel slavery, and the wide spectrum of resistance — from everyday acts and marronage to revolts, the Haitian Revolution, and abolitionism.
Why it matters
This is the most heavily weighted unit. It centers both the brutality of enslavement and the persistent agency and resistance of enslaved people.
Key concepts
- The transatlantic trade forcibly transported millions across the deadly Middle Passage.
- Chattel slavery was hereditary and racialized by law.
- Resistance ranged from everyday acts to marronage, revolts, and the Haitian Revolution.
- Enslaved people preserved African culture (cultural retention) despite enslavement.
The Slave Trade and Chattel Slavery
The transatlantic slave trade moved millions of Africans to the Americas under horrific conditions. In North America, slavery became chattel slavery — hereditary, lifelong, and racialized — supported by laws constructing race to justify perpetual bondage. The internal slave trade later tore families apart and spread slavery westward.
Resistance and Abolition
Enslaved people resisted constantly: everyday sabotage, marronage (escaping to form free communities), and organized revolts. The Haitian Revolution (1791–1804) overthrew slavery and colonial rule, establishing a free Black republic. Black abolitionists and slave narratives (Douglass, Equiano) exposed slavery and fueled the antislavery movement.
AP exam tip
For sources like Douglass on enslaved people’s songs, explain that expressions could mask suffering — outsiders often misread them. Emphasize agency and resistance, not just victimhood.
Connections to other units
- Unit 1: African cultures persisted as retentions in the Americas.
- Unit 3: Emancipation opened the struggle to practice freedom.
