
California Voters’ Heartbreaking Rejection of Proposition 6
California voters rejected Proposition 6, maintaining forced labor in prisons. This defeat emphasizes the ongoing struggles related to prison exploitation.
California voters rejected Proposition 6, maintaining forced labor in prisons. This defeat emphasizes the ongoing struggles related to prison exploitation.
The history of slavery and sectional debate impacted the formation of California in a variety of ways. California’s admission into the Union and the Compromise of 1850 intensified the sectional conflict over slavery bringing the United States one step closer to Civil War. The hidden history of the slavery debate in the mid-19th century becomes visible in the very placement of California’s eastern border. Additionally, California becomes a central point in Black history as African Americans struggled to keep slavery out of California…and Black people in it.
In this video, I break down the various ways in which the sectional debate over slavery impacted the formation of California. The impact of the slavery debate can be seen in the placement of California’s eastern border and in the struggle to keep slavery out of California…and ex-slaves in it.
In this episode, we explore how life was different for African Americans on the frontier. How those differences translate to both danger and opportunity for persons of African descent in the Spanish and English American territories, and the role Africans played in shaping what was to become the American frontier.