Answer Key Chapter Cotton is King The Antebellum South, 1800–1860

Answer Key Chapter: Cotton is King: The Antebellum South, 1800–1860 1. Which of the following was not one of the effects of the cotton boom? A. U.S. trade increased with France and Spain. B. Northern manufacturing expanded. C. The need for slave labor grew. D. Port cities like New Orleans expanded. 2. The abolition of the foreign slave trade in 1807 led to _______. A. a dramatic decrease in the price and demand for enslaved people B. the rise of a thriving domestic slave trade C. a reform movement calling for the complete end to slavery in the United States D. the decline of cotton production 3. Why did some southerners believe their region was immune to the effects of the market revolution? Why was this thinking misguided? 4. Under the law in the antebellum South, enslaved people were ________. A. servants B. animals C. property D. indentures 5. How did both slaveholders and enslaved people use the concept of paternalism to their advantage? 6. The largest group of White people in the South _______. A. enslaved no one B. enslaved between one and nine people each C. enslaved between ten and ninety-nine people each D. enslaved over one hundred people each 7. John C. Calhoun argued for greater rights for southerners with which idea? A. polygenism B. nullification C. concurrent majority D. paternalism 8. How did defenders of slavery use the concept of paternalism to structure their ideas? 9. Why did southern expansionists conduct filibuster expeditions? A. to gain political advantage B. to annex new slave states C. to prove they could raise an army D. to map unknown territories 10. The controversy at the heart of the Ostend Manifesto centered on the fate of: A. Ostend, Belgium B. Nicaragua C. Cuba D. Louisiana 11. Why did expansionists set their sights on the annexation of Spanish Cuba? Critical Thinking Questions 12. Compare and contrast the steamboats of the antebellum years with technologies today. In your estimation, what modern technology compares to steamboats in its transformative power? 13. Does the history of the cotton kingdom support or undermine the Jeffersonian vision of White farmers on self-sufficient farms? Explain your answer. 14. Based on your reading of William J. Anderson’s and John Brown’s accounts, what types of traumas did enslaved people experience? How were the experiences of Black women and men similar and different? 15. What strategies did enslaved people employ to resist, revolt, and sustain their own independent communities and cultures? How did enslaved individuals use White southerners’ own philosophies—paternalism and Christianity, for example—to their advantage in these efforts? 16. What are the major arguments put forward by proslavery advocates? How would you argue against their statements? 17. Consider filibustering from the point of view of the Cuban or Nicaraguan people. If you lived in Cuba or Nicaragua, would you support filibustering? Why or why not? Answer Key 1. A. U.S. trade increased with France and Spain. 2. B. the rise of a thriving domestic slave trade 3. Some southerners believed their region was immune to the effects of the market revolution because they relied heavily on agriculture, particularly cotton cultivation, and believed that their way of life was supported by the institution of slavery. This thinking was misguided because the market revolution affected all regions of the United States, including the South, through increased commercialization, industrialization, and interconnectedness within the national and global economy. 4. C. property 5. Both slaveholders and enslaved people used the concept of paternalism to their advantage by framing the master-slave relationship as benevolent and familial, which could provide some degree of protection and security for enslaved individuals while also justifying the authority and control of slaveholders. 6. B. enslaved between one and nine people each 7. B. nullification 8. Defenders of slavery used the concept of paternalism to structure their ideas by portraying themselves as benevolent and paternalistic masters who were responsible for the care and wellbeing of their enslaved laborers. This justified their control over enslaved people while also presenting slavery as a positive and necessary institution for maintaining social order and stability. 9. B. to annex new slave states 10. C. Cuba 11. Expansionists set their sights on the annexation of Spanish Cuba because they viewed it as a desirable territory for expanding slavery, extending American influence in the Caribbean, and securing strategic economic and geopolitical interests. Critical Thinking Questions 12. The steamboats of the antebellum years revolutionized transportation and commerce, significantly reducing travel time and costs while increasing the efficiency of transporting goods and people along rivers and waterways. In comparison to modern technologies, steamboats were transformative in their time much like how the internet and digital technologies have revolutionized communication and information exchange in the contemporary era. 13. The history of the cotton kingdom undermines the Jeffersonian vision of White farmers on self-sufficient farms because it reveals the extent to which the Southern economy relied on enslaved labor and the commercialization of agriculture, particularly cotton cultivation for export. Instead of self-sufficiency, the plantation system was built on the exploitation of enslaved labor and the integration of Southern agriculture into the global market. 14. Enslaved people experienced various traumas, including physical abuse, separation from family members through sale, and the constant threat of punishment or violence. Black women and men both endured similar traumas related to slavery but also faced gender-specific forms of exploitation and violence, such as sexual exploitation for women and the emasculation of men through forced labor and powerlessness. 15. Enslaved people employed various strategies of resistance, including sabotage, escape, and forming independent communities known as maroon societies. They also used elements of White southerners' own philosophies, such as Christianity, to resist oppression and assert their humanity and dignity. 16. Proslavery advocates argued that slavery was justified by biblical and scientific theories, that enslaved people were better off under the care of benevolent masters, and that slavery was essential for maintaining the social order and economic prosperity of the South. One could argue against these statements by highlighting the inherent cruelty and dehumanization of slavery, the resistance and resilience of enslaved people, and the economic and moral costs of maintaining the institution. 17. From the perspective of Cuban or Nicaraguan people, filibustering would likely be seen as a threat to their sovereignty, stability, and well-being. It could lead to violence, instability, and exploitation by foreign invaders seeking to expand their own interests at the expense of local populations. Therefore, many Cubans or Nicaraguans would likely oppose filibustering as a violation of their rights and autonomy.