Slavery and the Antebellum South

◼ Essential Question: – What was life like in the antebellum South? ◼RQ Ch 10B (328-340) Ante means “before” Bellum means “the war” The Southern Antebellum Economy: King Cotton & Slavery Southern cottonoffueled both the English The Rise “King Cotton” & American Industrial Revolutions ◼ “King Cotton” was the dynamic force driving the American economy from 1790-1840: – The South provided ¾ of world’s cotton – Southern cotton stimulated the growth of Northern textile industry, shipping, & marketing – Slave population grew 300% The Value of Cotton Exports as a Percentage of All U.S. Exports The Rise of “King Cotton” ◼ The introduction of short-staple cotton strengthened the economy – Cotton could now be grown anywhere in the South – The cotton gin (1793) made seed extraction easy “Southern way of life” – White The potential forperceived profits led Southerners theirto a economic be tied to slavery of cotton interests boom &tothe expansion slavery in the South Slaves Using the Cotton Gin Cotton expansion led to Southern Agriculture “Alabama Fever” from 1816 to 1820 Southern expansion boomed again from 1832 to 1838 into Mississippi, Louisiana, & Arkansas …and again in the mid-1850s into Texas Slave Concentration, 1820 Slave Concentration by 1860 The Internal Slave Trade ◼ The Upper South grew tobacco & was less dependent on cotton & slave labor ◼ As slave prices rose, Upper South developed an internal slave trade to provide “surplus” slaves to the Lower South ◼ Virginia, Maryland, & Kentucky began to take on characteristics of the industrializing North & became divided in their support of slavery Slavery in a Changing World The South laggedregional by choice differences: because these ◼ Antebellum were risky investments, but cotton was safe – By 1820, all Northern states abolished slaveryfeared being Southern politicians Congress –permanently The Southoutvoted laggedinbehind the North in cities, industry, & railroads population grew By– Southern 1860, only 35% By 1860, only 15% of railroads U.S. factories slower were thaninin theofNorth & West the South were in the South Antebellum Southern Society: Whites The Divided Society of the Old South ◼ American slavery was deeply rooted in the Southern economy; but slavery divided the South: – By “caste”—black or white – By “class”—ownership of slaves – By region—slavery was more deeply entrenched along the “Black Belt” from GA to TX Southern Society in 1850 “Slave-ocracy” (plantation owners) 6,000,000 The “Plain Folk” (small slave-owners & yeoman farmers) 250,000 Black Freemen 3,200,000 Black Slaves U.S. population in 1850 was 23,000,000 9,500,000 lived in the South (40%) Southern White Class Structure, 1860 White Society in South ◼ Only a small percentage of whites owned large plantations: – Less than 2.5% of the white population owned 50+ slaves – Most whites were yeomen farmers who supported slavery because they hired slaves or felt reassured that there was a lower class than them Small Slaveholders ◼ Only about 25% of the Southern white population owned slaves – 88% of slave owners had fewer than 20 slaves (most 1-2 slaves) – But slave conditions were worse because slaves shared their master's poverty – Most slaves would have preferred the economic stability & kinship of the plantation If these were the living conditions for slaves on a plantation, what were conditions like on small farms? Yeomen Farmers ◼ About 75% of Southern whites were small, yeoman farmers who did not own slaves: – Most yeomen resented the aristocratic planters but hoped to become wealthy planters – Many saw slavery as a way of keeping blacks “in their place” – Many saw abolition as a threat to their Southern way of life Antebellum Southern Society: Slaves The World of Southern Blacks slaves worked on large ◼ While2.4% veryoffew whites were plantations with 200+ slaves plantation owners, most slaves lived on plantations: – 90% of slaves lived on farms in which owner had 20+ slaves – 15% of slaves served as “house slaves” (domestic servants) – 10% of slaves worked in industry, lumbering, construction Distribution of Slave Labor, 1850 55% Cotton Domestic Work Rice or Sugar Tobacco Mining, Industry, or Construction 10% 10% 15% 10% “HaulingSlaves the Whole Week’s Pickings” Picking Cotton William Henry Brown, 1842 on a Mississippi Plantation Slaves Working in a Sugar-Boiling House, 1823 Some slaves could hire out their overtime hours for pay (“Underground Economy”) Slave Families & Community ◼ Normal family life was difficult: – Families were vulnerable to breakup by their masters – On large plantations, slaves were able to retain their African cultures & were mostly part of two-parent families – But on smaller farms, extended families provided support or “adoption” of unrelated slaves A Slave Family African American Religion ◼ Black Christianity was the center of African-American culture ◼ Richard Allen created African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church but was largely composed of free & urban African-Americans ◼ On plantations, whites supervised religious messages, but the “real” slave religion was practiced at night in secret; preached about the inevitable day of liberation Supervised Plantation Religion Free Blacks in the Old South ◼ Southern free blacks were severely restricted: – Had to register with the state & carry “freedom” papers – Were excluded from certain jobs – Subjected to re-enslavement & fraudulent “recapture” ◼ By 1860 some states proposed laws to force free blacks to leave the state or be enslaved Defending Slavery? Defending Slavery ◼ Southern planters feared revolts & the growth of abolitionism & used a new defense slavery: – It was sanctioned in the Bible – Constitution did not prohibit it – Slavery was a “natural” way of life for “inferior” Africans – Slavery was more humane than Northern industrial exploitation Pro-Slavery Propaganda Defending Slavery ◼ Proslavery Southerners protected South against anti-slavery ideas: – Feared abolitionist propaganda would inspire slave rebellions or inspire the yeoman to support abolition – Increased restrictions on blacks by making it illegal to teach slaves to read & write – Banned church services & meetings without supervision Slavery In 1787, the Articles in the By North: 1804, nine states Before the American Revolution, ofEarly Confederation emancipated slaves Emancipation Movements outlawed in or slavesslavery were present in adopted each of gradual the the northwest emancipation plans 13 American colonies In 1817, a group of ministers & politicians formed the American Colonization Society to resettle free blacks in West Africa In 1808, the USA & Britain in outlawed the African slave trade Anti-Slave Arguments Leg Irons Slave ID Tag Slave muzzle Resistance & Rebellion ◼ The most common form of slave rebellion was passive resistance: – Work slowdowns & sabotage – Poisoning of masters ◼ Running away was common among slaves; Runaway slaves were aided by the Underground Railroad Quilt Patterns The Drunkard Path design Showed Secret Messages warned escapees not to follow a straight route The Monkey Wrench pattern told slaves to gather up tools and prepare to flee Resistance and the Rebellion At the last minute, plan failed, ◼ Between 1800-1831, 3 major Prosser was captured, & no whites died slave revolts occurred: A change discovery revealed – Gabriel (1800) the plotProsser & no whites died planned a violent march on Richmond – Denmark Vesey (1822) created an extensive plot to arm & free slaves in SC (no white deaths) – Nat Turner (1831) led a band of slaves from farm to farm & killed 60 whites Slave Rebellions in the South: Nat Turner, 1831 Conclusions: Worlds in Conflict Conclusions ◼ The post-1793 cotton boom transformed the American economy & Southern society: – Cotton facilitated westward expansion & the entrenchment of African slavery in the South – In the 1830s, the South became increasingly defensive about perceived Northern attempts to end slavery Discussion Questions ◼ How did American agriculture change from the colonial era to the Era of Good Feelings? ◼ Which early 19th century change will have the greater impact on American history: Eli Whitney’s cotton gin OR Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase? Explain