Life in Antebellum America

Life in Antebellum America Unit 4, Lesson 3

Essential Idea • The North, West, and South had different cultures during the Antebellum Period.

Antebellum Period • Time Period: • Antebellum Period • Meaning: • Time in American history BEFORE the Civil War (“antebellum” is Latin for “before war”) • The North, West, and South were very different during the Antebellum Period

Life in the North • Northern Farming Declines: • Climate in the North was colder • Soil was rockier and less fertile • Farms were small due to high population • Small farms struggled to compete with large farms in the West • Results: • Result #1- Some farmers moved west to start bigger farms on fertile soil • Result #2- Some abandoned farming and moved to cities to work in factories

Urbanization • Urbanization: • Many farmers in the North moved into cities • Many immigrants moved into cities • Both groups moved to cities to work in FACTORIES • Urbanization- growth of cities, which happened mainly in the North

Life in Northern Cities • Problems with Urbanization: • 1. Overcrowding: • Cities struggled to adjust to the population boom • Tension grew between Americans and immigrants • 2. Crime: • Rise in crime led to creation of police departments • 3. Fire: • Crowded wooden buildings were a fire danger, so fire departments developed

Life in Northern Cities • 4. Sanitation: • No sewers and horses were used for transportation • Human/animal waste and trash rotted in streets • 5. Families: • Less close since men left home to work in factories • Poor working conditions led to alcohol abuse, hurting families

Northern Factories • Factory Conditions: • Bosses had a negative relationship with workers • Workers worked long hours for low wages • Conditions were unsafe and unsanitary

Working Conditions • Lowell Mill System: • Textile mills employed single women and children • Workers lived in dorms built around the mill, creating a “company town” • They were strictly controlled, worked long hours, and were paid even less than men

Early Unions • Unions: • Some workers formed unions to push for better conditions • Unions had little success, seen as bad or illegal • Commonwealth v. Hunt- Supreme Court ruled that unions were legal

Life in the West • Farming: • Farming was common, where large pieces of fertile land existed • Psychological impact: • Isolated, lonely, fearful of conflict with Indians • Connection with Cities: • Farmers relied on internal improvements to trade with cities in the North

Life in the South • The Cotton Gin and Slavery: • The cotton gin caused slavery to expand throughout the South • There were 4 MILLION slaves in America when the Civil War began • The Growth of Slavery

The “Cotton Kingdom” • “Cotton Kingdom:” • The South was called the “Cotton Kingdom” because its economy was based on cotton and slavery • Expansion and Sectionalism: • Southerners wanted slavery to expand to the West, where more land was available • This caused tension with northerners who did not want slavery to expand

Life in the South • Lack of industrialization: • Wealthy planters held the most political and economic power • Planters had little interest in industrialization since they made money from plantations • Southern society remained based on cotton production

Society in the South • White Society: • MOST whites did NOT own slaves, but did support it • Wealthy planters: • Smallest group, but had the most money, power, land, and slaves • Yeoman Farmers: • Largest group, owned few if any slaves, lived modestly, had little power • Poor Whites: • Owned little land and no slaves, but supported slavery due to racism? • Freemen: • Some blacks were free, many had saved money to buy their own freedom

Slavery • Slave codes: • Slave codes were laws that helped control slaves • Slaves could not own property, own guns, testify against whites, or become literate • Purpose: • Keep slaves at the bottom of society • Keep slaves too ignorant to be able to rebel • Slavery

Plantation Conditions • Plantation conditions: • Slaves were viewed and treated as property • Most slaves worked hard from dawn till dusk • Life for Slaves

Plantation Conditions • Slaves were motivated to work by the threat of physical punishment • Slave auctions sold slaves and often permanently separated families • Plantation Slavery

Slave Culture • Slave culture: • Slave families were strong despite oppression • Songs were important and often contained hidden meanings • Christianity was important to many slaves and gave them hope

Resistance and Rebellion • Resistance: • Passive resistance—slaves often sabotaged equipment and engaged in work slow downs • Running away—slaves often ran away, often using the Underground Railroad

Resistance and Rebellion • Rebellions: • Occasionally slaves rebelled with violence • Slave rebellions led to tighter slave codes

Life in Antebellum America