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Explore the economic, social, and cultural aspects of life in the antebellum South, with a focus on the dominance of "King Cotton" and the institution of slavery. Discover the diverse society of the South, including plantation owners, yeoman farmers, and enslaved African Americans.
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Essential Question: • What was life like in the antebellum South? • RQ Ch 10B (328-340)
The Southern Antebellum Economy: King Cotton & Slavery Ante means “before” Bellum means “the war”
The Rise of “King Cotton” Southern cotton fueled both the English & 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 • The potential for profits led to a cotton boom & the expansion of slavery in the South “Southern way of life” White Southerners perceived their economic interests to be tied to slavery
Southern Agriculture Cotton expansion led to “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 “Black Belt”
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 lagged by choice because these were risky investments, but cotton was safe • Antebellum regional differences: • By 1820, all Northern states abolished slavery • The South lagged behind the North in cities, industry, & railroads • Southern population grew slower than in the North & West Southern politicians feared being permanently outvoted in Congress By 1860, only 35% of railroads were in the South By 1860, only 15% of U.S. factories were in the South
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 23,000,0009,500,000 lived in the South (40%)
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
The World of Southern Blacks 2.4% of slaves worked on large plantations with 200+ slaves • While very few whites were 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
Slaves Picking Cottonon a Mississippi Plantation “Hauling the Whole Week’s Pickings”William Henry Brown, 1842
Slaves Workingin 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
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
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 • 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
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 the North:Early Emancipation Movements In 1787, the Articles of Confederation outlawed slavery in the northwest By 1804, nine states emancipated slaves or adopted gradual emancipation plans Before the American Revolution, slaves were present in each of the 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 Showed Secret Messages The Drunkard Path design warned escapees not to follow a straight route The Monkey Wrench pattern told slaves to gather up tools and prepare to flee
Resistance and Rebellion At the last minute, the plan failed, Prosser was captured, & no whites died • Between 1800-1831, 3 major slave revolts occurred: • Gabriel Prosser (1800) 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 A change discovery revealed the plot & no whites died
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
