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The Southern Economy and the slave system

The Southern Economy and the slave system. The Cotton Boom. Cotton belt formed when farmers switched from less profitable crops to cotton Stretched from South Carolina to Texas 1791: US produced 2 million lbs/year of cotton 1860: 1,650 million lbs/year of cotton. Reasons for the Cotton Boom.

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The Southern Economy and the slave system

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  1. The Southern Economyand the slave system

  2. The Cotton Boom • Cotton belt formed when farmers switched from less profitable crops to cotton • Stretched from South Carolina to Texas • 1791: US produced 2 million lbs/year of cotton • 1860: 1,650 million lbs/year of cotton

  3. Reasons for the Cotton Boom • Crop prices fell after the Revolution, so did the demand for slaves • Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin reenergized southern agriculture • Impact: Slavery had been on the decline, but once again increased

  4. Advantages of Cotton • Easy to grow • Easy to transport • Did not spoil easily • Stronger types of cotton produced by crossbreeding …This is why cotton became King

  5. Scientific Agriculture • Use of scientific methods to improve crop production • Problem: cotton pulled so many nutrients from the soil, the soil became useless for years • Solution: crop rotation, more research to understand soil chemistry

  6. Cotton Exports • Cotton sent to ports via rivers • Major port cities: Charleston, Savanna, New Orleans • Sold cotton to Great Britain and other foreign countries- Great Britain needed cotton for their booming textile industry

  7. Planters vs Yeomen • Planter: large scale farmer with more than 20 slaves- there were very few planters • Held political and economic power despite small numbers • Yeomen: owned small farms, some held a few slaves, worked in the field

  8. Role of Slaves • Majority worked in fields sunup to sundown • Some worked as butlers, cooks or nurses in the home • Treated better, but worked longer hours • Some were skilled laborers- Blacksmiths, carpenters

  9. Conditions • Poor clothing • Shoddy shelter • Not allowed to be educated. Why? • Punishment: whipped, put in the stocks, hanged, detained, put in different devices

  10. How did slaves endure? • Maintaining a sense of culture • Religion- spirituals were songs sung to express religions beliefs • Telling folktales- stories with a moral, taught slaves how to survive under their conditions

  11. Challenges to Slavery • Passive resistance: breaking tools, working slowly, stealing, carelessness • Active resistance: suicide, running away, revolts • Nat Turner’s Rebellion: slaves in VA rose up in 1831 and killed 60 whites. Turner was arrested and executed

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