The South and Slavery

1. The South and Slavery

2. What is South and what is North?

3. King Cotton and Southern Expansion • Originally the south produced cotton, tobacco, rice, and indigo. • The cotton gin was invented in 1793 by Catherine Greene and patented by Eli Whitney. • Cotton became the cash crop of the south. • The cotton industry grew at a rapid pace

4. Slaves and Cotton • As the cotton industry grew, the demand for slaves grew too. • Slavery was questioned many times. Nat Turner and Virginia -for example • Southern planters explained that slavery was necessary to keep the supply of cotton. • The international slave trade was banned in 1808. • The slave trade did continue within the United States. Also many were smuggled into the country through Charleston.

5. The Black Belt

6. The Truth Behind Slavery • It was against the law to teach a slave how to read and write. • Only a small percentage of the southern population owned slaves. • Some free black men owned slaves. • Owners with very few slaves did not beat their slaves because they were valuable. • Slaves were viewed as a status symbol. • Some slaves were allowed to have a part-time, paying job. • Some slaves would pay for their freedom.

7. Truth Behind Slavery Continued • Most slaves were slaves from birth until death. • Most slaves were obtained through births on plantations. • House servants were exposed to more information. • Field work was brutal.

8. The African Community • African Americans created their own culture. • Bonds between African Americans helped them survive their brutal slavery. • Slave marriages were not recognized by the Southern states. • Slave masters encouraged their slaves to marry; – stability – more children for slavery • Some masters performed marriages on their plantations.

9. Slave Rebellions • Gabriel Prosser 1800- Virginia. Planned on taking Gov. James Monroe Hostage. Included a broad group of French soldiers, Free Blacks, Working Slaves. Some slaves told their masters and Prosser and co. were hanged. • Denmark Vesey 1822 – South Carolina. Vesey had won his freedom through lottery. He wanted to purchase the freedom of his wife and Children. Planned a massive revolt. He was betrayed, caught, and hanged • Nat Turner 1831- Virginia. 75 Slaves killed 51 Whites during a 6 week rampage. Ultimately caught and hanged along with 19 others • John Brown 1859 - On October 16, 1859, John Brown led 18 men into the small town of HARPER'S FERRY, Virginia. His plan was to instigate a major slave rebellion in the South. • Slaves did not support him. • Arrested by Col, Robert E Lee • Hanged Dec. 2, 1859

10. The African Community Continued • Slaves brought many religions from Africa. • Slaves were not allowed to practice their own religions. • Slaves combined their African religions with the master’s religion, Christianity. • There were many slave revolts. • Harriet Tubman created the “Underground Railroad” • Harriet Tubman helped free at least 300 slaves through the “underground railroad”. • Many of the free African Americans lived in cities like Charleston, Savannah, and Natchez.

11. Yeoman and Poor White People • Yeoman farmers were self sufficient, middle class white men. – 67% of the Southern Population • The yeoman farmer communities were usually located in northwestern Georgia, which was originally home to the Creeks. • The middle and lower class white men in the south did not usually own slaves. • These men traditionally worked their own land and made their own food and clothes. • At least 60% of the population owned their own land. • 30-50% of white people were landless.

12. Planters • Most planters did not fit the stereotype of being rich and leisured with hundreds of acres of land and hundreds of slaves. • 36% of southern white people owned slaves. 2.5% owned 50 or more slaves. • The largest group of the slave owning white men were the Southern Planters – 2.5% of the pop. Owned 90% of the slaves. Known as the Planter Elite or Southern Aristocracy • Skilled slaves could be rented for a profit. • The 2.5% that owned 50 or more slaves lived a lavish lifestyle that all southerners hoped to reach. Most of these men inherited their wealth. • The rich planters of the Natchez community were called “nabobs”. • Most planters lived in isolation with their families on their plantations. • Most slave owners believed that slaves needed constant discipline to work hard, but there were a few generous masters.

13. The Defense of Slavery • Northerners who were morally against slavery and tried to get it abolished from the United States. – Theodore Weld, Charles Finney • Northern Hypocrisy – In reality, the North was dependent on Slavery as well – The Mill System and Banking • The Southerners claimed that they did not hurt the slaves and that they treated them very well. • The Southerners needed slavery to continue with the high demand for cotton.

14. In conclusion, the traditional view of the Antebellum South is not true. The South was not completely slave based, only the rich few owned many slaves, while the middle class owned a few slaves. The lower middle class owned one or two slaves. Slaves were not treated poorly by every white slave owner, some slaves were treated nicely because slaves were expensive and valuable. Some people thought that the Southerners treated their slaves better than the factory workers of the north. The End