Chapter 13

The American Nation, 12e Mark. C. Carnes and John A. Garraty

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South less affected by urbanization, European immigration, transportation revolution, and industrialization

Region was predominantly agricultural and cotton was king By 1859 1.3 million out of 4.3 million bales were

grown beyond the Mississippi Upper south Virginia was leading tobacco

producer but states beyond the Appalachians were raising more than half then crop, encouraged by introduction of Bright Yellow

Older sections of Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina shifted to the type of diversified farming associated with Northeast

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18201820

18601860

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Increased importance of cotton strengthened the hold of slavery on the region

Price of slaves rose 1850’s prime field hand was worth as much as

$1,800 3x as much as cost in 1820 Crop value per slave jumped from less than $15

early in century to more than $125 in 1859 Slaves in Deep South brought several hundred

dollars more per head than in the older regimes Mississippi took in 10,000 slaves a year By 1830 black population exceeded white Transfer of more than a million slaves from seaboard

states to west

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Slave trading became big business1850s there were about 50 dealers in Charleston

and 200 in New Orleans Impact on slaves was disastrous

Husbands and wives, parent and children were separated

One study suggests one-third of all first “slave” marriages in upper south were broken by forced separation

Nearly half of all children were separated from at least one parent

As slaves became more expensive, ownership of slaves became more concentrated In 1860 only about 46,000 of 8 million white

residents of slave states had as many as 20 slaves

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▲ This painting of a slave auction highlights an awkward aspect of slavery. The slave woman has light skin, which suggests that her father was likely a slave owner. Those men bidding on her stare with an intensity portending that she will likely share her mother’s fate.

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Slave Auction: Slave Auction: Charleston, Charleston, SC-1856SC-1856

Slave Auction: Slave Auction: Charleston, Charleston, SC-1856SC-1856

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Slave MasterBrands

Slave AccoutrementsSlave AccoutrementsSlave AccoutrementsSlave Accoutrements

Slave muzzle

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Most efficient size of plantation worked by gangs of slaves was 1,000 to 2,000 acres Majority of farmers in south cultivated no more than

200 acres Many cultivated fewer than 100 acres On eve of Civil War only one family in four owned any

slaves at all Yeoman farmers: grew staple crops, owned a

few slaves, worked besides them in the fields, hardworking, self-reliant, and moderately prosperous

“Poor white trash” of pine barrens and remote valleys of Appalachians scratched a meager subsistence from substandard soils and lived in ignorance and squalor

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Slave-Owning Population Slave-Owning Population (1850)(1850)

Slave-Owning Population Slave-Owning Population (1850)(1850)

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Slave-Owning Families Slave-Owning Families (1850)(1850)

Slave-Owning Families Slave-Owning Families (1850)(1850)

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Well managed plantations yielded annual profits of 10% or more

Money invested in southern agriculture earned at least moderate return

After allowing for the cost of land and capital, average plantation slave “earned” cotton worth $78.78 in 1859$32 a year to feed, clothe and house a slave60% of product of slave labor was expropriated by

the masters

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South failed to develop locally owned marketing and transportation facilities 1840 cost $2.85 to move a

bale of cotton from the farm to a seaport

Additional charges for storage, insurance, port fees, and freight to a European port exceeded $15

Most of this money earned by middlemen outside of south

Middlemen also supplied most of foreign goods purchased by planters

Nearly everyone in New England could read and write while over 20% of white Southerners could not

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Medium to large operation employing 20 or more slaves Master’s house with complement of barns and

stables Kitchen Smokehouse Washhouse Home for the overseer Perhaps a schoolhouse A grist mill A forge Slave quarters

Husbands and wives did not function in separate spheres though functions were different and gender related

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Planters purchased fine clothes, furniture and china, as well as other manufactured goods

Plantations were also busy centers of household manufactureClothes for slaves (except shoes)Everyday clothing of their own childrenBedding and other textilesSpinning, weaving, and sewing were women’s

workFood was raised on the plantation except for

coffee, tea, and a few other food items

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Master was in charge—system paternalistic

Wife had immense responsibilities Supervising servants Nursing the sick Taking care of vegetable and flower

gardens Planning meals Seeing to the education of her own

children and training of young slaves

Generally married in their teens so had to learn by doing

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Majority of slaves of both sexes were field hands who labored on the land from dawn to dusk

Household servants and artisans, any slave but old and infirm, might be called on for such labor when needed

Slave women were expected to cook for their own families and do other chores working after working in fields

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Children, free and slave, were cared for by household servants Infants were brought to their mothers in the

fields for nursing several times a daySlave children were not put to work until they

were 6 or 7 years old and until 10 they were only given small tasks

Slave cabins were simple and crude: single dark room with a fireplace

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Housing for slaves varied from plantation to plantation, but nearly all slaves lived in organized family units, sometimes in extended families. Some slaves lived in fairly well-built structures such as these, while others lived in ramshackle huts. The quality of housing was completely at the discretion of the slaveowner.

1.Why did owners prefer to keep slaves in family units?

2. Why did slaves create extended families?

3. What role did the concept of family play in the slaves' ability to endure their bondage?

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Slaves Slaves posing in posing in front of front of

their cabin their cabin on a on a

Southern Southern plantation.plantation.

Slaves Slaves posing in posing in front of front of

their cabin their cabin on a on a

Southern Southern plantation.plantation.

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Whipping20 lashes for ordinary offenses: shirking

work or stealing39 for more serious offenses: running awaySometimes slaves were whipped to death,

though by 1821 master could be charged with murder if caused slave death through excessive punishment (conviction resulted in relatively minimal fine)

Most owners provided adequate housing, clothing, and food Infant mortality among slaves was twice that

of whitesLife expectancy was five years less

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U.S. only country in western hemisphere where slave population grew by national increaseAfter ending of slave trade in 1808, black

population grew at nearly same rate as whiteFrom founding of Jamestown to Civil War, only

slightly more than 500,000 slaves were imported (5% of slaves carried to New World) yet in 1860 there were 4 million blacks in U.S.

Slaves had no rightsMarriages had no legal status

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Slave religion mixture of African and Christianity Religious meetings provided slaves with the

opportunity to organize Sustained sense of own worth

As price of slaves rose and northern opposition grew, slave system hardened 1822 after conspiracy of Denmark Vesey was

exposed, 37 slaves executed and 30 deported though no overt act had occurred

Louisiana 16 slaves were decapitated after an uprising

Nat Turner uprising in Virginia in 1831 cost 57 whites their lives

White southerners treated runaways almost as brutally as rebels

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After Nat Turner revolt interest in abolishing slavery vanished in white southSouthern states made it increasingly difficult for

masters to free slavesDuring 1859 only about 3,000 were given their

freedom (.00075%) Slavery did not flourish in urban settings and

cities did not flourish where slavery was importantSouthern cities were smallSlave labor minor since harder to control in urban

setting

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Quilt Patterns as Secret Quilt Patterns as Secret MessagesMessages

Quilt Patterns as Secret Quilt Patterns as Secret MessagesMessages

The Monkey Wrench pattern, on the left, alerted escapees to gather up tools and prepare to flee; the Drunkard Path design, on the right, warned escapees not to follow a straight route.

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Southern whites considered existence of free blacks undesirableUndercut notion that blacks helpless on their ownSet bad example for slavesSet limits on them but, in the end, needed their

labor 54,000 slaves were brought to U.S. illegally

after end of slave tradeU.S. Navy seized more than 50 suspected slavers

1840-1860

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Slavery had a corrosive effect on the personalities of southerners, black and white

Bore heavily on all slaves’ sense of self worth Most slaves appeared resigned to their fate Slaves had strong family and group

attachments and a complex culture of their ownBy a mixture of subterfuge, accommodation, and

passive resistance, slaves erected defenses against exploitation, achieving a sense of community that helped sustain the psychic integrity of the individuals

Slavery discouraged, if not extinguished, independent judgment and self-reliance

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Whites were also harmed by slaveryAssociating working for others with servility

discouraged many poor white Southerners from hiring out to make a stake

Slavery provided the weak, shiftless, and unsuccessful with a scapegoat that made their own situation easier to bear but harder to escape

Patriarchal nature of slave system reinforced tendency toward male dominance over wives and children

Power of ownership could be brutalizing Slavery caused basically decent people to

commit countless petty cruelties

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Harriet TubmanUnable to read and write, Harriet Tubman used daring tactics in the Underground Railroad to free slaves and deliver them to safety, often all the way to Canada.

Thought Questions:1.Were there many runaway slaves during the Colonial period?

2.Why or why not?

3.What dangers did slaves face as they fled to the North?

4.How successful was the Underground Railroad?

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Small flour and lumber mills flourished

Rope making plants in Kentucky Commercial cotton presses existed

in a number of southern cities Iron and coal were mined in

Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee1850s Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond did an annual business of about $1 million

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Availability of raw materials and abundance of waterpower on Appalachian slopes made it possible to manufacture textiles profitably1825 thriving factory in Fayetteville, North CarolinaWilliam Gregg’s factory at Graniteville, South

Carolina, established 1846, was employing 300 people by 1850

Yet in 1850 all of South Carolina employed fewer than 900 in textile manufacturing

The town of Lowell, Massachusetts, had more spindles in 1860 than the entire South

Less than 15% of all goods manufactured in United States came from the South

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The small number of

slaves who were not

employed in agriculture

worked primarily in mills,

ironworks, tobacco

factories, and saltworks.

In port cities, slaves

might be dock workers or

longshoremen. The Tredegar Ironworks in Richmond, Virginia, was one of the South's largest industrial users of slave labor.

1. Was there a danger in letting slaves work in industry?

2. Why weren't slaves used more extensively in other occupations?

3. Note the location of this mill. Is it typical for the 19th century?

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Immediately after War of 1812 the United States was manufacturing less than $200 million worth of goods annually

In 1859 northeastern states alone produced $1.27 billion of national total of almost $2 billionFactory system made great stridesDevelopment of anthracite coal mines fields in

Pennsylvania Great receptivity to technological change

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With skilled labor in short supply, pressure to replace labor with machines was great

By 1850, the U.S. led the world in the manufacture of goods that required the use of precision instrumentsClocks, pistols, rifles, and locks were outstanding

Every year new natural resources were discovered and made available

Expansion of agriculture produced an ever larger supply of raw materials for mills and factories

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Eight of the ten leading industries relied on farm productsFlour millingCotton textilesLumberMen’s shoesMen’s clothingLeatherWoolen goodsLiquor

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By 1850s prejudice against corporation had broken downBy end of decade northern and northwestern

states had all passed incorporation lawsCorporations made possible the larger

accumulation of capital Illustrating shift: National Academy of Science

refused federal charter in 1840 but easily granted one in 1863

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Industrial growth led to increase in demand for laborSkilled artisans, technicians, and toolmakers

earned good wages and found it relatively easy to become independent craftsmen or small manufacturers

Expanding frontier drained off much agricultural labor that might have gone into industry

New towns of west absorbed eastern artisansPay of unskilled worker was never enough to

support a family decentlyNew machines weakened the bargaining power of

artisans by making skill less important Immigration increased rapidly in the 1830s and

1840s

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Growth of capitalEuropean investors poured large sums of money

into booming American industryAmerican savingsGold from gold rush

Other important factors Improvements in transportationPopulation growthAbsence of internal tariff barriersRelatively high per capita wealth

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“Immigrant” only developed as a term after the creation of the United States and nationalism associated with it

“Native” population disliked immigrants

Immigrants developed their own prejudices Irish disliked blacks—often

competed for same jobs Most immigrants adopted

views of local majority Unskilled immigrants

caused serious disruptions of economic patterns wherever they appeared By 1860 Irish immigrants made

up more than 50% of the labor force in New England textile mills

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Many wage earners lived in urban slums with extremely crowded conditions City streets were littered with trash Recreational facilities were almost non-existent Police and fire protection were inadequate

Early factory towns families had supplemented incomes with gardens but not a choice in industrial slums

Horace Greeley figured minimum weekly support for a family of 5 in 1851 was $10.57 while a factory hand rarely made $5 Wife and children therefore also had to work

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UnionsRelatively few workers belongedMost unions were craft unionsWas a National Trades Union prior to Panic of 1837

Skilled workers improved lot in 1840s & 1850sWorking day declined from 12 and one half hours to

10 to 11 hoursMany states passed 10 hour laws and laws

regulating child labor (poorly enforced)Effective mechanic’s lien lawsCommonwealth v. Hunt (1842, Massachusetts)

established legality of labor unions

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Flush times of 1850s revived labor unionsStrikes and national organizationsPanic of 1857 ended most of this

Why Unions not very successfulCraftsmen took little interest in unskilled workersFew common laborers considered themselves part

of a permanent working classWage labor seemed un-American, a violation of

republican values of freedom and independence

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Prior to Civil War, United States was a land of opportunity; a democratic society with a prosperous, expanding economy and few class distinctions; people had a high standard of living compared to Europeans

Within this country existed a class of miserably underpaid and depressed unskilled workers who were worse off materially than almost any southern slave In 1848 more than 56,000 New Yorkers (1/4 population) was

receiving some form of public relief Police drive in New York in 1860 brought in nearly 500 beggars

Economic opportunities were great and taxation was little so the rich got richer

While political opportunity for white men was equal, economic opportunity was increasingly skewed

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Imports and Exports Increased erratically in the 1820s and 1830s Leapt forward in next 20 years

Remained primarily exporter of raw materials and importer of manufactured goods and mostly imported more than exported Cotton still most valuable export

1860 = $191 million out of total $333 million Textiles number one import followed by iron

products Great Britain both best purchaser and best supplier 52 packets operated between New York and Europe

in 1845 Accelerated tendency for trade to concentrate in New York

and a few other port cities (Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans)

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Whaling boomed between 1830 and 1860 By mid 1850s sperm oil sold at more than

$1.75/gallon Country exported an average of $2.7

million worth of whale oil and whalebone New Bedford boasted a whaling fleet of 300

vessels and population of 25,000 Whalers routinely cleared 100% profit By 1850s average vessel was three

times size of those built 30 years earlier Clipper ships with undreamed of speeds

emerged—sailing around Cape Horn to San Francisco dropped from 5 to 6 months to three

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Early problems with steamshipsEarly models were unsafe in high seas Had to carry tons of coal which reduced space for

cargo By late 1840s steamships were capturing

most of the passenger traffic, mail contracts and first-class freight

Steamers were soon crossing Atlantic in 10 daysAverage speed better than clipper ships

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Steamship, especially iron ship, which had greater cargo capacity and was stronger and less costly to maintain, took away advantages of American ship builders American lumber cheap but British excelled at iron

technology Government efforts to aid shipbuilding were abandoned in

1858 Shipping rates decreased due to competition,

government subsidy, and technological advance Mid 1820s to mid 1850s cost of moving a pound of cotton

from New York to Liverpool fell from 1 cent to one-third cent Transatlantic passengers could obtain best accommodations

on the fastest ships for under $200 Good accommodations on slower ships could be had for $75 Ships went to Europe with bulky raw materials and returned

with manufactured goods that failed to take up room—Filled rest with immigrants

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Canals: in 1830 there were 1,277 miles of canal in U.S.; by 1840 there were 3,326 miles1845 Erie Canal was drawing 2/3 of east-west

traffic from New York1847 more than half of traffic came from west

of Buffalo1851 more than two-thirds did and volume of

western commerce was 20x more than in 1836Value of western goods reaching New Orleans in

same period increased only 2 and a half times

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Railroads: 1830 Baltimore & Ohio, first American line,

carried 80,000 passengers over 13 mile stretch of track

By 1833, Charleston, South Carolina, had a line reaching 136 miles

By 1840 the U.S. had 3,328 miles of track—equal to canal mileage and double the railroad mileage of Europe

Early railroad did not compete with canals because Did not generally cross Appalachians Were not organized into systems Often used different track widths

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Early problems with railroadsEngineering issues such as steep grades

and sharp curves Modifications in design of locomotives enabled

trains to negotiate sharp curvesSparks from wood burning locomotives

caused fire Engines that could burn hard coal eliminated due

to danger of firesWooden rails topped with strap iron wore

out quickly and broke loose under vibration Iron T-rail and use of crossties set in loose gravel

to reduce vibration increased track durability and enabled heavier equipment

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Between 1848 and 1852 railroad mileage doubled and double again by 1855

By 1860 U.S. had 30,636 miles of track Four lines built tracks from eastern coast

to interior valley1851 Erie Railroad, longest in the world with

537 miles, linked Hudson River with Lake Erie1852 Baltimore & Ohio reached Wheeling,

Virginia1853 New York Central was formed from 8

shorter lines1858 Pennsylvania Railroad completed a line

from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh

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Private investors supplied about three-fourths of money invested in railroads before 1860 (more than $800 million in 1850s alone)

Much of capital from local merchants and businessmen and from farmers along proposed rights-of-wayFunds easy to raise because did not have to pay

full value of stock but merely respond to periodic “calls” for partial payment

If road made money, much of additional mileage could be paid for out of earnings from first sections built

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For less well placed railroads, public aid was necessary for part of costsTowns, counties, and states lent money to

railroads and invested in their stockGranted special privileges, such as exemption

from taxation and right to condemn propertyFew cases, states built and operated railroads as

public corporations1850 scheme for granting federal lands to states

to build a line from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of Mexico drafted both houses

Success of initial grant led to further ones benefiting more than 40 railroads

Frequently capitalists more interested in making money from railroad construction than from operation

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Railroads helped determine what land was used and how profitably it could be farmed“Land Grant” railroads stimulated

agricultural expansion by advertising their lands widely and selling farm sites at low rates on liberal terms

Access to world markets gave farmers of upper Mississippi incentive to increase output

Agricultural wages rose sharply due to scarcity

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New tools and machines appeared to help ease labor shortage Steel plowshare: John Deere, 1839 Mechanical reaper: Cyrus Hall McCormick (two

workers could cut 14 times as much as with scythes) Railroad created transformations

Chicago: in 1850 no RR tracks but by 1855 it was the terminus of 2,200 miles

Real estate values and the buying and selling of land increased

Spurred regional concentration of industry and increase in size of business unit

Stimulated growth of investment banking First to employ large numbers of salaried mangers

and to developed internal structure with carefully defined lines of responsibility

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Railroad consumed half the nation’s output of bar and sheet iron in 1860

Proliferation of trunk lines and competition of canal system led to sharp decline in freight and passenger rates Railroads engaged in “wars” to capture business By Civil War cost less than 1 cent per ton per mile

to ship via canal and only slightly more than 2 cents on the railroads

Cheap transportation had a revolutionary effect on western agriculture Center of American wheat production shifted to

Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana Boomed especially when Crimean War (1853-1856)

and European crop failures increased demand

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Increased production and cheap transportation boosted the western farmer’s income and standard of living

ProblemsBecame dependent on

middlemenOverproduction

became a problemBuying a farm required

more capitalProportion of farm

laborers and tenants increased

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East-West linkage had fateful effects on politics Stimulated nationalism and became a force for

preservation of the Union When the Mississippi ceased to be essential to them,

citizens of the upper valley could afford to be more hostile to slavery and especially to its westward expansion

South failed to create railroad network of its own Scattered population of South Paucity of passenger traffic Seasonal nature of much of freight business Absence of large cities Placed too much reliance on Mississippi River Leaders not interested

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Between mid-1840s and mid-1850s the United States experienced one of the most remarkable periods of growth in the history of the world

1857 serious collapse as grain prices fell in wake of Crimean war and return of Russian grain to the market Checked agricultural expansion which hurt railroads

and cut down on demand for manufactures Unemployment increased Run on banks which had to suspend specie payment

Downturn mainly effected upper Mississippi Valley while South and elsewhere minimally effected

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“Been Here So Long”: Selections from the WPA American Slave Narratives

http://newdeal.feri.org/asn/index.htm The African American Odysseyhttp://digital.nypl.org/schomburg/images_aa19

The Settlement of African Americans in

Liberiahttp://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/perstor.html

Images of African Americans from the

Nineteenth Centuryhttp://digital.nypl.org/schomburg/images_aa19