Chapter 11

The

Cotton

Economy

Characteristics of the Antebellum SouthPrimarily agrarian.

Economic power shifted from the “upper South” to the “lower South.”

“Cotton Is King!”* 1860 5M bales a yr.

(57% of total US exports).

Very slow development of industrialization.

Rudimentary banking system and only in

port cities.

Quick profits from cotton drew planters to the Gulf South during this time

Caused economic spiral more cotton = more slaves, if you had more slaves you could buy more land

Northern shippers profited from cotton trade- shipped it to England

Southern leaders knew that cotton productionwas something they could hold over heads of British

Changes in

Cotton

Production

1820 to 1860

So

uth

ern

Ag

ric

ultu

re

Southern Industry

Graniteville Textile Co.

Founded in 1845, it was

the South’s first attempt

at industrialization in

Richmond, VA

Tredegar Iron Works,

Richmond, VA

Opened in 1837, by 1860

it was the third-largest

iron manufacturer in the

United States.

Picking Cotton

on a Mississippi

Plantation

Port Royal Island, S.C.

Slaves preparing cotton for the

gin on Smith's plantation

“Hauling the Whole

Week’s Pickings”

William Henry Brown,

1842

Using the Cotton

Gin

Inad

equ

ate

tran

sporta

tion

syste

m, re

lied

on

rivers.

So

uth

ern

Po

pu

latio

n

White

Society in

the South

Planter Aristocracy- a society run by elite wealthy planters

Very few owned large amount of slaves

Society almost feudal (lords, manors and serfs)

They had tremendous wealth, sent children to schools outside of south which

kept public education from gaining a foothold

Had a strong sense of duty to the public

Political, social, and economic dominance by

planters caused a huge gap between rich and poor

Plantation Management

Aristocratic Values

Cult of Honor

Southern Society (1850)“Slavocracy”

[plantation owners]

The “Plain Folk”[white yeoman farmers]

6,000,000

Black Freemen

Black Slaves3,200,000

250,000

Total US Population 23,000,000[9,250,000 in the South = 40%]

Slave-Owning Families

(1850)

A G

eorg

ia P

lan

tatio

n

The “Southern Lady”

oSubordinate Status of

Women

oManaged large domestic

slave staff and budget

oBurdens of family in a

skewed society

Sallie Ward

o Limited Educational Opportunities

o Close Relations with the Plantation Aristocracy- most owned no slaves

The Plain Folk- Hill People

o Commitment to Paternalism - supported it because someone on the social ladder lower than them

o Hill people disliked slaves and masters and provided strong Union support in the South during the Civil War

Slavery:

The “Peculiar

Institution”

Early

Emanci-

pation in

the North

Free Black Communitieso Free blacks in the antebellum period were quite

outspoken about the injustice of slavery.

o Their ability to express themselves, however, was determined by whether they lived in the North or the South.

o Free Southern blacks continued to live under the shadow of slavery, unable to travel or assemble as freely as those in the North- Tight restrictions!!!

o A very small number of free blacks owned slaves.

o The slaves that most free blacks purchased were relatives whom they later manumitted.

o Free African American Christians founded their own churches which became the hub of the economic, social, and intellectual lives of blacks in many areas of the nation.

o Blacks were also outspoken in print. Freedom's Journal, the first black-owned newspaper, appeared in 1827.

US Federal Laws Regarding Slavery

U. S. Constitution:

o 3/5s compromise [I.2]

o fugitive slave clause [IV.2]

o slave trade couldn’t be outlawed until 1808 [IX.1]

1793 Fugitive Slave Act.

1850 stronger Fugitive Slave Act.

**Slavery is a State’s Rights Issue**

Was Southern Slavery An Aberration?J 1780s: 1st antislavery society created in Philadelphia

J 1803: Haitian Revolution, a slave uprising that overthrew the

French, not supported by the U.S.

J By 1804: slavery eliminated from last northern state.

J 1807: the legal termination of the international slave trade,

enforced by the U.S. Navy.

J 1820s: newly independent Republics of Central & So. America

declared their slaves free.

J 1833: slavery abolished throughout the British Empire.

J 1844: slavery abolished in the Fr. colonies.

J 1863: slaves in rebellious U.S. states emancipated.

J 1865: 13th Amendment passed, freeing U.S. slaves

J 1888: the slaves in Brazil were emancipated.

The Slave Tradeo Slave Markets typically sold slaves from

Upper South to Deep South

o The Foreign Slave Trade was banned after

1808- some smuggling though.

o High cost of keeping slaves from

escaping.

o GOAL was to raise the “exit cost.”

o Slave patrols (paddy wagon)

o Cut off a toe or a foot. Slave Auction

Notice, 1823

The auction of

the slaves of

the estate of

Spencer C.

Graves at

Lexington,

KY in April,

1859, brought

these prices:

The Culture of

Slavery

The Culture of Slavery

o “Pidgin” or Gullah languages.

o Nuclear family with extended kin links,where possible.

o Slaves managed to maintain family life

o Kept some African traditions in marriage, descent, religion

o Importance of music in their lives. [esp. spirituals].

Black Christianity [Baptists or Methodists

o Plays an important role in black society of the North and South.

o They were typically more emotional worship services.

o Religion was mixture of Christian and African traditions

o Focused on themes of persecution in the Bible

o Call and response preaching adaptation of caller and dancers from West African traditions

o

Slaves

posing in

front of

their cabin

on a

Southern

plantation

Southern Defenses of

Slavery

1. Slavery was ordained by God,

permitted in the Bible (1 Pet. 2: 18-

Servants, i.e. slaves, be subject to your

masters with all fear)

2. Essential to the Southern economy

3. Beneficial to the blacks who had traded the barbarism of Africa

for the blessings of security and Christianity.

Southern

Pro-

Slavery

Propa-

ganda

Southern apologist literature

AbolitionAbolitionists

remained small in

number, but their

approach to slavery

as a political and

moral issue kept it in

the public's eye

Colonization- 1810-30s

o Thousands of freed blacks, with the aid of

interested whites, returned to Africa with the aid

of the American Colonization Society and

colonized what eventually became Liberia.

oWhile some African Americans chose this option,

the vast majority felt themselves to be Americans

and focused their efforts on achieving equality

within the United States.

Slave Resistance• Refusal to work hard.

• Isolated acts of sabotage.

• Escape via the Underground Railroad.Harriet Tubman (far left)

standing with a group of slaves

whose escape she assisted

Runaway Slave Ads

Slave

Rebellions

Throughout

the

Americas

Slave Rebellions

in the Antebellum South

1822

Gabriel

Prosser

1800

Slave Rebellions in the Antebellum

South:

Nat Turner, 1831

Amistad, 1839

Slaves on a Spanish Ship killed all of the crew except for two.

The ship was seized in New York but the slaves sued for their

freedom

Decision of the Court: “the said negroes be declared to be free, and

be dismissed from the custody of the court, and go without delay.”