Chapter 11

Cotton, Slavery, and the Old South1793-1860

The Growth of Slavery

• In 1793, the cotton gin invigorated the South and made cotton the new cash crop. Slavery had been dying out, but now began to grow quickly.

• By the mid-1800s, the U.S. had developed a national economy based on interregional dependence and increased agriculture and industrial specialization.

“Cotton is King”

• “King Cotton” ruled the Deep South (SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, LA), was the major American export, and continued to move westward

• The Upper South (NC, VA, MD, KY, TN, MO) diversified into tobacco, corn, wheat, and other crops.

Map of the U.S. in 1860

The Economics of Cotton

• Southerners shipped cotton to the North who in turn sold it to Europe and bought manufactured goods to sell in the U.S.

• Although there was some manufacturing in the South (lumber and flour mills, and iron/coal mining), less than 15% of all manufactured goods in the U.S. in 1860 came from the South. Southerners depended on imports and the North for most manufactured goods.

The Economics of Cotton

• Cotton made up ½ of the value of all exports after 1840 and the South produced more than ½ of the world’s cotton supply. 75% of Britain’s cotton came from the South.

• As cotton spread westward, slavery strengthened in the Deep South. The Upper South sold slaves “down river”.

The Economics of Cotton

By 1860, only the wealthy could afford slaves – only 20-25% of the Southern population actually owned slaves

Antebellum Plantation Life• Plantations resembled small villages or self-sufficient

colonial farms. Large plantations might have over 100 slaves.

• Small farmers did not own a majority of the slaves, but did make up a majority of the masters. They often worked in the fields with the slaves.

• Both men and women slaves worked as field hands, children were given small tasks until the age of 10.

Antebellum Plantation Life

• Slaves lived in crude one-room cabins with little amenities or luxuries.

• This is a photo of slave quarters on Kingsley Plantation in Duval County, FL in 1870.

Slave Population• Slave population grew by natural increase• ½ million in 1808 when foreign slave trade

ended• 4 million by 1860• 75% or more of the slave population lived in the

Deep South

Sociology of Slavery

• Treatment varied by size of plantation, area of country, and master.

• Cruelty such as the breakup of families and physical punishment did exist

Sociology of Slavery• However, physical brutality was not the norm because

slaves were expensive and considered property • Worth $1000 - $1800.• Had no legal rights; higher infant mortality rates and

shorter life expectancy than whites• Relief came through families and religion

Burden of Bondage

• Most whites thought slaves were lazy and content with their situation

• Some slaves ran away, others engaged in deliberate slow-downs or sabotage.

• Because of the fear of insurrection, most slaves were deprived of education. Education brings ideas and ideas bring discontentment.

Pro-Slavery Arguments

Mentally Inferior;

incapable of freedom

Better treatment

than factory workers

Better life inSouth than in

Africa

Assured Southernprosperity

Sanctioned byBible

Existed through history

Reasons for maintaining

slavery

Psychology of Slavery

• Non-slave owning lower classes made up about 75-80% of the population

• Were interested in maintaining slavery because they could look down on slaves as inferior

• Could hope to rise in status by acquiring slaves themselves.

Slave Insurrections• 1800 – Gabriel Prosser led an armed insurrection in

Virginia that was foiled by informers and the leaders were hanged.

• 1822 – Denmark Vesey, a free black, led a rebellion in Charleston, SC. He was caught and hanged along with 35 others.

• 1831 – Black preacher and former slave Nat Turner led a bloody but unsuccessful insurrection in Virginia. Sixty people, mostly women and children, were slaughtered. Whites retaliated against the rebels (captured/hanged) and slaves in general.

Southern Feelings

• In 1820s, there was an anti-slavery movement in the South.

• After VA defeated emancipation

proposals in 1831-1832, southern abolitionists were silenced.

• The Nullification Crisis of 1832 and numerous rebellions added to fears.

Threats to Free Speech

• 1835 – The federal government ordered postmasters to destroy abolitionist materials sent through the mail and arrested those who did not comply

• 1836 - Southerners drove a “gag rule” through the H.O.R. – anti-slavery appeals would be tabled without debate

Free Blacks

• By 1860, there were about 250,000 freed Blacks in the U.S.

• Some had been emancipated after the Revolution and the War of 1812, some were mulattoes, others had purchased their freedom.

• Many owned property and some owned slaves themselves.

Freed Blacks Unpopular

• Considered a “Third Race” – prohibited from certain occupations, prohibited from testifying against whites in court, and could be hijacked back into slavery

• Unpopular in both North and South – some states forbad them to live there, most denied them the right to vote, and some barred them from schools.

Prejudicial Feelings

• Many Southerners would accept Blacks as individuals but hated the race.

• Northerners professed to like the race but disliked them as individuals.

• Especially hated by the Irish immigrants because of the competition as unskilled labor.

Early Abolitionism

• American Colonization Society was formed in 1817 and in 1822 the Republic of Liberia was formed as a colony for former slaves.

• 15,000 Blacks were transported there until 1860, but most had no desire to leave the U.S.

Radical Abolitionism

• During 1820s and 1830s, abolitionists had a limited following. They were treated roughly, meetings were heckled, newspapers seized, and leaders attacked.

• Most Northerners believed that:– abolitionists were irresponsible fanatics– the South should solve the problem of slavery on

their own– it would disturb business relations with the South– Negroes would come north and compete for jobs

Abolitionism Grows

• From 1830s onward, abolitionist societies grew stronger and became more radical, demanding an immediate end to slavery without compensation.

• The 2nd Great Awakening led many to believe that slavery was indeed a sin.

• Many hoped the U.S would follow Britain’s lead – slavery outlawed there in 1833.

• By 1850s, many accepted it as morally wrong and believed that if not abolished, it should at least be stopped from spreading.

Anti-slavery Arguments

Violated Democracy;Declaration

ofIndep.

Degraded slave

owners

Cruel and Inhumanetreatment

Violated religious

teachings

Morally wrong

Reasons why slavery shouldbe abolished

White Abolitionists

Abolitionist Leaders• William Lloyd Garrison – militant,

uncompromising, publisher and editor of Boston anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator

• So radical he urged the North to secede!

• Slavery was a moral, not economic issue

• Wanted immediate emancipation with no compensation

Abolitionist Leaders

• 1833 – American Anti-slavery Society founded

• Led by Wendell Phillips, an orator who refused to eat sugar or wear cotton because it was produced by slaves

Anti-Slavery AlphabetAnti-Slavery Alphabet

The Tree of Slavery—Loaded with the Sum of All

Villanies!

The Tree of Slavery—Loaded with the Sum of All

Villanies!

Bell Work 12-14-12

• Copy the following question and answer to the best of your ability.

• Name one advancement in technology between 1790 and 1850 and explain why it was important.

Black Abolitionists

David Walker (1785-1830)

David Walker (1785-1830)

1829 Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World

Fight for freedom rather than wait to be set free by whites.

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895)

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895)• Considered to be the greatest of black abolitionists.

• Escaped from slavery in 1838• Lectured/wrote; published his

autobiography in 1845 – Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

• Edited “The North Star”, an abolitionist newspaper in Rochester, NY.

• Moderate – looked to politics to end slavery

Sojourner Truth (1787-1883)

or Isabella Baumfree

Sojourner Truth (1787-1883)

or Isabella Baumfree

Freed black woman in NY who fought for freedom and women’s rights 1850 The Narrative of Sojourner Truth

Harriet Tubman(1820-1913)Harriet Tubman(1820-1913)

Helped over 300 slaves to freedom.

$40,000 bounty on her head.

Served as a Union spy during the Civil War.

“Moses”

Leading Escaping Slaves Along the Underground

Railroad

Leading Escaping Slaves Along the Underground

Railroad

The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad“Conductor” ==== leader of the

escape

“Passengers” ==== escaping slaves

“Tracks” ==== routes

“Trains” ==== farm wagons transporting the escaping slaves

“Depots” ==== safe houses to rest/sleep