“Cotton is King” of the Southern

economy during the antebellum era

which furthered dependence on slave

labor. Socially, slavery became more

entrenched during this period despite

growing calls for abolition among

reformers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajn9g5Gsv98&list=PL8dP

uuaLjXtMwmepBjTSG593eG7ObzO7s&index=13

Crash Course US History #13 - Slavery

Chapter 12: Slavery and Southern Culture – 1800-1860

Expansion of “King Cotton”

Encourages an Internal Slave Trade“Ohio Fever” in the North & “Alabama Fever” push

Northern & Southern mindsets westward and divide

expanding nation (Missouri Compromise of 1820)

Domestic sales & transfer of slaves from the “upper South”

(Chesapeake & Carolinas) to the “deep South” (Louisiana,

Alabama, Mississippi) increases greatly between 1830 and 1860

During the antebellum Industrial Revolution, the

South invests most capital into slaves &

plantations while North invests more in factories

& railroads impacting the economic futures of the

regions for over a century

Separation of Slave Families At Auctions

Outrages Many Abolitionists

1 out of 3

Slave

Children

Separated

From One or

Both Parents

Stronger Abolition Movement

Triggers Even Stronger Defense of SlaveryHistorical, Economic, Religious, Social, Paternalistic & Racial

Arguments from those who saw the “peculiar institution”

not as a “necessary evil”, but a “positive good”

John C. Calhoun

of South Carolina

becomes the major

Antebellum Voice in

Congress for Slavery

& States Rights

Southern Planter Elite

• 5% of whites own over 50% of slaves

• About 3,000 elite families owned 300+ slaves each

• Slavery elites (Eastern “Tidewater Gentry” & Western

“Cotton Entrepreneurs”) seek to continue hierarchical

society as the North becomes more egalitarian

• “Slavocracy” dominates Southern politics & culture

• South becomes a “colony” of North & Europe

Note: Social Pyramid not to scale)

Small Planters, Yeomen & Landless Whites• Vast majority of the Southern white population

• Majority of slave owners held 1-5 slaves

• Yeomen aspired to be (but rarely became) plantation elite

• Southern population overwhelmingly rural & native born

• Paradox: Poor whites hurt economically by slavery, but supported it socially

Note: Social Pyramid not to scale)

The growing African-American population (both enslaved and

free) develop unique cultural, social & religious traditions

during the antebellum era that have lasting impacts

Evangelical Protestantism Influences African-American Culture• 2nd Great Awakening influences both northern and southern blacks

• Messages of salvation & liberation resonate as blacks found their own churches• Example – AME (African Methodist Episcopal) Church established

• African and American culture, language and traditions blended• Example – Gullah dialect

• Unique kinship ties and ceremonies develop• - Examples: “Jumping the broom” and Banjo

Slave Resistance & Relationship with Owners is Varied & Complex

“Passive” Resistance Most Common• Ex: Slow Pace of Work & Destruction of Tools & Owners Property

Some slave owners push slaves with brutal violence, others more “paternalistic”• Why the differences? Impacts?

Some owners use gang labor system while others use task labor system • Impact on enslaved people?

Some blacks act as “drivers” for white overseers or take care of white children• Why are some enslaved people “trusted” like this by owners?

• Impacts?

Less Common Forms of Slave Resistance:

Open Rebellion & Running Away

Ex: Underground Railroad & Nat Turners Rebellion

Map 12.3 The Underground Railroad in the 1850s (p. 356)

Free Blacks in Antebellum America•About 10-12% (400,000+) of the black population by 1860 is free (but not socially equal)

• Freedom gained by flight, manumission and emancipation

• Confined to separate social , economic & political spheres in both North & South

• Founded various businesses & institutions in both North & South

• Divided on efforts to aid the enslaved & if assimilation with whites was desirable

Chapter 12: Slavery and Southern Culture – 1800-1860

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TwCtR0IEZ4

PBS Documentary

Africans in America

Part 4: Judgment Day

Watch 2:00 - 33:00

in class and be

ready to discuss:

What was most interesting and/or surprising about the ideas and

experiences of the people listed below as described in the film?

Pierce Butler, John C. Calhoun, Harriet Jacobs, David Walker, William Lloyd Garrison,

Angelina Grimke, Fannie Kemball, Nat Turner

In Class Slavery Primary Source Readings Discussion Questions

Read primary sources as directed and be prepared to discuss questions below as well as

other aspects of document you find interesting

12-6: The Bitter Consciousness of Being a Slave

What are the psychological impacts of slavery on both an

enslaved person and a slave owner as described by Moncure

Conway?

12-7: Memories of a Slave Childhood

What violent acts are witnessed by the slave child and how

might this trauma impact her?

12-11: The Enslavement of Solomon Northup

How does Solomon Northup lose his status as a free man?

What does his story and the newspaper advertisement reveal

about the status of free blacks in the north?