Chapter 13

The South

“A Positive Good”• "I take higher ground. I hold that in the present state of civilization, where two

races of different origin, and distinguished by color, and other physical differences, as well as intellectual, are brought together, the relation now existing in the slaveholding States between the two, is, instead of an evil, a good—a positive good... I may say with truth, that in few countries so much is left to the share of the laborer, and so little exacted from him, or where there is more kind attention paid to him in sickness or infirmities of age. Compare his condition with the tenants of the poor houses in the more civilized portions of Europe—look at the sick, and the old and infirm slave, on one hand, in the midst of his family and friends, under the kind superintending care of his master and mistress, and compare it with the forlorn and wretched condition of the pauper in the poorhouse... I hold then, that there never has yet existed a wealthy and civilized society in which one portion of the community did not, in point of fact, live on the labor of the other."

• - John C. Calhoun, 1837

I. Growth of the Cotton Industry

• Cotton was not a profitable crop – hard to take seeds out

• By 1790’s high demand for American cotton• Cotton Gin:

The Cotton Boom

• Cotton gin revolutionized industry – Planters: large-scale farmers who held more than 20 slaves –

• Growing cotton requires large labor force – planters begin to use more slaves

• Other crops – corn, tobacco, rice• Industry was small compared to North – southern

investors put money into land

II. Southern Society

• Planters were wealthiest and politically powerful

• Most white southerners were Yeomen:

• Poorest white southerners worked odd jobs for money

Religion, Society, and Urban Life

• Most families saw each other at church events, revivals, and socials

• Largest, most important cities were located on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts:

Free African Americans

• Most free African Americans lived in countryside and worked as day laborers

• Constant discrimination from white southerners – laws limited rights

III. The Slave System

• Some slaves had skilled jobs – carpentry and blacksmithing

• Slaves were bought and sold – families separated

• Poor living conditions, simple clothes, small food rations

Slave Culture

• Some slave owners treated slaves well, however many used harsh punishments

• Slave Codes:

• Kept heritage alive with folktales: stories with a moral

• Religion was important – spirituals:

Wade in the Water• Wade in the water (children)

Wade in the waterWade in the waterGod's gonna trouble the water

If you don't believe I've been redeemedGod's gonna trouble the waterI want you to follow him on down to Jordan stream(I said) My God's gonna trouble the waterYou know chilly water is dark and cold(I know my) God's gonna trouble the waterYou know it chills my body but not my soul(I said my) God's gonna trouble the water

Slave Uprisings

• Slaves did rebel against system by working slower or running away

• Revolts were rare, but owners feared them

• Nat Turner: