Essential Question Essential Question: What was life like in the
antebellum South? Warm-Up Question: Warm-Up Question: Rank order
the success of these American presidents: Jefferson, Madison, &
Monroe Provide evidence for each Slide 2 The Southern Antebellum
Economy: The Southern Antebellum Economy: King Cotton & Slavery
Ante means before Bellum means the war Slide 3 The Rise of King
Cotton King Cotton was the dynamic force driving the American
economy from 1790-1840: The South provided of worlds cotton
Southern cotton stimulated the growth of Northern textile industry,
shipping, & marketing Slave population grew 300% Southern
cotton fueled both the English & American Industrial
Revolutions Slide 4 The Value of Cotton Exports as a Percentage of
All U.S. Exports Slide 5 The Rise of King Cotton The introduction
of short-staple cotton strengthened the economy Cotton could now be
grown anywhere in the South cotton gin The cotton gin (1793) made
seed extraction easy The potential for profits led to a cotton boom
& the expansion of slavery in the South White Southerners
perceived their economic interests to be tied to slavery Southern
way of life Slide 6 Slaves Using the Cotton Gin Slide 7 Southern
Agriculture Cotton expansion led to Alabama Fever from 1816 to 1820
Southern expansion boomed again from 1832 to 1838 into Mississippi,
Louisiana, & Arkansas and again in the mid-1850s into Texas
Slide 8 Slave Concentration, 1820 Slave Concentration by 1860 The
Black Belt Slide 9 The Internal Slave Trade The Upper South grew
tobacco & was less dependent on cotton & slave labor
internal As slave prices rose, Upper South developed an internal
slave trade to provide surplus slaves to the Lower South Virginia,
Maryland, & Kentucky began to take on characteristics of the
industrializing North & became divided in their support of
slavery Slide 10 Slavery in a Changing World Antebellum regional
differences: By 1820, all Northern states abolished slavery The
South lagged behind the North in cities, industry, & railroads
Southern population grew slower than in the North & West By
1860, only 15% of U.S. factories were in the South By 1860, only
35% of railroads were in the South choice The South lagged by
choice because these were risky investments, but cotton was safe
Southern politicians feared being permanently outvoted in Congress
Slide 11 Whites Antebellum Southern Society: Whites Slide 12 The
Divided Society of the Old South American slavery was deeply rooted
in the Southern economy; but slavery divided the South: By
casteblack or white By classownership of slaves By regionslavery
was more deeply entrenched along the Black Belt from GA to TX Slide
13 Slave-ocracy (plantation owners) The Plain Folk (small
slave-owners & yeoman farmers) 6,000,000 Black Freemen Black
Slaves 250,000 U.S. population in 1850 was 23,000,000 9,500,000
lived in the South (40%) 3,200,000 Southern Society in 1850 Slide
14 Southern White Class Structure, 1860 Slide 15 White Society in
South Only a small percentage of whites owned large plantations:
Less than 1% of the white population owned 50+ slaves Most whites
were yeomen farmers who supported slavery because they hired slaves
or felt reassured that there was a lower class than them Slide 16
Small Slaveholders Only about 25% of the Southern white population
owned slaves 88% of slave owners had fewer than 20 slaves (most 1-2
slaves) But slave conditions were worse because slaves shared their
master's poverty Most slaves would have preferred the economic
stability & kinship of the plantation Slide 17 If these were
the living conditions for slaves on a plantation, what were
conditions like on small farms? Slide 18 Yeomen Farmers About 75%
of Southern whites were small, yeoman farmers who did not own
slaves: Most yeomen resented the aristocratic planters but hoped to
become wealthy planters Many saw slavery as a way of keeping blacks
in their place Many saw abolition as a threat to their Southern way
of life Slide 19 Slaves Antebellum Southern Society: Slaves Slide
20 The World of Southern Blacks While very few whites were
plantation owners, most slaves lived on plantations: 90% of slaves
lived on farms in which owner had 20+ slaves 15% of slaves served
as house slaves (domestic servants) 10% of slaves worked in
industry, lumbering, construction 2.4% of slaves worked on large
plantations with 200+ slaves Slide 21 Distribution of Slave Labor,
1850 Slide 22 50% of all slaves lived in the Black Belt (Cotton
Belt) Slide 23 Slaves Picking Cotton on a Mississippi Plantation
Hauling the Whole Weeks Pickings William Henry Brown, 1842 Slide 24
Slaves Working in a Sugar-Boiling House, 1823 Some slaves could
hire out their overtime hours for pay (Underground Economy) Slide
25 Slave Families & Community Normal family life was difficult:
Families were vulnerable to breakup by their masters On large
plantations, slaves were able to retain their African cultures
& were mostly part of two-parent families But on smaller farms,
extended families provided support or adoption of unrelated slaves
Slide 26 A Slave Family Slide 27 African American Religion Black
Christianity was the center of African-American culture African
Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church Richard Allen created African
Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church but was largely composed of free
& urban African-Americans On plantations, whites supervised
religious messages, but the real slave religion was practiced at
night in secret; preached about the inevitable day of liberation
Slide 28 Supervised Plantation Religion Slide 29 Free Blacks in the
Old South Southern free blacks were severely restricted: Had to
register with the state & carry freedom papers Were excluded
from certain jobs Subjected to re-enslavement & fraudulent
recapture By 1860 some states proposed laws to force free blacks to
leave the state or be enslaved Slide 30 Defending Slavery? Slide 31
Defending Slavery Southern planters feared revolts & the growth
of abolitionism & used a new defense slavery: It was sanctioned
in the Bible Constitution did not prohibit it Slavery was a natural
way of life for inferior Africans Slavery was more humane than
Northern industrial exploitation Slide 32 Pro-Slavery Propaganda
Slide 33 Defending Slavery Proslavery Southerners protected South
against anti-slavery ideas: Feared abolitionist propaganda would
inspire slave rebellions or inspire the yeoman to support abolition
Increased restrictions on blacks by making it illegal to teach
slaves to read & write Banned church services & meetings
without supervision Slide 34 Slavery in the North Slavery in the
North: Early Emancipation Movements Before the American Revolution,
slaves were present in each of the 13 American colonies In 1787,
the Articles of Confederation outlawed slavery in the northwest By
1804, nine states emancipated slaves or adopted gradual
emancipation plans In 1808, the USA & Britain in outlawed the
African slave trade In 1817, a group of ministers & politicians
formed the American Colonization Society to resettle free blacks in
West Africa Slide 35 Slave muzzle Anti-Slave Arguments Leg Irons
Slave ID Tag Slide 36 Resistance & Rebellion The most common
form of slave rebellion was passive resistance: Work slowdowns
& sabotage Poisoning of masters Underground Railroad Running
away was common among slaves; Runaway slaves were aided by the
Underground Railroad Slide 37 Quilt Patterns Showed Secret Messages
The Monkey Wrench pattern told slaves to gather up tools and
prepare to flee The Drunkard Path design warned escapees not to
follow a straight route Slide 38 Resistance and Rebellion Between
1800-1831, 3 major slave revolts occurred: Gabriel Prosser Gabriel
Prosser (1800) planned a violent march on Richmond Denmark Vesey
Denmark Vesey (1822) created an extensive plot to arm & free
slaves in SC (no white deaths) Nat Turner Nat Turner (1831) led a
band of slaves from farm to farm & killed 60 whites At the last
minute, the plan failed, Prosser was captured, & no whites died
A change discovery revealed the plot & no whites died Slide 39
Slave Rebellions in the South: Nat Turner, 1831 Slide 40
Conclusions Conclusions: Worlds in Conflict Slide 41 Conclusions
The post-1793 cotton boom transformed the American economy &
Southern society: Cotton facilitated westward expansion & the
entrenchment of African slavery in the South In the 1830s, the
South became increasingly defensive about perceived Northern
attempts to end slavery Slide 42 Discussion Questions How did
American agriculture change from the colonial era to the Era of
Good Feelings? Which early 19 th century change will have the
greater impact on American history: Eli Whitneys cotton gin OR
Jeffersons Louisiana Purchase? Explain
