5.1 The South and the Slavery Controversy

Slavery had been hotly debated in the U.S. since it’s founding.  Many of the founders: 1. had a tough time reconciling the idea that “all men are created equal” with an institution that dealt with human owning other humans. 2. Thought that slavery was a dying institution that would run its course and eventually go away on its own.

The Resurgence of Slavery After the cotton gin was created in 1793: 1. Slaves are no longer needed to pick the seeds from cotton 2. Plantation owners expand their cotton harvests, so the need for slaves in the field is dramatically increased  By the time the Civil War starts, there are an estimated 4,000,000 slaves in the south.

Compromises Over Slavery 1. 3/5 Compromise during the Constitutional Convention dealt with counting slaves for representational purposes in the House of Reps. 2. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 which dealt with keeping the balance of free and slave states equal in Senate.

Cotton is King The South 1. Produced more cotton than anywhere in the world 2. 60% of the World’s cotton supply came from the South 3. Cotton was ½ of all American exports 4. Northern Shippers made large profits from transporting cotton 5. Northern bankers owned the debt of southern plantation owners.

The Planter Aristocracy Southern Government  Unofficial oligarchy (government run by an elite few)  The government was heavily affected by the planter elite aristocracy  The aristocracy in the south widened the gap between the rich and poor class.  All political decisions in the south were made to favor the planter elite.  Social prestige and political influence were determined by which social class one was a part of.

King Cotton’s Faults The plantation system was very financially unstable  Plantation owners didn’t know how a crop was going to do from one year to the next.  many plantation owners to go into large amounts of debt buying slaves and land.  Most slave owners underestimated the expense of owning slaves Food, Housing, Medical care  It was important for slave owners to keep their slave healthy so they could work efficiently and have children.

Southern Social Hierarchy 1. Wealthy Slave Owners  Owned hundreds of slaves and huge plantations 2. Less Wealthy Slave Owners  Made up the majority of slave masters in the south 3. Non-slave owning whites  75% of the population (vast majority of the southern population)  Supported Slavery  (Hoped to one day live the American Dream and own slaves) 4. Slaves

“The Peculiar Institution” Many in the South referred to slavery as a “peculiar institution”  John C. Calhoun (Vice President under Adams and Jackson, Secretary of War under Monroe, and Senator from South Carolina) became the most outspoken proponent of slavery.  He defended slavery as a “positive good” because slaves were fed, clothed, housed, given medical care, and Christianized, all of which they would not have had in Africa.

Plantation Slavery “Black Ivory” (Slaves)  Slaves were very expensive  The importation of slaves into American was banned in 1808, but smuggling continued  The majority of slaves in America were offspring from previous slave generations  Planters regarded their slaves as major monetary investments. The slave population in the United States increase from 1.5 million slaves in 1820, to 4 million in 1860.

The Black Belt The “Black Belt” or “Cotton Belt”  The region of the south where there was the heaviest concentration of slaves  South Carolina to Louisiana

Life as a slave Varied from region to region  Worked from dawn to dusk  No civil or political rights  Clung to their families, but families were often broken up by the slave trade.  Slaves on large plantations were typically treated worse than slaves on small farms

Passive Resistance The way that most slaves expressed discontent was through passive resistance. 1. Faked illness 2. Slowed their work pace 3. Sabotaged expensive equipment to cut down on production

Early Abolitionism 2 nd Great Awakening  Opened the eyes of many to the sins of slavery  American Colonization Society (1817)  Focused on transporting blacks back to Africa  Helped to found the Republic of Liberia (Africa) in 1822 A country in Africa that was designed as a haven for former American slaves (15,000+)

Radical Abolitionism William Lloyd Garrison became the most outspoken opponent of slavery and was a leader in the abolition movement in the North 1. Garrison founded and published The Liberator, a militant, anti-slavery newspaper 2. Publicly burned a copy of the Constitution and the Fugitive Slave Act. 3. Helped found the American Anti-Slavery Society which helped to spread the cause of abolition in the North.

Abolitionist Impact in the North At first, abolitionists were unpopular in the North Why?  Southern farmers were in debt to northern bankers.  If the South were to break away, the debts would be lost  The north needed the cotton from the south to produce clothing  If the cotton supply was cut off, many northern jobs would be lost

Slave Rebellions Denmark Vesey – in 1822, planned a slave revolt for Charleston South Carolina, but his plans were foiled before the rebellion could start. Nat Turner – in 1831, Led a slave revolt in Southampton, VA. Which killed over 50 whites. The long-term results of the slave rebellions 1. the whites tighten security on plantation and the “black codes.” 2. Laws were passed that made teaching slaves to read and write a crime that was punishable by death.

The Burdens of Bondage Slaves were not allowed to learn to read  Reading brought knowledge and ideas  Slave owners thought education of Blacks would bring discontent with their lives.  Literacy meant that black would be able to organize and rebel

The Gag Resolution Congress even took measures to calm down the tensions between North and South, ultimately protecting slavery.  They passed the “Gag Resolution” which made it impossible to debate any bills that would limit or prohibit southern slavery.

The Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a series of secret stops on a route from the South to the free north.  Harriett Tubman was an escaped slave who became one of the leading figures of the Underground Railroad  She made about 20 trips back down into the south and led over 300 slaves to freedom.

The Fugitive Slave Act The Fugitive Slave Act became law in 1850 as part of a Compromise that would allow California into the Union as a free state.  Federal Marshalls and North law enforcement would have to capture runaway slaves and deliver them bock to their owners in the South.

How did the Fugitive Slave Act Work? If a black was accused of being a slave, they were captured and sent to appear before a federal judge.  The captured black could not testify on their own behalf, even if they had prove that they had never been a slave.  The judge would then have to determine if the person was a slave or free man based on the testimony of white people from the area of where the person was captured.  Judges received $5 for every hearing that determined the black to not be a slave, but $10 for every one that was determined to be a slave and sent back down to the south. Many free men were sent into slavery for the first time after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act.

Once the Fugitive Slave Act went into effect, no longer was the North a safe place for escaped slaves.  The Underground Railroad had to expand all the way into Canada, which was still a dominion of Great Britain, and where slavery was illegal.  U.S. law enforcement officials could not go in to Canada to capture runaway slaves.