Early Emancipation in the North

Missouri Compromise, 1820

Characteristics of the Antebellum South 1.Primarily agrarian. 2.Economic power shifted from the “upper South” to the “lower South.” 3.“Cotton Is King!” * 1860  5 mil. bales a yr. (57% of total US exports). 4.Very slow development of industrialization. 5.Rudimentary financial system. 6.Inadequate transportation system.

Southern Population

Graniteville Textile Co. Founded in 1845, it was the South’s first attempt at industrialization in Richmond, VA

Southern Agriculture

Slaves Picking Cotton on a Mississippi Plantation

Slaves Using the Cotton Gin

Changes in Cotton Production

Value of Cotton Exports As % of All US Exports

“Hauling the Whole Week’s Pickings” William Henry Brown, 1842

Slaves Working in a Sugar-Boiling House, 1823

Southern Society (1850) “Slavocracy” [plantation owners] 6,000,000 Black Freemen Black Slaves 3,200, ,000 Total US Population  23,000,000 [9,250,000 in the South = 40%]

Planter Class 1.Held enormous political power * Accomplished this despite small numbers * Especially true in upper south 2.Often viewed as “Aristocrats” * Most did not live life of luxury * Most $ went into purchasing more land 3.Adopted code of “Chivalry” * Concern for defending honor

A Real Georgia Plantation

“Southern Lady” 1.Subordinate to men “Women, like children, have but one right, and that is the right to protection. The right to protection involves the obligation to obey” 2.Minimal Exposure to “public world” Small Plantations * May spin, weave, assist with farming Large Plantations * Less involved

“Plain Folk” Subsistence FarmersSubsistence Farmers –“Yeoman Farmer” Inferior EducationInferior Education –Lower Literacy Rates Subordinate to Upper ClassSubordinate to Upper Class

“Plain Folk” MinorityMinority –“Hill people” Living in or west of AppalachiansLiving in or west of Appalachians Isolated from slave cultureIsolated from slave culture –“White Trash” or “Crackers” Extremely poor whitesExtremely poor whites Majority –Majority – –Live around Plantations –Depend on upper class for economic support

Slave Auction Notice, 1823

Slave Auction: Charleston, SC-1856

Slave Master Brands Slave Accoutrements Slave muzzle

Anti-Slave Pamphlet

Slave tag, SC Slave Accoutrements Slave leg irons Slave shoes

Slave-Owning Population (1850)

Slave-Owning Families (1850)

Slaves posing in front of their cabin on a Southern plantation.

The Ledger of John White J Matilda Selby, 9, $ sold to Mr. Covington, St. Louis, $ J Brooks Selby, 19, $ Left at Home – Crazy J Fred McAfee, 22, $ Sold to Pepidal, Donaldsonville, $ J Howard Barnett, 25, $ Ranaway. Sold out of jail, $ J Harriett Barnett, 17, $ Sold to Davenport and Jones, Lafourche, $900.00

US Laws Regarding Slavery 1.U. S. Constitution: * 3/5s compromise [I.2] * fugitive slave clause [IV.2]  Fugitive Slave Act  stronger Fugitive Slave Act.

Southern Slavery--> An Aberration? J 1780s: 1 st antislavery society created in Phila. J By 1804: slavery eliminated from last northern state. J 1807: the legal termination of the slave trade, enforced by the Royal Navy. J 1820s: newly indep. Republics of Central & So. America declared their slaves free. J 1833: slavery abolished throughout the British Empire. J 1844: slavery abolished in the Fr. colonies. J 1861: the serfs of Russia were emancipated.

Slavery Was Less Efficient in the U. S. than Elsewhere J High cost of keeping slaves from escaping. J GOAL  raise the “exit cost.” u Slave patrols. u Southern Black Codes. u Cut off a toe or a foot.

The Culture of Slavery 1.Black Christianity [Baptists or Methodists]: * more emotional worship services. * negro spirituals. 2.“Pidgin” or Gullah languages. 3.Nuclear family with extended kin links, where possible. 4.Importance of music in their lives. [esp. spirituals].

Slave Resistance 1. Refusal to work hard. 2.Isolated acts of sabotage. 3.Escape via the Underground Railroad. 4.Organized Revolts (Rarest form)

Runaway Slave Ads

Slave Rebellions Throughout the Americas

Haitian Revolution Blacks outnumber whitesBlacks outnumber whites –475,000 Blacks –40,000 Whites Estimated DeathsEstimated Deaths –200,000 Blacks –100,000 Whites Haitian Constitution Haitian Constitution –Followed by Massacre of remaining Whites May have sparked increase in US attempted revoltsMay have sparked increase in US attempted revolts

Slave Rebellions Gabriel Prosser Gabriel Prosser –Richmond, VA –1000 Slaves –Plot revealed before revolt began –35 executed Denmark Vesey Denmark Vesey –Free Black living in Charleston –Rumored 9000 followers –Plot revealed before revolt began –Led to further suppression

Slave Rebellions 1833 – Nat Turner1833 – Nat Turner –Slave Preacher –Killed 60 white men, women, children –100+ Slaves murdered in response

Southern Pro-Slavery Propaganda