THE SOUTH AND THE SLAVERY CONTROVERSY, 1793-1860 Chapter 16

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

Southern Agriculture

Cotton is King In 1787 many in both south and the north thought that slavery was on its way out. Reasons? They were WRONG Impact of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin.

King Cotton Cotton becomes dominant cash crop in south Southern planters buy new land and slaves aggressively Northern shippers make big profits shipping cotton. Britain highly dependent on American cotton. Britain’s most important product in the 1850s was cotton cloth. About 75% of its cotton came from US. 1/5th of Britain’s workers directly or indirectly got livelihood from cotton processing.

Slaves Picking Cotton on a Mississippi Plantation

Changes in Cotton Production 1820 1860

Value of Cotton Exports As % of All US Exports

Slaves Of The Slave System Problems with plantation system: “Raped” the land Economy was monopolistic System was economically unstable Led to a dangerous dependence on one crop South lacked diversity

The Planter “Aristocracy” Before the Civil War planter aristocracy controls government in the South. 1850, only 1733 families owned more than 100 slaves. Cream of the political and social leadership. Owned the lion’s share of the wealth.

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

Whites Without Slaves Why? Majority Mostly subsistence farmers on poorer land Bottom of group: “Poor white trash”, “rednecks”, “crackers” Had no stake in the slave economy, but were some of the strongest supporters of the system Why? Mountain whites: very poor, resented slavery, “Hillbillies”

Slave-Owning Population (1850)

Basement of southern society. Numbers had quadrupled since 1800. Plantation Slavery 4 Mill. black slaves Basement of southern society. Numbers had quadrupled since 1800. Stagnated the southern economy. Slave population moved south as prime cotton land shifted to the Deep South.

Southern Population (1860)

Distribution of Slave Labor in 1850

Slaves Working in a Sugar-Boiling House, 1823

Tara – Plantation Reality or Myth? Hollywood’s Version?

Distribution of Slaves, 1860

Slave Life Hard work, ignorance and oppression No political or legal rights. Floggings common Many places illegal to teach them to read. Slave-breakers. By 1860 most slaves concentrated in the Deep South.

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

Slave Accoutrements Slave Master Brands Slave muzzle

Anti-Slave Pamphlet

Slave Accoutrements Slave leg irons Slave tag, SC Slave shoes

Slave Resistance Refusal to work hard. Isolated acts of sabotage. Escape via the Underground Railroad.

Slave Rebellions Significance? There were slave rebellions, but never successful. Often informed upon by other slaves. 1800 Gabriel in Richmond Denmark Vesey, Charleston in 1822. Most famous was rebellion by Nat Turner in Va. in 1831. Significance?

Slave Rebellions in the Antebellum South: Nat Turner, 1831

Early Abolition Early abolitionism. Quakers. American Colonization Society (1817) Liberia. 15000 freed blacks transported to Africa Why don’t more American Blacks go back to Africa?.

Growth of Abolition In the 1830s abolitionist turned into a crusade. Why? Lyman Beecher, head of Lane Theological Seminary, hotbed of early abolitionism. Very influential and father of Harriet Beecher Stowe Henry Ward Beecher Catharine Beecher

1831 William Lloyd Garrison burst onto the scene. Radical Abolition 1831 William Lloyd Garrison burst onto the scene. Founded the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833.

Black Abolitionists Sojourner Truth David Walker—Militant. Frederick Douglas Greatest of the Black abolitionists escaped from bondage in 1838 at 21. Protégé of Garrison Frederick Douglas

The South Lashes Back Before 1830: More anti-slavery societies in south than north Southerners openly debated merits of slavery. After 1830 debate in South ends and many southerners defend as positive good. What changed? Nat Turners rebellion in 1831 Nullification Crisis Reaction to Northern criticism Southern preachers arguing that slavery supported by Bible

Southern Pro-Slavery Propaganda

The Abolitionist Impact In The North Abolitionists were not particularly popular in the North for some time. Why? North had heavy stake in the cotton of the south. Textile mills relied on southern cotton. Many northerners feared political controversy. Many northern politicians carefully distanced themselves from the abolitionists. Abolitionists harassed Yet, by 1850 abolitionism had gained strength and taken root as a popular cause.

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