CHAPTER 12 The South Expands: Slavery and Society, 1800–1860 James A. Henretta Eric Hinderaker Rebecca Edwards Robert O. Self America’s History Eighth Edition America: A Concise History Sixth Edition CHAPTER 12 The South Expands: Slavery and Society, 1800–1860 Copyright © 2014 by Bedford/St. Martin’s
1. What insights into the lives of slaves does this image provide 1. What insights into the lives of slaves does this image provide? (Answer: Work and social life are depicted; the family of cotton pickers looks tired and is wearing tattered, dirty clothing reflective of manual labor.)
I. The Domestic Slave Trade A. The Upper South Exports Slaves 1. Slavery in the Chesapeake region 2. Transfer and sale 3
I. The Domestic Slave Trade B. The Impact on Blacks 1. Emphasis on slaves as property 2. Individuals and families
II. The World of Southern Whites A. The Dual Cultures of the Planter Elite 1. The Traditional Southern Gentry 2. The Ideology and Reality of “Benevolence” 3. Cotton Entrepreneurs
II. The World of Southern Whites B. Planters, Smallholding Yeomen, and Tenants 1. Planter Elites 2. Smallholding Planters and Yeomen 3. Poor Freemen
1. Considering what you know about slavery in the South, speculate on the circumstances that could have led to this man’s physical condition. (Answer: Insubordinate behavior, attempted escape, failure to complete work, or completing work too slowly.) 2. Why might Union soldiers have chosen to photograph Gordon’s scars? (Answer: Publicizing such an obvious example of the brutality of slavery during the Civil War undoubtedly would have provoked response by northerners against the institution of slavery; depending upon the political convictions of the soldiers who photographed this man, they may have wanted to encourage support of emancipation and not just restoration of the Union through the war effort.)
1. Who are the people depicted in this painting. What are they doing 1. Who are the people depicted in this painting? What are they doing? (Answer: They are a white family from North Carolina—mother cradling a child, daughter and son between their parents, father leaning against the well. The mother rides the family’s horse which also carries their possessions; the family’s cow drinks from the well. The dog eats the scraps alongside the well.) 2. What does the image suggest about the family’s economic status? (Answer: The family is clearly poor. Although they are in the process of moving from one state to another, they are carrying very little with them; the only possessions visible are those carried by the horse—a few pots and pans, a dead fowl for food, one bundle, and whatever is in the father’s small bag. The family is shabbily dressed, and the children are not wearing shoes.) 3. What message might the artist have been aiming to convey with this painting? (Answer: The looks on the faces of the family clearly convey despair and resignation. They call into question the notions of American prosperity and opportunity and the positive ideas associated with migration. It is possible that the artist also aimed to convey an antislavery message—commenting on the ways that some whites were impoverished by the institution that enriched white planters.)
III. Expanding and Governing the South A. The Settlement of Texas 1. The Austins 2. “Remember the Alamo”
III. Expanding and Governing the South B. The Politics of Democracy 1. Taxation Policy 2. The Paradox of Southern Prosperity
IV. The African American World A. Evangelical Black Protestantism 1. African Religions and Christian Conversion 2. Black Worship
IV. The African American World B. Forging Families and Communities 1. African influences 2. Kinship and marriage 17
IV. The African American World C. Negotiating Rights 1. Working Lives 2. Survival Strategies
IV. The African American World D. The Free Black Population 1. Northern Blacks 2. Standing for Freedom in the South