The South and the Slavery Controversy APUSH
Key Themes of the Civil War Civil War as a test of nationhood Economic and racial exploitation of slavery Sectionalism Conflict and compromise between North and South War solidified Union and ended slavery Question whether nation was truly “reconstructed”
King Cotton Slavery reinvigorated after cotton gin in 1793 Cotton Kingdom of South was huge agricultural factory Northerners also profited from shipping and manufacturing Foreign nations dependent on Southern cotton This made South arrogant
The Planter “Aristocracy” South as an oligarchy—government by the few Small group of planter aristocracy owned most slaves, provided political and social leadership of South Undemocratic system—poor in South denied tax-supported education Southern planters trying to protect feudal society
Tara – Plantation Reality or Myth? Hollywood’s Version?
Scarlet and Mammie (Hollywood Again!)
A Real Mammie & Her Charge
The Southern “Belle”
Negatives of the slave system Plantation agriculture wasteful Economy in South encouraged monopolies Financial instability in system—lots of debt South dangerously dependent on one crop economy, no manufacturing of own South also repelled immigrants
Southern Society (1850) “Slavocracy” [plantation owners] 6,000,000 The “Plain Folk” [white yeoman farmers] Black Freemen 250,000 Black Slaves 3,200,000
Whites in the South Small minority rich slave-owners—they owned the most slaves Next was smaller slave-owners—most slave owners had only 1-2 slaves, masters worked with slaves Whites without slaves—redneck, subsistence farmers Often strongest supporters of slavery!!! Mountain whites—in Appalachians, hated planters and slaves, would work with Union during war.
Southern Population
Free Blacks in South In upper South, some blacks freed after Revolution In deep South, free blacks mainly mulattoes—freed by their master/father, some purchased freedom Treated as “third race”
Free Blacks in North Also unpopular Forbidden entrance to some states, kept from vote, and public schools Often tensions with immigrants in North
Plantation Slavery By 1860—4 million slaves Slaves seen as investment Most from reproduction Slaves seen as investment Slaves were often forced to breed or sold in auction Families were separated often
Life Under the Lash Conditions varied depending on region and plantation Everywhere slaves had no political or civil rights Whippings common Slave life hardest in Deep South (South Carolina-Georgia) Slave life most stable on large plantations—family life stable, slave culture developed
Southern Slavery--> An Aberration? 1780s: 1st antislavery society created in Phila. By 1804: slavery eliminated from last northern state. 1807: the legal termination of the slave trade, enforced by the Royal Navy. 1820s: newly indep. Republics of Central & So. America declared their slaves free. 1833: slavery abolished throughout the British Empire. 1844: slavery abolished in the Fr. colonies. 1861: the serfs of Russia were emancipated.
Slave Accoutrements Slave Master Brands Slave muzzle
Slave Accoutrements Slave leg irons Slave tag, SC Slave shoes
Anti-Slave Pamphlet
Slave Auction Notice, 1823
Slave Auction: Charleston, SC-1856
Slaves posing in front of their cabin on a Southern plantation.
A Slave Family
Slave Resistance “SAMBO” pattern of behavior used as a charade in front of whites [the innocent, laughing black man caricature – bulging eyes, thick lips, big smile, etc.].
Slave Resistance Refusal to work hard. Isolated acts of sabotage. Escape via the Underground Railroad.
Runaway Slave Ads
Quilt Patterns as Secret Messages The Monkey Wrench pattern, on the left, alerted escapees to gather up tools and prepare to flee; the Drunkard Path design, on the right, warned escapees not to follow a straight route.
Slave Rebellions in the Antebellum South Gabriel Prosser 1800 1822
Slave Rebellions in the Antebellum South: Nat Turner, 1831
The Culture of Slavery Black Christianity [Baptists or Methodists]: * more emotional worship services. * negro spirituals. “Pidgin” or Gullah languages. Nuclear family with extended kin links, where possible. Importance of music in their lives. [esp. spirituals].
Southern Pro-Slavery Propaganda