A Southern Perspective A Look into the Southern Side of the Story in the 1850’s.

Objective By the end of the lesson, students will be able to explain what the common Southern perspective was before the Civil War.

Slavery The people in the South thought they needed Slavery. They had huge plantations and they needed people to work on the farms. If they had to pay people, they wouldn’t make any money!

Could you farm this yourself? just with your family? Big Plantations! Could you farm this yourself? just with your family?

Slavery They felt threatened by the abolitionists. The abolitionists worried about the lives of slaves, but they did not worry if the southern plantation owners made money.

Abolitionists? Why would a Southerner not like abolitionists?

Slavery! Southerners didn’t see slavery as a bad thing. Many Southerners thought that slavery was good because they gave slaves a place to stay, food to eat, and in some cases medicine to help them stay healthy! Some southerners even wrote stories about how slaves had free time to socialize, have fun, and spend time with their families!

Slave Cabin Family of Slaves

(Side Note) QUICK!!! Just so you don’t start to get brainwashed, was slavery really like what the Southern plantation owners tried to make it out to be!? NOOO! Why not?

Slavery! Why would Southerners want to convince themselves that slavery was a good thing?

Tariffs A tariff is a tax against companies that are outside of the U.S. These companies pay the tax in order to sell stuff in the U.S. In the U.S., tariffs made sure that American made things were bought over things made other places in the world.

Northern Factories!

Tariffs EXAMPLE: The north could sell tools for $5.00 Other countries could sell the same tools for $4.00 - but then they had a $2.00 tariff (tax) - to make it cost $6.00. What are you going to buy, tools that were made in the North or the tools made in other countries?

Tariffs The Southerners got mad because the Tariffs helped the Northern factories make money, but it hurt the South because things started to cost more!

STATES’ RIGHTS Southern states did not want the Federal Government to decide if they can or cannot have slavery. Southern states did not want the Federal Government to put tariffs on things that only help the North. SOUTHERNERS THOUGHT THE STATES SHOULD DECIDE THESE LAWS, NOT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT!!!

Southerners If the Federal Government is not working for them, then what should the south do?

Southerners Secede Southerners decided to Secede!!! Secede - to leave a country and create your own country!

North versus South

Conclusion Southerners wanted to have more states’ rights so they could decide about slavery and tariffs (taxes). Southerners wanted to keep slavery because they thought they needed them to work in the fields so that the plantation could make money. Some Southerners thought slaves had a good life. The South thought that the federal government was not working for them, so they seceded - became their own country!