Section 3 – pg 270 The Plantation South Chapter 7 Section 3 – pg 270 The Plantation South

Pg 270 The Cotton Kingdom As the North became more urban and industrialized, the South remained mainly rural 2 events changed life in the South A boom in textiles cause by the Industrial Revolution created greater demand for cotton New invention in the South helped them meet demands

Pg 270 The Cotton Gin Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, which used a spiked cylinder to remove seeds from cotton fibers Cotton could now be processed 50 times faster Growing cotton became more profitable

Pg 270 - 721 Slave Labor To grow more cotton, planters used more slave labor In 1790, there were abt 698,000 enslaved AAs in the US By 1860, there were nearly 4 million During this time, the price of a slave increased 10 to 20 times Cotton became the greatest source of wealth for the US Enriched planters in the South, and bankers and ship-owners in the North Cotton production grew 10 times between 1790 and 1820

States in the South were not alike Pg 271 States in the South were not alike Alabama and Mississippi depended on cotton and had large populations of enslaved people Kentucky had less cotton plantations and less enslaved ppl “Cotton Kingdom” was dominated by owners of large plantations Small but wealthy class Sent children to finest schools More than half of all Southern farmers did not have slaves Grew corn and raised hogs and chickens

Pg 271 Defending Slavery Most southern whites accepted the system of slavery Feared any weakening of controls over AAs would encourage violent uprisings By the 1830s, some ppl in the North were urging that slavery be banned In response, southern whites hardened their support for slavery Argued that slavery was more humane than the free labor system of the North Slaves did not have to worry about unemployment

Pg 272 Critics of slavery argued that northern workers were free to quit a job and take another if conditions became too harsh Slaves often suffered physical or other abuse from owners

African Americans in the South Pg 272 African Americans in the South Not all of the 4 million AAs in the South were enslaved Abt 253,000 (6%) were free Many had bought their freedom Few did well, especially in cities like New Orleans, but most did not

Restrictions on Free African Americans Laws denied rights to free African Americans Could not hold any complicated jobs Children could not go to public school Could not vote, serve on juries, or testify against white defendants in court Discouraged from travelling Slave catchers often kidnapped free slaves and sold them into slavery Pg 272 - 273

Free AAs made valuable contributions to southern life Norbert Rillieux revolutionized the sugar industry Method of refining sugar made the process faster, safer, and less costly Henry Blair developed a seed-planting device that reduced the time a farmer spent sowing a crop Pg 273

Life Under Slavery Enslaved African Americans had no rights Pg 273 Life Under Slavery Enslaved African Americans had no rights Slave codes: laws that controlled everything aspect of their lives Kentucky court ruled in 1828 “a slave by our code is not treated as a person but as a thing” Many enslaved AAs became skillful workers Served as housekeepers, butlers, nannies Became trusted house servants

Majority did heavy farm labor Pg 273 Majority did heavy farm labor Many worked slaves to the edge of death Received whippings for all offenses Only reason to not mistreat a slave was because they were valuable property Many families were broken apart and sold to different plantations

After 1808, it was illegal to import Africans to the US Pg 274 After 1808, it was illegal to import Africans to the US AAs had little contact with Africa African customs, music, and dance survived in daily life as passed down through generations AAs found hope in the Bible Many composed spirituals, religious folk songs that blend Biblical themes with the realities of slavery

Pg 274 Resistance to Slavery Many AAs did what they could to resist slaveholders Some worked slowly, or pretended to not understand what they were told to do Some purposely broke farm equipment Sometimes resistance turned into rebellion Nat Turner led the most famous slave revolt in 1831 He and others killed 60 whites In reprisal, many innocent AAs were executed