White Society in the Antebellum South Popular perceptions of the antebellum south that portray the era with aristocratic splendor like we saw here in Gone with the Wind are far from reality Only about 1% of White southerners could afford to own 50 slaves, lavishly entertain, and live in a mansion. Most southerners were non-slaveholding yeoman farmers.

The Planters World Big planters: Owned more than 20 slaves About 1% of the population Self-made Earned initial money in commerce, land speculation & slave trading Shrewd business sense

Planters and Paternalism Owned more than ½ of all slaves Paternalism Planters viewed slaves as an extension of family Protectors-they felt blacks were like children Testimony: Planters did NOT have close familiar relationships with most of their slaves

Small Slaveholders 80% owned fewer than 20 slaves Most of these possessed less than 10 More intimate contact Not necessarily better treatment

Yeoman Farmers Concentrated in the backcountry Self-reliant Did not get involved in national/global economies Women played a vital role in maintaining household

Slavery and the Southern Economy Internal Slave Trade Tobacco farming-less important in “upper states” (VA, MD, KY) These states began selling “surplus” slaves to the lower South Rise of Cotton Invention of the Cotton Gin-South’s most important export, and the most profitable Slavery and Industrialization Most investment dollars went into cotton Dependence on slavery and cotton impeded industrialization in the South Cotton/Slavery-profited the planter, but limited the South’s development Southern society rested economically upon the institution of slavery. Between 1810-1860, the number of slaves owned tripled, increasing to 4 million.