Slavery

The Economy of the South Tobacco Rice Paddies Sugarcane Biggest…cotton

Cotton on the Roadside, Cotton in the Ditch, We all picked the cotton but we never got rich! 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin (engine) quickly and efficiently combed the seeds out of cotton bolls

Cotton is King! 1860, four million bales annually two-thirds the total exports for US strengthened slavery Demand for slave labor skyrocketed

Class in the South Planters: owned the larger plantations, slaveholders, dominated the economy and political systems, minority Yeomanry: majority, held few slaves if any Rural Poor: few, lived on land too barren for farming Slaves: made up 37% of southern population

Slavery Task system: Gang System: specific jobs once completed they had the rest of the day to themselves Gang System: sun up to sun down large plantations organized into gangs under the supervision of a driver (slave)

Slave Codes Forbade slaves from owning property or leaving a slaveholders premises without permission Could not carry firearms or testify in court against a white person Banned from learning to read and write Merely property

African American Culture To cope with the atrocities of slavery, African Americans formed their own culture Songs to pass the long workday or express hope Religion: adopted Christianity but adapted it to fit their African heritage

Resistance Work slowdowns Broke tools or set fire to houses or barns Try to run away

Rebellion Nat Turner, 1831 led an armed uprising believed God had chosen him to bring his people out of bondage killed 50 white men, women and children. Tried, convicted and hung

Let’s Review! Why did cotton become known as “King Cotton” in the United States? Workers could travel easily from rural homes to urban jobs New inventions aided industrialization Cotton and cotton textiles made up over ½ of the US export revenue How did the cotton gin affect the South? It gave the South a valuable new cash crop. It helped to reduce the number of slaves needed on a plantation. It allowed cotton production to spread to the North. Many historians believe that slavery in the South would have died out if the cotton gin had not been invented. Do you agree? Why or why not?

Let’s Review! What impact did cotton growing have on Southern society? It did not change the look of Southern society. It created a society headed by large, powerful plantation owners. It increased the small farmer class, giving them a larger voice in politics of the South. Why was the slave trade a threat to slave families? Fathers were sent back to Africa. Slaves were no allowed to marry and therefore could not have children. Families were broken up by selling parents or children separately. How did slaves resist working on plantations? They took naps when they should have been working. They broke tools or set fire to barns and houses. They staged sit-down strikes