Objectives Explain the significance of cotton and the cotton gin to the South. Describe what life was like for free and enslaved African Americans in the South.

Terms and People cotton gin – a machine that used a spiked cylinder to remove seeds from cotton fibers slave code – laws that controlled every aspect of the lives of enslaved African Americans spiritual – a religious folk song that blended biblical themes with the realities of slavery Nat Turner – a slave who led a famous slave revolt in 1831

How did cotton affect the social and economic life of the South? A boom in textiles caused by the Industrial Revolution created a huge demand for cotton. The South’s economy became dependent on cotton, and cotton plantations became dependent on slave labor.

In the North, the Industrial Revolution caused industry, immigration, and cities to grow. The South remained largely rural as its plantations grew wealthy from the cotton trade.

Before the introduction of the cotton gin, laborers had to pick seeds out of the cotton by hand, which was a very slow process. In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. The cotton gin greatly sped up the processing of cotton and made it much more profitable.

Cotton Today What country grows the most cotton? How much does a bale of cotton weigh? Where is cotton grown in the U.S.? How many t-shirts are produced from a bale of cotton?


What country grows the most cotton What country grows the most cotton?
Historically, China is the largest grower. China’s 3-year average production for the years 2006 through 2008 was approximately 36 million bales of cotton. India is second, with 23.1 million bales of production for the same time period. The U.S. is third, with average production of 17.9 million bales of cotton for the years 2006 through 2008. 2 How much does a bale of cotton weigh?
A bale of cotton weighs about 500 pounds. Where is cotton grown in the U.S.?
Cotton is grown in 17 states stretching across the southern half of the United States: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. 4. How many t-shirts are produced from a bale of cotton?
One bale of cotton can make 1,217 men's T-shirts or 313,600 $100 bills. For a list of other items, click here.

In 1790, planters grew 1.5 million pounds of cotton, but by 1820, they grew ten times as much.

Cotton became the greatest source of wealth for the United States, enriching: Northern bankers and ship owners Southern planters

To keep up with the demand for cotton and the new ability to process it quickly, planters used more slave labor. From 1790 to 1860, the price of a slave increased ten or twenty times.

Enslaved African Americans had no rights at all, and their lives were controlled by slave codes.

Lives of Enslaved African Americans in the South Tasks Some enslaved African Americans worked in their owners’ homes. Most did heavy farm labor. Working conditions Some slave holders worked slaves almost to death and whipped them as punishment for many offenses. Most owners saw their slaves as valuable property and tried to keep them healthy so they would be productive. Families Owners often broke apart slave families by selling family members.

Enslaved African Americans passed on African customs, music, and dance to their children. Many African Americans found messages of hope in the Bible, and they composed spirituals.

Many enslaved African Americans resisted slave holders by working slowly, breaking equipment, fleeing to freedom in the north, and rebelling. In 1831, Nat Turner said he was told to kill whites in a vision. He led a famous, but doomed, slave revolt. Whites retaliated by killing many innocent African Americans.

After 1808, it was illegal to import enslaved Africans to the United States. By the 1830s, some northerners were pushing for slavery to be banned.

Supporters of slavery said that it was more humane than the free labor system of the North. Critics of slavery said that slaves suffered abuse from white owners.

Most southern whites accepted the system of slavery, fearing violent uprisings would follow if control over slaves was weakened.

About 6 percent of the 4 million African Americans in the South were free. Many of the free African Americans made valuable contributions to southern life: Norbert Rillieux improved sugar refining. Henry Blair invented a seed-planting device.

Obstacles Faced by Free African Americans in the South Jobs Free African Americans were given only the most menial jobs. Travel They were discouraged from traveling. Education Their children could not attend public schools. Political Rights They could not vote, serve on juries, or testify against white defendants in court. Liberty Slave catchers often kidnapped them and sold them into slavery.

In the southern “Cotton Kingdom,” society was dominated by a small group of wealthy plantation owners. But more than half of all southern farmers did not have slaves. Instead of growing cotton, these people often grew corn and raised hogs and chickens.

Differences Between Southern States Alabama, Mississippi, and Like States States that depended heavily on cotton had large populations of enslaved people. Kentucky and Like States States that grew less cotton had smaller populations of enslaved people.

Section Review QuickTake Quiz Know It, Show It Quiz 22

Objectives Identify the problems faced by Americans moving westward. Describe the impact of the building of the Erie Canal. Discuss the debate over slavery and the Missouri Compromise.

Terms and People Daniel Boone – a famous early pioneer who helped clear the Wilderness Road turnpike – a toll road corduroy road – a road made of sawed-off logs laid side by side canal – a channel that is dug across land and filled with water Henry Clay – a senator who persuaded Congress to adopt the Missouri Compromise

How did Americans move west, and how did this intensify the debate over slavery? New roads, turnpikes, and canals enabled northerners and southerners to move west. Westward expansion threatened to upset the balance between free and slave states and moved the nation closer to civil war.

During colonial times, the backcountry between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains was considered the western frontier. By the 1750s, the Scotch-Irish and the Germans of Pennsylvania had begun to settle the backcountry.

In 1775, Daniel Boone and others cleared the Wilderness Road, a new route to the West. The road crossed the Appalachian Mountains through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky. The Wilderness Road became the main route across the Appalachians.

By the early 1800s, western populations swelled as immigrants moved west. From 1792 to 1819, eight states joined the Union.

Traveling west was not easy, because settlers used paths worn by animals as their roads. These roads were unpaved, dotted with tree stumps, and easily washed out by rain. Some capitalists decided to build better roads so commerce could flow more easily.

¢ Private companies began to build turnpikes. Travelers on these roads had to pay a toll in order to pass. In marshy areas, wagons traveled on corduroy roads, which were hazardous to horses.

In 1795, a private company in Pennsylvania built a turnpike between Lancaster and Philadelphia. The Lancaster Turnpike was the first long-distance stone road in the United States.

Traveling by road was slow, however, and people began to think about building canals so they could ship goods by water. Work on the Erie Canal, which would connect the Hudson River and Lake Erie, began in 1817.

Because the land in upstate New York is not level, locks were built to raise or lower boats in the canal. The workers that built the canal were mostly Irish immigrants.

The Erie Canal was very successful. Within two years of its opening in 1825, the Erie Canal had paid for itself. It sparked a surge of canal building. Because it was at the end of the canal, New York soon became the richest city in the United States.

Westward expansion strengthened the United States, but it also caused disagreements over the extension of slavery. Free States Slave States In 1819, the United States consisted of 11 “free states,” which prohibited slavery, and 11 “slave states,” which permitted slavery.

However, Missouri had been seeking admission to the United States as a slave state since 1817. Northerners did not want to add a slave state to the United States. It was important to maintain a balance between representation of slave states and free states in the Senate.

A solution to the problem presented itself when Maine, a state that prohibited slavery, applied for admission to the Union. In 1820, Senator Henry Clay persuaded Congress to adopt the Missouri Compromise.

For the North For the South Maine was admitted as a free state. Missouri was admitted as a slave state. The Louisiana Territory north of the southern Missouri border would be free. Southern slave owners could pursue escaped slaves into free states.

The compromise preserved the balance of power between slave and free states.

The Missouri Compromise revealed how much sectional rivalries divided the Union. Southerners were unhappy that Congress was making laws about slavery. Northerners were angry that Congress had allowed slavery to expand into another state. In time, the issue of slavery would split the United States.

Section Review QuickTake Quiz Know It, Show It Quiz 41