THE SOUTH’S PEOPLE North and South:

Small Farms Although pop culture has portrayed the South before 1860 as a land of stately plantations, in reality most white Southerners were either small farmers without slaves or planters with a handful of slaves. Only a few planters could afford the many enslaved Africans and the lavish mansions shown in books and movies. The farmers who did not have slaves, called yeoman, made up the largest group of whites in the South. Most of these did own their own land, usually about acres, and tended to live in the Upper South.

Tenant Farmers and Rural Poor Not all Southern whites owned land. Some rented land or worked as tenant farmers, on landlords’ estates. Others, the rural poor, lived in crude cabins in wooded areas where they could clear a few trees, plant some corn, and keep a hog or a cow. They also fished and hunted for food. The poor people of the rural South were stubbornly independent. They refused to take any job that resembled the work of enslaved people.

Plantation Owners A large plantation might cover several thousand acres. Well-to-do plantation owners lived in comfortable but not luxurious farmhouses. Only about 4% of plantation owners held 20 or more slaves in Most owned fewer than 10. Cotton prices varied from season to season, so plantation owners sold their cotton to agents who extended them credit by holding the cotton for several months until prices went up. This system kept the planters always in debt because they did not receive payment for their cotton until the agents sold it.

Plantation Wives The wife of a plantation owner generally way in charge of watching over the enslaved workers who toiled in her home and tending o them when they became ill. Her responsibilities also included supervising the plantation’s buildings and the fruit and vegetable gardens. Some wives also served as accountants, keeping the plantation’s financial records. Women often led a difficult and lonely life on the plantation as husbands were often away to deal with agents in larger cities.

Work on the Plantation Large plantations needed many different kinds of workers. Some enslaved people worked in the house, cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, sewing, and serving meals. They were called domestic slaves. Other African Americans were trained as blacksmiths, carpenters, shoemakers, or weavers. Still others worked in the pastures, tending the horses, cows, sheep, and pigs. Most of the enslaved African Americans, however were field hands, working from sunrise to sunset in the cotton fields.

Life Under Slavery Enslaved African Americans endured hardship and misery. They worked hard, earned no money, and had little hope of freedom. Slave cabins often housed large numbers of people in one room with no floors and only straw and rags for beds. At any given time a husband or wife could be sold away, or a slaveholder’s death could lead to the breakup of an enslaved family. In fact, slave marriage ceremonies included the phrase, “until death or separation do us part.”

African American Culture Since the slave trade had been outlawed in 1808, by 1860 almost all the enslaved people in the South had been born there. They held on to many of their native customs, though, practicing African music and dance, passing African folk stories onto their children, and wearing African style clothing. For many enslaved African Americans, Christianity became a religion of hope and resistance. Spirituals, African American religious folk songs, often provided a way for the enslaved African Americans to communicate secretly among themselves.

Slave Codes Between 1830 and 1860 life under slavery became even more difficult because the slave codes, the laws in the Southern states that controlled enslaved people, became more severe. The main purpose of these codes was to prevent slave rebellions, so they prohibited slaves from assembling in large groups or leaving their master’s property. Slave codes also made it a crime to teach enslaved people to read or write since an educated slave might be more likely to lead a rebellion.

Resistance o Slavery Nat Turner, a religious and self learned leader, lead a brief rampage in Southhampton, Va. Turner and his followers killed 55 whites. This rebellion caused white Southerners to pass more sever slave codes. Enslaved people resisted their white masters by working slowly or pretending to be sick, violence was no seen very often.

Escaping Slavery Harriet Tubman and Fredrick Douglass were two slaves who were able to flee to the North. Yet for most slaves running to the North was all but impossible. The Underground Railroad – a network of “safe houses” owned by free blacks and whites who opposed slavery. Some slaves instead ran to near by plantations where there might be family members.

City Life and Education In the South the ten largest cities were either sea ports or river ports. Free African Americans founded their own churches and institutions. In New Orleans they formed an opera company. Between 1830 and 1860 Southern States passed laws that limited the rights of free African Americans.

Education Plantation Owners sent their children to private schools. One of the best known was called the Academy operated by Moses Waddel, in Willington S.C. During this time there were no state wide public school system, however Charleston, Mobile, and Louisville established public schools. Hundreds of publics schools were in N.C. by Although the number of schools grew in the South, literacy was lower than other parts of the country. In Va and Nc had fewer than 15 people per square mile, In contrast Massachusetts had 124 inhabitants per square mile. Sending their children to school was a challenge because travel was a problem as well as many Southerners believed education was a private affair, therefore no state should pay for the education.