Agriculture in Antebellum South Carolina Standard Indicator 8-4.1

Headright system + slave labor = large SC plantations Quick Review During Colonial times, agriculture was the basis for society in SC Those who did save enough for 1 or 2 slaves worked along side them in their own fields Note: Most SC families lived on sustenance farms and owned NO slaves Headright system + slave labor = large SC plantations By 1860, SC had the highest percentage of slave holders in the nation……why?

The Cotton Boom Eli Whitney – Cotton Gin -- Need to increase profits -- Depended on slave labor to make it work. The use of slavery in both the Upcountry and the Lowcountry eased the tensions between the two areas……As well as the Constitutional Amendment that gave one vote where one lived to “every free white man of 21”

The Cotton Boom Cont……. SC political rights changed International slave trade ended in 1808 SC slave population continued to grow Overgrowth of cotton stripped the land Little focus on finding a new cash crop Need for new land led to southern arguments over western expansion

Planter Life of the Elite (4:43)

Plantation Life Was self-sustaining & depended on the institution of slavery Slave Duties/Jobs (men, women, children) Provided minimum food, clothing, & shelter Slave marriages were not recognized Slave families often split up Against the law to teach slaves how to read or write

Plantation Life for Slaves Lived in small cabins with dirt floors Overseen by the Masters under a watchful eye Slaves who went off the plantation had to carry a pass Run-a ways were harshly beaten Slave protests happened by way of slow down work, destruction of owner property, & faking sickness Converted to Christianity

Class System Planter elite had wealth, prosperity, & political pull due to slave labor Master & Mistress had the hard job of making the plantation run smoothly to be profitable Overseers were hired to help with the business (but the master oversaw the slave population) Mistress oversaw the running of the house & cared for the sick slaves

Leading to Sectionalism Such actions led southerners to justify slavery as a ‘positive good’ and claim that southern slaves were better cared for than factory workers in the North These arguments contributed to the growing sectionalism that divided the nation