Characteristics of the Antebellum South 1.Primarily agrarian. 2.Economic power shifted from the “ upper South ” to the “ lower South. ” 3.“ Cotton Is King! ” * 1860 5 mil. bales a yr. (57% of total US exports). 4.Lack of industrialization - De Bow ’ s Review. 5.Rudimentary (basic) financial system - “ factors ”. 6.Inadequate transportation system.
Southern Society (1850) “ Slavocracy ” [plantation owners] The “ Plain Folk ” [white yeoman farmers] Poor Whites - 500,000 6,000,000 Black Freemen Black Slaves 3,200,000 (up from 1 mil. in 1800) 250,000 Total US Population 23,000,000 [9,250,000 in the South = 40%] “Cavalier Image”
Poor White Trash of the South “Crackers” “Clay Eaters” “Sand Hillers” Why were they often the most intent on preserving slavery even though they owned no slaves?
Southern Population
Southern Agriculture
Changes in Cotton Production
Value of Cotton Exports As % of All US Exports
Graniteville Textile Co. Founded in 1845, it was the South ’ s first attempt at industrialization in Richmond, VA The South had 15% of nation ’ s manufactured goods by the 1850s
Slave-Owning Population (1850)
The Culture of Slavery 1.Black Christianity [Baptists or Methodists]: * more emotional worship services. * negro spirituals. 2.“ Pidgin ” or Gullah languages. 3.Nuclear family with extended kin links, where possible. 4.Importance of music in their lives. [esp. spirituals].
Emancipation in the North But these dates are misleading - PA law freed newborns at 28 - some slaves in 1830s - NJ 1860s.
Southern Slavery--> An Aberration? J 1780s: 1 st antislavery society created in Phila. J By 1804: emancipation laws (some gradual) for each northern state. J 1807: the legal termination of the slave trade, enforced by the British Royal Navy. J 1820s: newly independent. Republics of Central & S. America freed slaves free. J 1833: slavery abolished throughout the British Empire. J 1844: slavery abolished in the French colonies.
US Laws Regarding Slavery 1.U. S. Constitution: * 3/5s compromise [I.2] * Article IV Section 2 - fugitive slave clause Fugitive Slave Act - illegal to assist escaped slaves - fugitives for life - slave catching industry stronger Fugitive Slave Act - stronger punishment and slaves couldn ’ t testify - rewards.
Missouri Compromise, 1820
Slaves Using the Cotton Gin
Slaves Working in a Sugar-Boiling House, 1823 Who were typically used for the most dangerous Jobs in the South?
Slave Auction Notice, 1823
Slave Auction: Charleston, SC-1856
Slave tag, SC Tools of Slavery Slave leg irons Slave shoes
Slave Master Brands Tools of Slavery Slave muzzle
Anti-Slave Pamphlet
The High Cost of Slavery J High cost of keeping slaves from escaping. J Slave patrols - bloodhounds, bounty hunters J Slave Codes J Punishment: whipping, beating - Getting “ Sold Down the River ”
“Sold Down the River” Upper South - years of tobacco had exhausted soil in Virginia, Maryland, & NCUpper South - years of tobacco had exhausted soil in Virginia, Maryland, & NC Expanding demand for slaves in Deep South for cottonExpanding demand for slaves in Deep South for cotton “Breeding plantations”“Breeding plantations” million slaves sold “down the river” - also used as punishment million slaves sold “down the river” - also used as punishment 250,000 slaves shipped in 1850s alone250,000 slaves shipped in 1850s alone
Slave Resistance 1.“ Sambo ” - slaves playing up to stereotypes around owners 2.Defiance - Refusal to work hard. 3. Theft & isolated acts of sabotage. 4. Escape via the Underground Railroad.
Runaway Slave Ads
5. Revolt - Slave Rebellions in the Antebellum South 1822 Gabriel Prosser 1800
Slave Rebellions in the Antebellum South: Nat Turner, 1831 What were the most significant results of this revolt?
The Southern “Belle”
Southern Pro-Slavery Propaganda What is the message?