Chapter 11, Section 2

 The industrial revolution increased the number of goods being produced.  It also increased the demand for raw materials.  In England, textile mills needed huge quantities of cotton to produce goods to sell. Cotton growers in the South wanted to meet this demand.

 Traditionally, cotton had to be cleaned by hand- a process that took a worker one day to clean just one pound.  In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin- a machine that could clean up to 50 pounds of cotton per day.

 From 1790 to 1860, cotton production increased more than a thousand fold due to the cotton gin.  Using slaves, the South raised millions of bales of cotton ach year.  As cotton production grew, so did the demand for slavery.  In 1808, it became illegal to import Africans. However, birth rate among the enslaved increased rapidly. Between 1810 and 1840, the enslaved population more than doubled.

 Southern farmers owned few or no slaves. Many supported slavery anyway, in hopes to buy slaves someday, allowing them to raise more cotton and earn more money.  Only one-third of white families owned slaves in One-tenth had large plantations with 20 or more slaves. Slaveholders with large plantations were the wealthiest and most powerful people in the South.

 By 1840, enslaved people formed about 1/3 of the South’s population.  Not all enslaved people labored on plantations. In cities, some worked as domestic servants, skilled craftsman, factory hands, and day laborers. Under the law, they were considered property.  In 1840, about 5 percent of African Americans in the South were free. They were either born free, been freed, or bought their own freedom. Some states made them leave once they gained freedom.

 The sale of family members was one of the cruelest parts of slavery. Some slaveholders would not part mothers from children, however, many did.  When slaves remained together, they took comfort in their families.  Enslaves people did marry, however their marriage was not legally recognized.  They tried to raise children, even though they could possible lose their child to the slave trade.

 By early 1800, a distinctive African- American culture had emerged in the South.  This culture helped African Americans bond together and endure the brutality of slavery.  Religion became an inspiration. Messages from the Bible and the book of Exodus offered opportunities of hope for their people.  They expressed their beliefs in spirituals- folk songs.  African-American spirituals later influenced blues and jazz.

 Most famous slave rebellion was carried out by Nat Turner.  In August of 1831 in Southampton County, Virginia, turner and 70 followers killed about 55 white men, women, and children.  Most of turner’s party was captured.  Turners was tried and hanged.  Turners rebellion spread fear among the whites in the South.