Plantations and Slavery Spread
In what four ways did Eli Whitney’s cotton gin change life in the South?
Cotton became the #1 crop – most valuable crop
Native Americans are driven off land to make room for plantations.
devoted to growing cotton? People moved west to begin Cotton plantations Which six states had the largest areas devoted to growing cotton?
Slavery became even more important to the Southern economy
Although slaves made up about 1/3 of the South’s population by 1840, most Southerners did not own slaves!!! Only about 1/3 of white Southerners owned slaves…only 1/10 of those owned 20 or more
Describe some of the difficulties free African Americans faced. *had to leave state once they became free *could not vote or go to school *many employers refused to hire them *afraid of being sold into slavery
Describe the Nat Turner Rebellion and its effect on African Americans in the South. *Slave rebellion in 1831 *55 whites were killed: men, women, children *Turner and his followers were caught/hanged *Spread fear in the South *Whites killed more than 200 African Americans in revenge *Harsher laws for African Americans – both slave and free
What were spirituals? Religious folk songs sung by slaves that often contained coded messages about escape routes.