1. Objectives
Explain the significance of cotton and the cotton gin to the South.
Describe what life was like for free and enslaved African Americans in the South.

2. Terms and People
cotton gin – a machine that used a spiked cylinder to remove seeds from cotton fibers
slave code – laws that controlled every aspect of the lives of enslaved African Americans
spiritual – a religious folk song that blended biblical themes with the realities of slavery
Nat Turner – a slave who led a famous slave revolt in 1831

3. How did cotton affect the social and economic life of the South?
A boom in textiles caused by the Industrial Revolution created a huge demand for cotton.
The South’s economy became dependent on cotton, and cotton plantations became dependent on slave labor.

4. In the North, the Industrial Revolution caused industry, immigration, and cities to grow.
The South remained largely rural as its plantations grew wealthy from the cotton trade.

5. Before the introduction of the cotton gin, laborers had to pick seeds out of the cotton by hand, which was a very slow process.
In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin.
The cotton gin greatly sped up the processing of cotton and made it much more profitable.

6. In 1790, planters grew 1.5 million pounds of cotton, but by 1820, they grew ten times as much.

7. Cotton became the greatest source of wealth for the United States, enriching:
Northern bankers and ship owners
Southern planters

8. To keep up with the demand for cotton and the new ability to process it quickly, planters used more slave labor.
From 1790 to 1860, the price of a slave increased ten or twenty times.

9. Enslaved African Americans had no rights at all, and their lives were controlled by slave codes.

10. Lives of Enslaved African Americans in the South
Tasks
Some enslaved African Americans worked in their owners’ homes.
Most did heavy farm labor.
Working conditions
Some slave holders worked slaves almost to death and whipped them as punishment for many offenses.
Most owners saw their slaves as valuable property and tried to keep them healthy so they would be productive.
Families
Owners often broke apart slave families by selling family members.

11. Enslaved African Americans passed on African customs, music, and dance to their children.
Many African Americans found messages of hope in the Bible, and they composed spirituals.

12. Many enslaved African Americans resisted slave holders by working slowly, breaking equipment, fleeing to freedom in the north, and rebelling.
In 1831, Nat Turner said he was told to kill whites in a vision. He led a famous, but doomed, slave revolt.
Whites retaliated by killing many innocent African Americans.

13. After 1808, it was illegal to import enslaved Africans to the United States.
By the 1830s, some northerners were pushing for slavery to be banned.

14. Supporters of slavery said that it was more humane than the free labor system of the North.
Critics of slavery said that slaves suffered abuse from white owners.

15. Most southern whites accepted the system of slavery, fearing violent uprisings would follow if control over slaves was weakened.

16. About 6 percent of the 4 million African Americans in the South were free.
Many of the free African Americans made valuable contributions to southern life:
Norbert Rillieux improved sugar refining.
Henry Blair invented a seed-planting device.

17. Obstacles Faced by Free African Americans in the South
Jobs
Free African Americans were given only the most menial jobs.
Travel
They were discouraged from traveling.
Education
Their children could not attend public schools.
Political Rights
They could not vote, serve on juries, or testify against white defendants in court.
Liberty
Slave catchers often kidnapped them and sold them into slavery.

18. In the southern “Cotton Kingdom,” society was dominated by a small group of wealthy plantation owners.
But more than half of all southern farmers did not have slaves.
Instead of growing cotton, these people often grew corn and raised hogs and chickens.

19. Differences Between Southern States
Alabama, Mississippi, and Like States
States that depended heavily on cotton had large populations of enslaved people.
Kentucky and Like States
States that grew less cotton had smaller populations of enslaved people.