1. Georgia and the American Experience
Chapter 7:
The Antebellum Era,
Study Presentation

2. Georgia and the American Experience
Section 1: Manifest Destiny
Section 2: Deepening Divisions
Section 3: Slavery as a Way of Life
Section 4: Antebellum Georgia
Section 5: The Election of 1860

3. Section 1: Manifest Destiny
Essential Question
How did Americans apply the concept of manifest destiny during the Antebellum period?

4. Section 1: Manifest Destiny
What words do I need to know?
Manifest Destiny
annex
skirmish

5. Manifest Destiny
A Northern journalist (1845) wrote that the manifest destiny of the U.S. was “to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free descendants of our yearly multiplying millions”
The country’s leaders steadily increased territory and fought to protect its citizens across the continent

6. The Nation Grows
Texas won independence from Mexico in 1836; annexed as the 28th state in 1845
The U.S. declared war on Mexico to secure Rio Grande as the Mexican/U.S. border
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) gave the U.S. the territory encompassing California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, most of New Mexico, and parts of Wyoming and Colorado.
Gadsden Purchase (1853) bought the southern part of New Mexico

7. Oregon Territory and Western Migration
Area west of the Rocky Mountains and north of California
In 1818 treaty, the U.S. and Great Britain set boundary between the U.S. and Canada at the 49th parallel
The Oregon and Santa Fe trails were the favored routes west by settlers
Between 1848 and 1850, the population of California increased tenfold; most of these settlers were seeking gold
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8. Section 2: Deepening Divisions
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How did the North and South differ before the Civil War?

9. Section 2: Deepening Divisions
What words do I need to know?
states’ rights
Missouri Compromise
sectionalism
Compromise of 1850
Kansas-Nebraska Act

10. States’ Rights
States’ rights: Belief that the state’s interests take precedence over interests of national government
Northern states believed that all states should abide by laws made by the national government
Southern states believed that states had right to govern themselves and decide what would be best for their own situation

11. Differences: North and South
Class Structure: North generally based on wealth; South based on wealth and being “born into the right family”
Slavery: North wanted it abolished; South supported it
Southern planter system consisted of large and small categories; the wealthiest had the most land and the most slaves
Economy: Northern based on mining, industry, banks, stores, and railroads; Southern based on agriculture, including cotton, rice, and indigo
Southerners resented tariffs, which raised import prices; the South imported more than the North

12. Freed Blacks and Slaves
500,000 freed blacks; only 6 percent lived in South (mostly Virginia and Maryland)
By 1860, 11.5 percent of nation’s 4 million slaves lived in Georgia
3,500 freed blacks lived in Georgia by 1860
Slaves in the lower South cultivated “King Cotton,” which accounted for 50% of America’s exports

13. The Abolitionists Led the movement to do away with slavery
Many northern whites, some southern
and free blacks were involved
Made speeches, wrote books and articles, and offered their homes as safe houses for runaway slaves
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), by Harriet Beecher Stowe, portrayed slavery’s evils; the book sold more than 1 million copies
North Star and The Abolitionist were anti-slavery newspapers

14. The Missouri Compromise
Approved in 1820; Maine entered the Union as a free state, and Missouri entered as a slave state
11 states allowed slavery and 11 states did not
Prohibited slavery north of 36°20' latitude (the southern border of Missouri), and included Louisiana Territory lands west of Missouri
Temporarily solved slavery controversy between the states

15. The Dred Scott Decision
Supreme Court ruling in 1857
A slave filed suit after he lived in free states with his owner but was returned to slave state
Court ruled that slaves were not citizens and could not file lawsuits
Court also ruled that Congress could not stop slavery in the territories
Decision further separated the North and South

16. The Compromise of 1850 California would enter Union as a free state
New Mexico territory would not become part of Texas or a guaranteed slave state
The District of Columbia would no longer trade slaves, but slave owners there could keep their slaves
Runaway slaves could be returned to their owners in slave states
Utah and New Mexico territories could decide if they wanted to allow slaves or not

17. The Kansas-Nebraska Act
Created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska
Those territories had right of popular sovereignty
Popular sovereignty: When a territory asked for statehood, the people could vote on slavery
Freesoilers in those territories fought against Abolitionists and proslavery supporters
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18. Section 3: Slavery as a Way of Life
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
What was life like for Georgia slaves during the Antebellum period?

19. Section 3: Slavery as a Way of Life
What words do I need to know?
driver
slave code
arsenal
Underground Railroad

20. Hard work, Simple living
Slaves worked long hours in swampy rice fields or tobacco and cotton fields
Work began at sunup and continued until sundown; overseers punished slaves who did not harvest enough
Drivers, older slaves trusted by the plantation owner, also supervised the field hands
Slave children, as young as five, also worked hard on the plantations and farms
Slave cabins were small, very simply furnished, and crudely built; foods were basic

21. Slave Family Life Slave families sometimes became separated
Owners encouraged marriage; slave children became property of the mother’s owner
Religion was important; black preachers spoke of freedom and justice
Spiritual songs encouraged slaves throughout their lives
Education was nearly nonexistent, although minimal reading and writing skills were permitted by some slave owners

22. Slave Rebellions
Nat Turner led bloody rebellion in Virginia; between 57 and 85 people died; Turner was hanged
Nat Turner’s Rebellion and other unsuccessful rebellions prompted strict laws across the South designed to curtail slave movements, meetings, and efforts to learn to read and write
These laws applied to both slaves and freed blacks

23. Slave Codes Took away nearly all rights of slaves
Slaves could not carry weapons, make any contact with white people
People who tried to teach people of color were punished; slaves could not work any job involving reading and writing
Slaves had little time to talk together

24. John Brown
White abolitionist led a raid on federal arsenal (arms storehouse) at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia
Brown wanted ammunition to lead a rebellion to free the South’s slaves
He was captured and hanged for treason
The Brown raid added to fear and distrust, especially in the South; to many Northerners, Brown became a hero

25. The Underground Railroad
Network of roads, houses, river crossings, boats, wagons, woods, and streams operated by blacks and whites
Provided a trail of flight for runaway slaves seeking freedom in Canada or the Northern states
Safe stops along the way called stations
Ex-slave Harriet Tubman personally helped more than 300 slaves escape to freedom
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26. Section 4: Antebellum Georgia
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
What was Georgia like before the Civil War?

27. Section 4: Antebellum Georgia
What words do I need to know?
Know-Nothing Party
Great Revival Movement
Milledgeville

28. Georgia’s Pre-War Economy
68,000 farms by 1860; cotton was chief crop
500 plantations (500 acres or more); most farms were less than 100 acres
60 percent of Georgians owned no slaves; only 236 had 100 or more slaves
Half of Georgia’s total wealth was in slaves ($400 million)
1,890 factories in Georgia by 1860; about $11 million in value

29. Education Most Georgians had little education
20 percent of Georgians were illiterate in 1850
$100,000 allotted in 1858 to begin free schools; the outbreak of the Civil War delayed these plans
Georgia’s first law school founded in 1859
Slaves were not given educational opportunities

30. Religion
Georgians involved in the Great Revival Movement of the early 1800s
Camp meetings popular, especially among Methodists
By 1860, Georgia second only to Virginia in the South in number of churches
Methodists and Baptists most common denominations

31. Antebellum Georgia Politics
Democrats and Whigs were two major political parties
Democrats supported states’ rights; took strong stand for slavery
Whigs mainly from upper social classes; favored moderate protective tariff and federal help for the South
Most governors were Whigs; most legislators were Democrats

32. Know-Nothing Party
Leading Georgians formed two new political parties; one party favored the Compromise of 1850 while the other did not
A secret party, the Know-Nothing party, did not want immigrants to become citizens or anyone not born in the United States to hold political office
Members answered all questions, “I don’t know” 
By 1856, Democrats were dominant party; Dem. Joseph E. Brown, elected governor in 1856, served during the Civil War                 
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33. Section 5: The Election of 1860
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
What steps led to Georgia’s secession from the Union in 1861?

34. Section 5: The Election of 1860
What words do I need to know?
Republican Party
secession
platform
ordinance
Confederate States of America

35. The Republican Party Republican Party formed in 1854 in free states
Antislavery Whigs and Democrats joined
Nominated Abraham Lincoln of Illinois as their candidate in 1860
Southern and Northern Democrats split over slavery issues and nominated separate candidates
Southerners angrily viewed the plans of the Republicans as non-beneficial to the South

36. Georgia and Lincoln’s Election
Georgians were, for the most part, for the Union; however, they were strongly for states’ rights
Despite lawmakers’ strong debates for and against secession, a Secession convention began in January 1861 in Milledgeville, the capital
A secession ordinance (bill) passed
The Southern states who seceded met in Montgomery, Alabama in February, 1861; they formed the Confederate States of America

37. Georgians in Leadership
Robert Toombs named Secretary of State of the Confederate States of American (CSA)
Alexander H. Stephens named Vice-President
Governor Joseph E. Brown favored secession and used his terms as governor to prepare Georgia for war   
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