1. Life in the South
Southern Society and
Life without Freedom

2. Southern Society
Cottonocracy – wealthy families that owned many slaves (at least 20) and made their wealth from growing cotton
Built elegant homes and went into politics
Small Farmers- Owners of 1-4 slaves these were white farmers who worked side by side with their slaves
Poor Whites - Whites who owned no slaves
Rented the land they worked on, herded cattle and pigs
Free African Americans- could not vote, own land, some could not even move
Slaves – Worked on cotton plantations, hardworkers

3. Life Without Freedom
Slave life was determined by strict laws and individual slave owners
Most were not kind and did not care about slaves
Some states passed slave codes – keep slaves from running away and rebelling
Examples
Could not gather in groups of more than 3
Could not own guns
Could not learn to read and write
Could not testify in court

4. Slave Life Worked from dawn to dusk Hard to keep families together
Extended families helped slaves survive
Extended family: grandparents, parents, children, aunts, uncles and cousins formed a group
Taught them African stories
Religion gave many African Americans hope
Spiritual songs were sung about escaping and being free

5. Slave Songs We raise the wheat, They gave us the corn;
We bake the bread,
They gave us the crust;
We sift the meal,
They give us the husk;
We peel the meat,
They give us the skin;
And that’s the way
They take us in.
Rabbit in the briar patch,
Squirrel in the tree,
Wish I could go hunting,
But I ain’t free.
The big bee flies high,
The little bee makes the honey.
The black folks make the cotton
And the white folks get the money.
What does freedom mean to slaves?

6. Resistance Against Slavery
Some tried to revolt by breaking tools, destroying crops, and stealing food
Tried to escape north
Some used violence by trying to revolt
Ex. Nat Turner- He was an African American preacher who led a violent revolt take revenge on plantation owners. He and his group killed 57 whites. A white mob hunted for them and killed many innocent African Americans in the process.
However, these revolts were rare because whites were well armed.