1. Slavery

2. The Economy of the South
Tobacco
Rice Paddies
Sugarcane
Biggest…cotton

3. Cotton on the Roadside, Cotton in the Ditch, We all picked the cotton but we never got rich!
1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin (engine)
quickly and efficiently combed the seeds out of cotton bolls

4. Cotton is King! 1860, four million bales annually
two-thirds the total exports for US
strengthened slavery
Demand for slave labor skyrocketed

5. Class in the South
Planters: owned the larger plantations, slaveholders, dominated the economy and political systems, minority
Yeomanry: majority, held few slaves if any
Rural Poor: few, lived on land too barren for farming
Slaves: made up 37% of southern population

6. Slavery Task system: Gang System: specific jobs
once completed they had the rest of the day to themselves
Gang System:
sun up to sun down
large plantations
organized into gangs under the supervision of a driver (slave)

7. Slave Codes
Forbade slaves from owning property or leaving a slaveholders premises without permission
Could not carry firearms or testify in court against a white person
Banned from learning to read and write
Merely property

8. African American Culture
To cope with the atrocities of slavery, African Americans formed their own culture
Songs to pass the long workday or express hope
Religion: adopted Christianity but adapted it to fit their African heritage

9. Resistance Work slowdowns Broke tools or set fire to houses or barns
Try to run away

10. Rebellion Nat Turner, 1831 led an armed uprising
believed God had chosen him to bring his people out of bondage
killed 50 white men, women and children.
Tried, convicted and hung

11. Let’s Review!
Why did cotton become known as “King Cotton” in the United States?
Workers could travel easily from rural homes to urban jobs
New inventions aided industrialization
Cotton and cotton textiles made up over ½ of the US export revenue
How did the cotton gin affect the South?
It gave the South a valuable new cash crop.
It helped to reduce the number of slaves needed on a plantation.
It allowed cotton production to spread to the North.
Many historians believe that slavery in the South would have died out if the cotton gin had not been invented. Do you agree? Why or why not?

12. Let’s Review! What impact did cotton growing have on Southern society?
It did not change the look of Southern society.
It created a society headed by large, powerful plantation owners.
It increased the small farmer class, giving them a larger voice in politics of the South.
Why was the slave trade a threat to slave families?
Fathers were sent back to Africa.
Slaves were no allowed to marry and therefore could not have children.
Families were broken up by selling parents or children separately.
How did slaves resist working on plantations?
They took naps when they should have been working.
They broke tools or set fire to barns and houses.
They staged sit-down strikes