1. Chapter 11, Section 2

2.  The industrial revolution increased the number of goods being produced.  It also increased the demand for raw materials.  In England, textile mills needed huge quantities of cotton to produce goods to sell. Cotton growers in the South wanted to meet this demand.

3.  Traditionally, cotton had to be cleaned by hand- a process that took a worker one day to clean just one pound.  In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin- a machine that could clean up to 50 pounds of cotton per day.

4.  From 1790 to 1860, cotton production increased more than a thousand fold due to the cotton gin.  Using slaves, the South raised millions of bales of cotton ach year.  As cotton production grew, so did the demand for slavery.  In 1808, it became illegal to import Africans. However, birth rate among the enslaved increased rapidly. Between 1810 and 1840, the enslaved population more than doubled.

5.  Southern farmers owned few or no slaves. Many supported slavery anyway, in hopes to buy slaves someday, allowing them to raise more cotton and earn more money.  Only one-third of white families owned slaves in 1840. One-tenth had large plantations with 20 or more slaves. Slaveholders with large plantations were the wealthiest and most powerful people in the South.

6.  By 1840, enslaved people formed about 1/3 of the South’s population.  Not all enslaved people labored on plantations. In cities, some worked as domestic servants, skilled craftsman, factory hands, and day laborers. Under the law, they were considered property.  In 1840, about 5 percent of African Americans in the South were free. They were either born free, been freed, or bought their own freedom. Some states made them leave once they gained freedom.

7.  The sale of family members was one of the cruelest parts of slavery. Some slaveholders would not part mothers from children, however, many did.  When slaves remained together, they took comfort in their families.  Enslaves people did marry, however their marriage was not legally recognized.  They tried to raise children, even though they could possible lose their child to the slave trade.

8.  By early 1800, a distinctive African- American culture had emerged in the South.  This culture helped African Americans bond together and endure the brutality of slavery.  Religion became an inspiration. Messages from the Bible and the book of Exodus offered opportunities of hope for their people.  They expressed their beliefs in spirituals- folk songs.  African-American spirituals later influenced blues and jazz.

9.  Most famous slave rebellion was carried out by Nat Turner.  In August of 1831 in Southampton County, Virginia, turner and 70 followers killed about 55 white men, women, and children.  Most of turner’s party was captured.  Turners was tried and hanged.  Turners rebellion spread fear among the whites in the South.