1. Characteristics of the Antebellum South
Primarily agrarian; slow development of industrialization
Economic power shifted from the “upper south” to the “lower south”
“Cotton is King!” due to the cotton gin
Slave labor needed to grow the economy

2. Southern Agriculture

3. Changes in Cotton Production
1820
1860

4. Value of Cotton Exports as % of all US Exports

5. Social Classes of the South
Planters
Made up about 5% of white population, but controlled large amounts of the best land & the most slaves
Owned 20 or more slaves
Plantation mistress bore heavy burden of responsibility
Socially & politically dominant

6. Social Classes of the South
Small slaveholders
Made up about 20% of white population
Owned less than 20 slaves
Frequently on the move looking for better land & profits

7. Slave-Owning Population 1850
Slave-owning population made up a little more than 25% of the white population in the South

8. Social Classes of the South
Yeoman Farmers
Largest group of southern whites (about 2/3)
No slaves
Owned their own farms & focused primarily on food crops for self-sufficiency
Did grow some cash crops & desired to become slaveholders

9. Social Classes of the South
Poor Whites
Made up less than 10% of white population
Owned no land & no slaves
Often squatters or laborers on other farms

10. Southern Population

11. Life as a Slave Differed based on many variables
Only were provided the bare necessities (food, clothing, housing)
Most slaves were employed as field hands
Others were house slaves or worked in non-field occupations
Viewed as property, not humans

12. Early Emancipation in the North