1. Life in the Cotton Kingdom
Antebellum Slavery
Chapter 6
Life in the Cotton Kingdom

2. What does Antebellum mean?
A period of time before a war, usually refers to the American Civil War.
1820 – 1861 (start of Civil War) for reference purposes only

3. Section 1: The Expansion of Slavery
Invention of cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793
Led to rapid expansion of slavery – need land!
Slave population increased tremendously,
Grew fastest in Alabama and Mississippi

4. U.S. Slave Population, 1820 and 1860

5. Slave Population, 1820–1860
Map 6–2. Slavery spread southwestward from the upper South and the eastern seaboard following the spread of cotton cultivation.
Source: Sam Bowers Hilliard, Atlas of Antebellum Southern Agriculture (Louisiana State University Press, 1984), pp. 29–34.

6. Cotton Production in the South, 1820–1860
Map 6–1. Cotton production expanded westward between 1820 and 1860 into Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and western Tennessee.
Source: Sam Bowers Hilliard, Atlas of Antebellum Southern Agriculture (Louisiana State University Press, 1984) pp. 67–71.

7. Ownership: Slaves in the Old South
Slavery unevenly distributed – think about the statistics from yesterday!
25% of white families owned slaves by 1860
Nearly half of slaveholders owned fewer than five
1% owned more than fifty slaves

8. Slave-Owning Population (1860)

9. Black Slaveholders There were Black Slaveholders, because . . .
They did it to protect families from sale and disruption.
Not very popular. In 1830, only 2% of free blacks owned slaves.

10. Section 2: Slave Labor in Agriculture
Slaves in the South
55% cultivated cotton (field slaves)
20% grew tobacco or produced sugar, rice, hemp (field slaves)
15% domestic servants
10% trades and industries

11. An engraving dating from about 1860, slaves harvest cotton under white supervision on a southern plantation.
Source: The Granger Collection, NY

12. Section 3: Other Types of Slave Labor
25% of all slaves did non-agricultural duties
House slaves ~ “elite” slaves (cooks, maids, nurses, butlers, gardeners
+ Less physically demanding
+ Better food and clothing
- Grueling to work in 19th century kitchens (Belle)
- Constantly under white supervision

13. Photograph by L. D. Andrew, 1936, from a vintage photograph taken ca
Photograph by L.D. Andrew, 1936, from a vintage photograph taken ca Georgia)

14. Domestic Slave with Planter's Family," Virginia, ca

15. Section 3: Other Types of Slave Labor
Skilled craftsmen ~ more “elite” than house slaves and included carpenters, blacksmiths, and millwrights
+ Could travel for supplies and gave a taste of freedom
+ Could be hired out (work for $$)

16. Urban Slavery Were the “immigrants” of the South
Jobs include: domestics, washwomen, stevedores, general laborers
+ Interacted with free black community
+ Had opportunities to hire out ($$)

17. Young African-American Stevedore Loading Cotton onto a Steamboat at New Orleans, 1800s

18. Industrial Slavery
Jobs included textile mills, iron working, lumber industry
Most industrialist in the South hired slaves
+ Greater autonomy
+ Could provide path to freedom

19. Why did slavery expand in the cotton kingdom?
How was the slave population distributed across the South?
Why did a small number of free blacks purchase slaves?
What types of crops did slaves cultivate in the South?
What type of jobs/labor was performed by the slaves in the South?

20. Punishment Physical (Corporal) Punishment Supported in the Bible
Essential to keep the paternalistic character of slavery
Kept individual slaves under control
Used as an example to other slaves to keep control
Caused other slaves to work together and protect one another

21. Louisiana Slave Displays Scars
In this 1863 photograph a former Louisiana slave displays the scars that resulted from repeated whippings. Although this degree of scarring is exceptional, few slaves were able to avoid being whipped at least once in their lives.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration

22. The Domestic Slave Trade
The Cotton Kingdom expands to the South and West
Upper South sells excess slaves to Lower South
50% of Upper South slaves traded during Antebellum Period
Many feared being “sold down river”
many slaves in Chesapeake Region escaped

23. A Black Father Being Sold Away from His Family
This woodcut of a black father being sold away from his family appeared in The Child’s Anti-Slavery Book in Family ruptures, like the one shown, were among the more common and tragic aspects of slavery, especially in the upper South, where masters claimed slavery was “mild.”
Source: Courtesy of the Library of Congress

24. The Domestic Slave Trade
Traders operated slave prisons or slave pens
Washington DC (one of the largest and near the US Capitol)!!!
Slaves were chained or roped together and then walked on foot in coffles

25. Slave Pen in Alexandria, VA (1860-1861)

26. Slave Pen in Alexandria, VA (1860-1861)

27. A Slave Coffle
Before 1850 Washington, D.C. was a major depot in the domestic (or interstate) slave trade. This woodcut portrays a slave coffle—a group of slaves bound together—passing the Capitol Building in about 1815.
Source: Courtesy of the Library of Congress

28. Slave Block Where Auctioned Off, New Orleans (18)

29. The Domestic Slave Trade
This business was opposite of the claim that slavery was a benign institution
Description often used by slaveholders

30. Section 3 Essential Questions
Why was physical punishment so widely used by slaveholders?
What was the domestic slave trade?

31. Section 5: The Socialization of Slaves
Surviving Slavery
Used folk tales (Brer Rabbit) to teach children how to conduct themselves
Learned to watch what they said around whites
Learned not to talk back
Learned to camouflage their feelings
Turned toward religion

32. Religion Helped in coping Mid-19th century most slaves Protestant
Biracial Baptist and Methodist churches
Racially segregated seating
Shared cemeteries and joined together in communion
Plantation churches told slaves “Servants obey your masters”
Preferred semi-secret black church
Moses and deliverance
Emotional

33. Plantation Burial
British artist John Antrobus completed this painting in about It is named Plantation Burial and suggests the importance of religion among enslaved African Americans.
Source: John Antrobus, Plantation Burial, oil painting, The Historical New Orleans Collection

34. Section 5 Essential Questions
How did African Americans adapt to life under slavery?