1. Chapter 10

2.  Eli Whitney – removed seeds from cotton  Made it profitable to grow short-staple cotton  Southerners pour into western Georgia, Alabama & Mississippi and then Louisiana and Texas  South becomes dependent on slavery for their economy

3.  International slave trade banned in 1808  Must rely on internal natural growth and internal trade  Slavery was profitable for slaveholders but Northerners are increasingly uncomfortable

4.  Between 1790 and 1860 slave population grew from 700,000 to four million  More women were breastfeeding for a year leading to higher survival rates for infants  Cotton economy lead to more families being separated  Families separated because it was profitable

5.  Cotton brought international capital that helped finance Northern industry and trade  South lagged behind in urban population, industrialization, canals and railroads  By 1850, Mississippi and South Carolina had more slaves than whites

6.  “ Cotton is King ” “ King Cotton ”  Spread slavery across South as people moved west  Huge profits for British textile manufacturers  Accumulation of capital for industry in the North  Land speculation – booms and busts in the economy – Indians pushed out of the way

7.  Distinctive culture developed  Lived in one-room cabins with dirt floors and few furnishings  Received essentials for survival – food, clothing  Often had to supplement with their own efforts

8.  Life expectancy significantly lower than whites  Slaves had to learn to avoid punishments and flatter whites  Pretending to be happy, loyal & stupid  Whites generally believed this was real loyalty and admiration

9.  Often had to sacrifice their own family to care for the master ’ s family  Better food and clothing  More information about laws and policies of whites  Gossip and news from other plantations

10.  Needed on plantations as blacksmiths, coopers, grooms and drivers  Furniture makers and general carpentry  Shoe makers  Longshoremen – load & unload boats  Some worked in cities and had to turn over pay to masters  Tredegar Iron Works – factory for slaves

11.  Under constant white supervison  75% were field hands  Worked all day – sunup to sundown  Performed heavy labor

12.  Slavery was more brutal in the lower South – Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana Black belt – more rich soil than the worn out soil in VA and Carolinas  No hope of escape – most who escaped did so from the upper South where states bordered a free state  Underground Railroad – Harriet Tubman

13.  Slave marriage not recognized by law and not always respected by masters  Marriages were more equal between husband and wife than white marriages  Parents tried to give children a supportive network  Separated children got support from other slave families and friends – “ fictive kin ”

14.  The Great Awakenings had converted many slaves  African religions were not allowed  Whites hoped Christianity would make slaves more obedient  Slaves likened spiritual freedom with physical freedom – the “ promised land ” and Moses leading his people from bondage were popular

15.  More common than running away were other forms of resistance  Running away close to home  Work slowdowns  Faking sick  Damaging tools  Arson  Stealing

16.  Gabriel Prosser – 1800 – blacksmith in Virginia  Recruited about 1000 slaves and stockpiled weapons  Betrayed by a follower and captured and hanged  Denmark Vesey – 1822 – Free black – SC  Organized in small independent cells  Betrayed before plan could launch  Nat Turner – only plot carried out – religious visions  Killed between 55 -6 0 whites  Captured and hanged

17.  By 1860, nearly 250,000 free black people  Most lived in countryside in upper South working as tenants or farm laborers  In cities there were more free black artisans  Free Blacks lacked basic civil rights  Couldn ’ t be witnesses in court  Couldn ’ t vote or make contracts

18.  White - Merchants, Bankers, Lawyers  Part of selling crops to the world market  Lived in cities – shipping centers  Viewed as money grubbing and dependent by the planters  Many invested in land and slaves

19.  2/3rds of all whites in the South lived in non- slaveholding families  Self-sufficient farmers with strong sense of community – bartering  Some owned slaves – in & out of slave owning depending on the economy – instability increases between 1830 and 1850  Supported politicians with rags-to-riches stories

20.  Between 30-50% of Southern whites were landless  Marginal existence  Laborers and tenant farmers or overseers  Free blacks and slaves were the only ones below them in the social structure

21.  Most slave owners had only a few slaves and drifted in and out of owner status depending on the economy  Yeoman farmers were looking to advance into the slave owning ranks

22.  Isolated large plantations – needed to be as self- sufficient as possible  Paternalistic view that the plantation is one big family – master was supreme over all  Cultivated an image of gracious living but really required a lot of work to keep running smoothly  See poor whites as a threat to the concept of white superiority

23.  Elegant planter community – felt threatened by the Under –the-Hill community – fear slave rebellions  Planters drive away the undesirables  Natchez Under-the-Hill: rivermen, gamblers, Indians and Blacks

24.  Had little to do since most work commonly done by women was assigned to slaves  Supported slavery for the lifestyle it provided

25.  Sexual exploitation of slave women  Some long-term relationships – Thomas Jefferson & Sally Hemings  Children of master-slave were not acknowledged and remained slaves

26.  Slaves are treated more humanely than factory workers – at least they are guaranteed food and shelter and basic clothing and medical care  Biblical slavery  Classical slavery – Greece and Rome  Constitution – 3/5 th s Compromise  Slaves are childlike and must be taken care of as an inferior race

27.  Gag Rule in Congress – no discussion of anti- slavery petitions  Anti-slavery literature was confiscated and burned  Laws restrict slaves meeting including for religious purposes without a white present  Movements restricted  Literacy curtailed

28.  Some whites in South no longer support slavery but aren ’ t vocal about it  Percentage of slaveholders declines with rising cost of slaves  Widening class divisions