1. The
Antebellum
South

2. Overview
Slavery as a “peculiar institution” rooted in both racism and economic exploitation
American slave population is only enslaved population that grew by means of own biological reproduction
Distinctive African American culture flourished
It was a “cancer” in heart of American democracy - it mocked the model of social and political enlightenment that America claimed to be

3. Overview Early on Thomas Jefferson - truly contradictory himself
Early Republic banned slavery in Northwest in 1787
Prohibited further importation of slaves as of 1808
Missouri Compromise of 1820
Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin 1790 meant southern planter class increasingly dependent on slave labor and cotton cultivation moved westward
War with Mexico 1840s
Compromise 1850
“Bleeding” Kansas Nebraska Act 1854
Dred Scott 1857

4. American Slavery
1. Most slaves were satisfied with their lot. They laughed a lot, appeared happy-go-lucky, and sang spirituals while they worked.
2. Most slaves led passive, tranquil lives.
3. There were few runaways.
4. Most Southerners owned slaves.
5. Most Northerners were avid abolitionists.
6. There were many slave suicides, and infanticides were fairly common.
7. Masters killed their old slaves when they could no longer work.
8. Slaves had no concept of a loving, caring family.
9. Most masters were benevolent. Many showed affection to their slaves, worked alongside them, and were buried in the same graveyards.
10. Most male slaves lusted after white women and were a threat to their safety.
11. Slaves were better off than Northern factory workers (Yankee wage slaves).
12. Slavery was a cheap, efficient labor system.
13. Most slave owners owned hundreds of slaves.

5. Overview
Civil War about slavery and economy but also about viability of the Union as well.
Reconstruction: combination of weak northern will and residual southern power frustrated the goal of making emancipated blacks full-fledged American citizens.

6. Early Emancipation in the North

7. Missouri Compromise, 1820

8. Antebellum
Southern
Economy

9. Cotton Is King Cotton Kingdom develops to huge agricultural factory
Northern shippers reaped a large part of the profits from the cotton trade
South produced more than half the world’s cotton supply-
A fact that held foreign nations in economic bondage to the
South.

10. Slaves Picking Cotton on a Mississippi Plantation

11. Slaves Using the Cotton Gin

12. Changes in Cotton Production
1820
1860

13. Value of Cotton Exports As % of All US Exports

14. “Hauling the Whole Week’s Pickings” William Henry Brown, 1842

15. Slaves Working in a Sugar-Boiling House, 1823

16. Antebellum
Southern
Society
The
Planter
Aristocracy

17. Southern Society as an Oligarchy rather than a Democracy
Planter aristocrats had the majority of the wealth
Educated their children in private schools
Widened gap b/w rich and poor
No reason to favor tax-supported public education

18. Southern Population

19. Slaves posing in front of their cabin on a Southern plantation.

20. Tara – Plantation Reality or Myth?
Hollywood’s Version?

21. A Real Georgia Plantation

22. Scarlet and Mammie (Hollywood Again!)

23. A Real Mammie & Her Charge
Note how your text deliberately (?) uses the word “bondswoman”

24. The Southern “Belle”

25. The South's
"Peculiar
Institution"
The Slaves Of
The Slave System

26. The “Wasteful” Plantation System
Economic system becomes monopolistic
Financial instability of the system
Agribusiness - King Cotton meant one crop economy. No diversification or industry
Southern planters resent watching North grow fat at their expense
Cotton Kingdom repelled large scale European immigration

27. Southern Agriculture

28. Graniteville Textile Co.
Founded in 1845, it was the South’s first attempt at industrialization in Richmond, VA

29. Characteristics of the Antebellum South
Primarily agrarian.
Economic power shifted from the “upper South” to the “lower South.”
“Cotton Is King!” * 1860 5 mil. bales a yr (57% of total US exports).
Very slow development of industrialization.
Rudimentary financial system.
Inadequate transportation system.

30. The White
Majority

31. 1/4 of white southerners owned slaves
Beneath them: 3/4 white southerners owned no slaves
Below them - “poor white trash”
All these whites without slaves had no direct stake in preservation of slavery yet they were among the stoutest defenders. Why?

32. Southern Society (1850) “Slavocracy” [plantation owners]
6,000,000
The “Plain Folk” [white yeoman farmers]
Black Freemen
250,000
Black Slaves 3,200,000
Total US Population  23,000,000 [9,250,000 in the South = 40%]

33. Slave-Owning Families (1850)

34. Slave-Owning Population (1850)

36. All these whites without slaves had no direct stake in preservation of slavery yet they were among the stoutest defenders. Why?
“Thus did the logic of economics join with the illogic of racism in buttressing (supporting) the slave system”

37. NC Mountain Boys (Appalachian)
Little in common with whites of flatlands
Isolated- Elizabethan English
“rich man’s war but poor man’s fight”
IC - when war came this group formed a vital Union peninsula jutting down into secessionist territory

38. Narratives #618-620 “slavery control” “hiring out” “lying out”
What are the commonalities?
what is the source?
Is there a possibility of bias in slave narratives? Motivation?
“slavery control”
“hiring out”
“lying out”
“dissident slaves”
“black entrepreneur slaves”
“Apprenticeship system”

48. Narratives #618-620 What are the commonalities? “slavery control”
what is the source?
Is there a possibility of bias in slave narratives? Motivation?
“slavery control”
“hiring out”
“lying out”
“dissident slaves”
“black entrepreneur slaves”
“Apprenticeship system”

49. Free
Blacks

50. Free blacks purchased freedom
often illegal to marry within the state of residence
Owned property
Owned other slaves
Couldn’t testify in court
Vulnerable to being kidnapped and sold into slavery
Freed blacks unpopular in North
Compete with immigrant labor
Frederick Douglas

51. Plantation
Slavery
Life Under
the Lash

52. Slave Auction Notice, 1823

53. Slave Auction: Charleston, SC-1856

54. Slave Accoutrements
Slave Master Brands
Slave muzzle

55. Anti-Slave Pamphlet

56. Slave Accoutrements
Slave leg irons
Slave tag, SC
Slave shoes

57. Visual Perception Test
Exhibit I A B C

58. Visual Perception Test
Exhibit II A B C

59. Visual Perception Test
Exhibit III A B C

60. A Slave Family

61. The Ledger of John White
Matilda Selby, 9, $ sold to Mr. Covington, St. Louis, $425.00
Brooks Selby, 19, $ Left at Home – Crazy
Fred McAfee, 22, $ Sold to Pepidal, Donaldsonville, $
Howard Barnett, 25, $ Ranaway. Sold out of jail, $540.00
Harriett Barnett, 17, $ Sold to Davenport and Jones, Lafourche, $900.00

62. US Laws Regarding Slavery
U. S. Constitution: * 3/5s compromise [I.2] * fugitive slave clause [IV.2]
1793  Fugitive Slave Act.
1850  stronger Fugitive Slave Act.

63. Southern Slavery--> An Aberration?
1780s: 1st antislavery society created in Phila.
By 1804: slavery eliminated from last northern state.
1807: the legal termination of the slave trade, enforced by the Royal Navy.
1820s: newly indep. Republics of Central & So. America declared their slaves free.
1833: slavery abolished throughout the British Empire.
1844: slavery abolished in the Fr. colonies.
1861: the serfs of Russia were emancipated.

64. Slavery Was Less Efficient in the U. S. than Elsewhere
High cost of keeping slaves from escaping.
GOAL  raise the “exit cost.”
Slave patrols.
Southern Black Codes.
Cut off a toe or a foot.

65. African American Culture
Deep South - relatively staple culture so more distinctive culture
Dance, religion (Israelites in Egypt - “let my people go”), “sister” and “brother”

66. The Culture of Slavery
Black Christianity [Baptists or Methodists]: * more emotional worship services. * negro spirituals.
“Pidgin” or Gullah languages.
Nuclear family with extended kin links, where possible.
Importance of music in their lives. [esp. spirituals].

67. Slave
Resistance
&
Uprisings

68. Slave Resistance
“SAMBO” pattern of behavior used as a charade in front of whites [the innocent, laughing black man caricature – bulging eyes, thick lips, big smile, etc.].

69. Slave Resistance Refusal to work hard. Isolated acts of sabotage.
Escape via the Underground Railroad.

70. Runaway Slave Ads

71. Quilt Patterns as Secret Messages
The Monkey Wrench pattern, on the left, alerted escapees to gather up tools and prepare to flee; the Drunkard Path design, on the right, warned escapees not to follow a straight route.

72. Slave Rebellions Throughout the Americas

73. Slave Rebellions in the Antebellum South
Gabriel Prosser 1800
Henrico, VA
1822
Charleston, S.C.
On August 30, 2007, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine informally
pardoned Gabriel and his co-conspirators

74. Slave Rebellions in the Antebellum South: Nat Turner, 1831

75. Abolitionist Movement
1816  American Colonization Society created (gradual, voluntary emancipation.
British Colonization Society symbol

76. Southern Fears Nat Turner William Lloyd Garrison’s The Liberator
Nullification Crisis 1832

77. Southern Pro-Slavery Propaganda

78. Southern Defense of Slavery
Supported by authority of the Bible
Wisdom of Aristotle
“happy lot of servants” vs. factory life of immigrant workers
Post war - Freedom was bigger burden for African Americans?- no health care, no literacy, no knowledge of law, no knowledge of contract law (sharecropping)

79. Abolitionist Movement
Create a free slave state in Liberia, West Africa.
No real anti-slavery sentiment in the North in the 1820s & 1830s.
Gradualists
Immediatists

80. Reformers of the Era
Theodore Dwight Weld - spiritually inspired. Rebels at Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio = “Lane Rebels”

81. Anti-Slavery Alphabet

82. William Lloyd Garrison (1801-1879)
Slavery & Masonry undermined republican values.
Immediate emancipation with NO compensation.
Slavery was a moral, not an economic issue.
R2-4

83. Premiere issue  January 1, 1831
The Liberator
Premiere issue  January 1, 1831
R2-5

84. Other White Abolitionists
Lewis Tappan
James Birney
Liberty Party.
Ran for President in & 1844.
Arthur Tappan

85. Black Abolitionists David Walker (1785-1830)
1829  Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World
Fight for freedom rather than wait to be set free by whites.

86. Sojourner Truth (1787-1883) or Isabella Baumfree
1850  The Narrative of Sojourner Truth
R2-10

87. Harriet Tubman (1820-1913) “Moses” Helped over 300 slaves to freedom.
$40,000 bounty on her head.
Served as a Union spy during the Civil War.
“Moses”

88. Frederick Douglass (1817-1895)
1845  The Narrative of the Life Of Frederick Douglass
1847  “The North Star”
R2-12

89. 1852 Speech of Frederick Douglass in honor of signing of Declaration of Independence, “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn…. Above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions”

90. The South
Lashes
Back

91. Slave Rebellions in the Antebellum South: Nat Turner, 1831

92. 1831-1832 Turning Point: Virginia Legislature Debate
emancipation proposals
defeated
result: tightened slave codes
result: no emancipation whatsoever - voluntary or compensated! It is illegal!

93. Va Legislature Debate 1831-1832
Thomas Wright
If you wish to speak of economic advantages, I have some facts for you to consider regarding the efficiency of free labor and slave labor. The best estimates are that it takes six slaves to do the work of three free laborers. The slave receives the same support and food whether he works much or little. The slave has every inducement to spare himself as much work as possible without drawing punishment. Free laborers work hard for short periods. This gives them free time to be idle. When idle, the free laborer does not have to be paid. Therefore, free labor is cheaper than slave labor.
In 1800, field hands were selling for $400 and cotton was 36 cents per pound. Today slaves sell for $800 to $1000 and cotton is 11½ cents per pound.
One half of the slave owners have fewer than twenty slaves. The economic loss of slaves as property will be more than offset by decreased labor cost and greater productivity.
Emancipation can result in a greater supply of cheap labor that will mean profitable industrial operation. Of course, safeguards must be taken to see that laborers are not exploited or abused.

94. Va Legislature Debate 1831-1832
Amos Lovejoy
Slaves should be freed but not all at once. As a step toward complete freedom, several practices should change. The power of punishing slaves could be taken from the master and given to a magistrate. The sale of all women could be stopped at once. All slaves could be provided wages rather than using punishment as an incentive.
A second step could involve the complete release of slaves born on certain days periodically. Over a period of years, all slaves could be set free. Such a system has already worked in Mexico, Chile, and Argentina. In no case has there been insurrection and bloodshed as is feared here.
Taking steps toward freeing slaves will lessen the possibility of violence and insurrection.

95. Va Legislature Debate 1831-1832
James Hammond
In the state of Virginia, there are 470,000 slaves. The aggregate value of the slave population in Virginia in 1830 was $94,000,000. All of the land and homes were valued at $206,000,000. Slaves represent one-third of the property. Therefore, slaves should not be freed without just compensation to their owners.
I propose that those slaves normally sold outside this state be sold to the State and colonized elsewhere at the expense of the State.
This proposal will mean that 6,000 slaves would be given their freedom annually and colonized at the expense of the State. This would cost $2,400,000 annually. This is a modest investment to preserve the economy of the state. If the State cannot afford it, perhaps the federal government could be called upon to compensate owners for their slaves.

96. Va Legislature Debate 1831-1832
Samuel Holt
The idea of emancipation and relocation as proposed by some sounds good. However, further examination exposes some flaws in this plan. To ask State or Congress to purchase two million slaves at $400,000,000 is out of the question. This will place far too great a burden upon those taxpayers who have never owned to plan to own slaves. When the government begins to buy slaves, it will cause the price of slaves to go up considerably. This will cause slave owners to encourage their slaves to marry and produce more children, thus compounding the problem.
I ask those who say colonize the slaves: Where? Liberia now has a population of 2,500. At the most, Liberia could handle 500 new residents a year. If only 500 slaves were freed and located annually, in a 25-year period 41,000 more slaves would be born than relocated.

97. Va Legislature Debate 1831-1832
Thornton Ruffin
I am opposed to emancipation of the slaves until some way can be found to sustain the trade and commerce generated by the cultivation of cotton and tobacco. Two-thirds of the cotton produced in this country is exported. This greatly helps our balance of trade with Europe. Only one-forty-sixth of the remaining agricultural production is exported. At the present time, one-sixth of the blacks in the country are free. They shun the cottonfields. I will favor emancipation of slaves only when we can assure that blacks will remain in the cotton and tobacco labor market. If this cannot be assured, to give the slaves their freedom would ruin the economy of the South and seriously injure the economy of the North and England.

98. Va Legislature Debate 1831-1832
Stringfellow Holmes
The impact of emancipation upon employment of free laborers and artisans will be devastating. The rate of pay in the North is now much lower than in the South.
Sample Wages:
Average Farmhands Earn Per Month
North Carolina $10.37
Alabama
Mississippi
Indiana
Average US
Daily Wages: Bricklaying Carpentry Labor
Nashville $ $ $
Lowell $ $ $ .75 – 1.00
If slaves are freed, the impact on the labor market will be devastating. Wages will go down and many will be unemployed. The cost for room and board will probably go up tremendously.
Average room and board per week is now:
$2.70 in Louisiana
1.30 in Tennessee
1.70 in Pennsylvania
1.75 in South Carolina
1.49 in Illinois
2.12 in Massachusetts
Presently, there is no begging, starvation, and unemployment in our state and the South. This will change if slaves are suddenly freed.

99. Congress
1836 Gag rule
1835 Postal system can not deliver abolistionist literature

100. Abolition in the North
Extreme abolitionists (Garrison) unpopular in the North
IC - popularity of men like Daniel Webster stressing the Union
IC - Constitution is sacred and the clauses on slavery are lasting clauses
North had heavy economic stake in the South
Mobocracy due to abolitionism
Lewis Tappan’s New York house
Garrison and the Broadcloth mob
Elijah P Lovejoy
Even Lincoln avoided extreme abolitionism
IC - growing number Northerners didn’t want to abolish slavery in the South but increasingly wanted to stop its spread to Western territories