Daily History On the index card tell me about your break. (What did you enjoy most, what did you enjoy least, what did you get for Christmas, how did you spend your free time, etc)
Page : Explain the importance of agriculture in Antebellum SC including the plantation system and the impact of the cotton gin on all social classes.
Inventions... Bad or good?
Page 95 Cotton
By 1860, SC had the highest percentage of slave holders in the nation; however, many were subsistence farmers. The majority of slave owners owned one or two slaves & often worked beside their slaves in the fields.
1793- Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, (a machine for separating the fibers of cotton from the seeds)making cotton a cash crop for the south. The cotton gin made it more profitable to grow cotton, which caused more planters to plant cotton, increasing the need for slave labor.
Slave importation was outlawed; however, the slave population continued to grow in antebellum (refers to the time before the Civil War) SC b/c of cotton. The textile mills in the northern U.S. & in England had a high demand for cotton, so planters sold their cotton at good prices.
Both southern planters & northern mill owners acquired great wealth due to cotton, with the help of slave labor. Cotton eventually wore out the soil but planters were hesitant to find new crops and would usually just find new land instead.
The need for new land, more land, played into the southern's arguments for westward expansion of slavery.
Page 96 P lantation Life Planter Life in Antebellum South Video
Plantation life required self-sustaining communities & depended on slavery for the production of goods & services needed to support plantations. Slaves worked in the fields and in the plantation houses.
Slaves were responsible for clearing land, planting, cultivating, harvesting and processing crops. Slaves worked from dawn to dusk 6 days a week. Women & children usually worked along side the men in the fields, all under the supervision of a driver or an overseer.
Slaves had a diverse range of skills & were often hired out by their master, who often collected the slaves wages. Some slaves worked in the owner's home cooking, cleaning, doing laundry & raising the owner's children.
Since slave owners invested $ into their slaves, some were concerned about the well being of their slaves. Some owners treated their slaves comparatively well, while others were harsh & brutal.
Treatment of slaves varied from one owner to another but all were consistently denied their freedom & forced to work long hours. Slaves were usually provided with the minimal food, clothing, & shelter. They were often denied time to spend with their own families.
Laws did not recognize slave marriages, so families were often separated.
Plantation Life Continued Page 97
Slaves usually lived in small cabins with dirt floors not far from the owners home, so they could remain under the watchful eye of their master.
Slaves were constantly monitored to ensure they didn't run away. If they left the plantation they had to carry a pass from their owner. Patrollers - men who roamed the roads on constant watch for escaping slaves. Runaways were punished harshly when they were captured.
Many African Americans converted to Christianity & attended the white controlled churches where the preachers told them they should be content with their place in the world.
Page 98 Plantation Owners
Plantation system dominated SC society & politics. The planter elite enjoyed great wealth, high social positions & were influential in politics as a result of their dependence on slave labor. Some considered the life of a plantation owner hard work. Plantation owners were responsible for all goods produced on their property & marketing the goods to be sold.
The lady of the house (mistress) oversaw the running of the house & sometimes cared for the slaves when they were sick. Southerners believed they could use this to justify slavery as a 'positive good'. They claimed southern slaves were better cared for than factory workers in the north. The arguments contributed to divisions among the states.