Chapter 10 The South and Slavery

The South and Slavery, 1790s—1850s Chapter Ten The South and Slavery, 1790s—1850s

Part One: Introduction

Chapter Focus Questions How did the slave system dominate southern life? What were the economic implications of "King Cotton"? How did African Americans create communities under slavery? What was the social structure of the white South? Why was the white South increasingly defensive?

American Community: Natchez-under-the-Hill Part Two: American Community: Natchez-under-the-Hill

Natchez Under-the-Hill Natchez and Natchez Under-the-Hill were adjacent communities. Natchez was an elegant planter community. Natchez Under-the-Hill: *mixed community of river men *gamblers *Indians *and blacks.

Gamblers, Undesirables, driven away due to rumor

King Cotton and Southern Expansion Part Three: King Cotton and Southern Expansion

This 1855 illustration of black stevadores loading heavy bales of cotton onto waiting steam boats in New Orleans is an example of the South’s dependence on cotton and the slave labor that produce it.

MAP 10.1 The South Expands, 1790–1850 This map shows the dramatic effect cotton production had on southern expansion. From the original six states of 1790, westward expansion, fueled by the search for new cotton lands, added another six states by 1821, and three more by 1850.

Cotton and Expansion into the Old Southwest Cotton gin revolutionizes Southern economy. After War of 1812 W. GA, AL and MI Indians driven out. Later, LA and TX settled. Each surge ignited speculative frenzy.

See next map MAP 10.2a Cotton Production and the Slave Population, 1820. In the forty-year period from 1820 to 1860, cotton production grew dramatically in both quantity and extent. Rapid westward expansion meant that by 1860 cotton production was concentrated in the black belt (so called for its rich soils) in the Lower South. As cotton production moved west and south, so did the enslaved African American population that produced it, causing a dramatic rise in the internal slave trade. SOURCE:Sam Bowers Hilliard,Atlas of Antebellum Southern Agriculture (Baton Rouge:Lousiana State University Press,1984).

FIGURE 10.2 Distribution of Slave Labor, 1850 In 1850, 55 percent of all slaves worked in cotton, 10 percent in tobacco, and another 10 percent in rice, sugar, and hemp. Ten percent worked in mining, lumbering, industry, and construction, and 15 percent worked as domestic servants. Slaves were not generally used to grow corn, the staple crop of the yeoman farmer.

Slavery the Mainspring - Again 1790 to1860, slave population grew from 700,000 to 4,000,000.

MAP 10.2b Cotton Production and the Slave Population, 1860.

Expansion of cotton concentrated in the black belt

A Slave Society in a Changing World Cotton economy committed South to slavery. In other parts US, attitudes toward slavery were changing. Congress banned the slave trade in 1808.

Part Four: To Be A Slave

The immense size of the internal slave trade made sights like this commonplace on southern roads. Groups of slaves, chained together in gangs called coffles, were marched from their homes in the Upper South to cities in the Lower South, where they were auctioned to new owners. SOURCE:Library of Congress.

One of the ways Charleston attempted to control its African American population was to require all slaves to wear badges showing their occupation. After 1848, free black people also had to wear badges, which were decorated, ironically, with a liberty cap. SOURCE:Courtesy of the American Numismatic Society of New York.

The Internal Slave Trade Planter migration stimulated the slave trade. Slaves were gathered in pens. On foot, slaves moved on land in coffles. Slave trade made mockery benevolence claims. Refer to “Slave Coffles,” p. 277

MAP 10.3 Internal Slave Trade Between 1820 and 1860, nearly 50 percent of the slave population of the Upper South was sold south to labor on the cotton plantations of the Lower South. This map shows the various routes by which they were “sold down the river,” shipped by boat or marched south. SOURCE:Historical Atlas of the United States (Washington:National Geographic Society,1988).

Sold “Down River” Cotton helped finance northern industry and trade.

FIGURE 10. 1 Cotton Exports as a Percentage of All U. S FIGURE 10.1 Cotton Exports as a Percentage of All U.S. Exports, 1800–1860 One consequence of the growth of cotton production was its importance in international trade. The growing share of the export market, and the great value (nearly $200 million in 1860) led southern slave owners to believe that “Cotton Is King.” The importance of cotton to the national economy entitled the South to a commanding voice in national policy, many Southerners believed. SOURCE:Sam Bowers Hilliard,Atlas of Antebellum Southern Agriculture (Baton Rouge:Louisiana State University Press,1984),pp.67 –71.

This engraving from Harpers Weekly shows slaves, dressed in new clothing, lined up outside a New Orleans slave pen for inspection by potential buyers before the actual auction began. They were often threatened with punishment if they did not present a good appearance and manner that would fetch a high price. SOURCE:U.S.slave market,ca.1863, in New Orleans.Courtesy of Culver Pictures,Inc.

Sold “Down River” Cotton and slavery tied up capital South lagged in urban population, industrialization, canals, and railroads. Cotton created a distinctive regional culture. Opening of western lands contributed to instability of slave life. Many slaves were separated from their families.

Sold “Down River” Slaves’ first challenge was to survive because: lived in one-room cabins with dirt floors and few furnishings neither their food and clothing was adequate Slaves learned how to avoid punishments, flattered whites. Refer to Florida Slave Quarters p. 282

Slave quarters built by slave owners, like these pictured on a Florida plantation, provided more than the basic shelter (a place to sleep and eat) that the owners intended. Slave quarters were the center of the African American community life that developed during slavery. SOURCE:Remains of Slave Quarters, Fort George Island, Florida, ca.1865.Stereograph.(c)Collection of The New York Historical Society.

African cultural patterns persisted in the preference for night funerals and for solemn pageantry and song, as depicted in British artist John Antrobus’s Plantation Burial, ca. 1860. Like other African American customs, the community care of the dead contained an implied rebuke to the masters’ care of the living slaves. SOURCE:John Antrobus,Negro Burial The Historic New Orleans Collection.

Life of a Slave Some slaves worked as house servants. Some slaves were skilled workers. 75 percent of slaves worked as field hands Many suffered from poor health.

The African American Community Part Five: The African American Community

Building the African American Community Slaves community an indigenous culture. Inluenced all aspects of Southern life. Masters dealt with slave family and African church.

Slave Families Slave marriages were: not recognized by law frequently not respected by masters a haven of love and intimacy for slaves Parents gave children supportive, protective kinship network. Slave families were often split up. Separated children drew upon supportive networks.

African American Religion Slaves not permitted to practice African religions The first and second Great Awakenings introduced Christianity to slaves. In 1790s, African American churches began emerging. Whites hoped religion would make the slaves obedient. Slaves found a liberating message in church. Refer to “Negro Burial,” p. 284

Harriet Tubman was 40 years old when this photograph (later hand-tinted) was taken. Already famous for her daring rescues, she gained further fame by serving as a scout, spy and nurse during the Civil War. SOURCE:The Granger Collection.

Freedom and Resistance Most slaves understood they could not escape bondage. About 1,000 per year escaped. Running away, then returning, was more common. Refer to “Harriet Tubman,” p. 285

This drawing shows the moment, almost two months after the failure of his famous and bloody slave revolt, when Nat Turner was accidentally discovered in the woods near his home plantation. Turner’s cool murder of his owner and methodical organization of his revolt deeply frightened many white Southerners. SOURCE:Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Slave Revolts A few slaves organized revolts. Gabriel Prosser and Denmark Vesey organized large-scale conspiracies. Nat Turner led most famous slave revolt in Virginia in 1831. Turner used religious imagery to lead slaves; they killed 55 whites. White southerners continually reminded by threat of insurrection. Refer to “Nat Turner,” p. 286

Free African Americans By 1860, 250,000 free African Americans. In cities, free African American communities flourished. Blacks lacked basic civil rights. Refer to “Badges,” p. 286

Part Six: The White Majority

The Middle Class A commercial middle class of merchants, bankers, factors, and lawyers: arose to sell southern crops on the world market lived in cities that acted as shipping centers for agricultural goods

Poor White People 30 to 50 % of southern whites were landless. Poor whites lived a marginal existence. Engaged clandestine relations with slaves Yeomen hoped to acquire slaves themselves. Yeomen felt slavery brought higher status.. Chart: Slaveholding and Class Structure

FIGURE 10.3 Slaveholding and Class Structure in the South, 1830 The great mass of the southern white population were yeoman farmers. In 1830, slave owners made up only 36 percent of the southern white population; owners of more than fifty slaves constituted a tiny 2.5 percent. Yet they and the others who were middling planters dominated politics, retaining the support of yeomen who prized their freedom as white men above class-based politics. SOURCE:U.S.Bureau of the Census.

The goal of yeoman farm families was economic independence The goal of yeoman farm families was economic independence. Their mixed farming and grazing enterprises, supported by kinship and community ties, afforded them a self-sufficiency epitomized by Carl G. von Iwonski’s painting of this rough but comfortable log cabin in New Braunfels, Texas. SOURCE:Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library.Yanaguana Society Collection.

Yeomen Values Two-thirds of southern whites -nonslaveholding. Most yeomen were self-sufficient farmers. Strong sense of community Close kin connections and bartering. Refer to “Yeomen Farms,” p. 288

Part Seven: Planters

Small Slave Owners Most slaveholders owned only a few slaves. Bad crops/high prices affected slave-holding status Middle class professionals climbed success ladder. Jackson used legal/political position to rise in society.

The Planter Elite Most slaveholders inherited their wealth. As slavery spread so did the slave-owning elite Extraordinary concentration of wealth. Most wealthy planters lived fairly isolated lives. Some planters cultivated an image of gracious living. Plantations aimed to be self-sufficient.

This scene is part of a larger mural, created by artist William Henry Brown in 1842, which depicts everyday life at Nitta Yuma, a Mississippi cotton plantation. The elegant white woman, here seen elaborately dressed to go riding, depended for her leisure status on the work of African American slaves, such as this one feeding her horse. SOURCE:William H.Brown,Hauling the Whole Week ’s Picking (detail), 1842.Watercolor.The Historic New Orleans Collection.

The Plantation Mistress Southern paternalism: *plantation was family with white master at head. Plantation mistress ran her own household. Men not challenged.

Coercion and Violence slave system rested on coercion and violence. Slave women vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Master-slave offspring rarely publicly acknowledged. Refer to “Gordon,” p. 291

This Louisiana slave named Gordon was photographed in 1863 after he had escaped to Union lines during the Civil War. He bears the permanent scars of the violence that lay at the heart of the slave system. Few slaves were so brutally marked, but all lived with the threat of beatings if they failed to obey. SOURCE:National Archives and Records Administration.

Part Eight: The Defense of Slavery

Developing Proslavery Arguments Slavery gave rise to pro-slavery arguments: Justifications in the Bible or classical Greece and Rome Constitution recognized slavery and they were defending property rights by 1830s arguments developed that slavery was good for the slaves. George Fitzhugh: contrasted slavery with the heartless individualism ruled the lives of northern factory workers. Refer to Proslavery Argument Cartoon p. 293

This 1841 proslavery cartoon contrasts healthy, well-cared-for African American slaves with unemployed British factory workers living in desperate poverty. The comparison between contented southern slaves and miserable northern “wage slaves” was frequently made by proslavery advocates. SOURCE:Library of Congress.

Developing Proslavery Arguments George Fitzhugh contrasted slavery slaves a community of interests North was heartless individualism ruling lives factory workers. Refer to Proslavery Argument Cartoon p. 293

Changes in the South Some southern whites objected to slavery. Cost of slaves meant percentage of slaveholders was declining. Hinton Rowan Helper denounced the institution.

Part Nine: Conclusion

Population Patterns in the South, 1850 In six southern states, slaves comprised over 40 percent of the total population. Click on title to view Adobe Acrobat map.

MAP 10.4 Population Patterns in the South, 1850 In South Carolina and Mississippi, the enslaved African American population outnumbered the white population; in four other Lower South states, the percentage was above 40 percent. These ratios frightened many white Southerners. White people also feared the free black population, though only three states in the Upper South and Louisiana had free black populations of over 3 percent. Six states had free black populations that were so small (less than 1 percent) as to be statistically insignificant.