Life Before the American Civil War By Jihan Habeeb

The American Civil War was: A military conflict between the United States of America (the Union), and the Confederate States of America (the Confederacy) from North- the Union South- the Confederacy (the south was also called the ante-bellum which stood for “before the war”)

Major Differences North Industry Middle Class Immigrant labor Protected Tariff (a tax placed on imported goods) South Agriculture (cotton) No middle class Slave labor No protected tariff

Free States and Slave States Before the Civil War: Red- slave states, Green- free states, Beige- territories open to slavery

Let’s Start with the South: Economy was based on cotton production which depended on slave labor. Southern economy was weak and vulnerable because it depended entirely on cotton but was still very profitable. The period of cotton growing was called King Cotton.

Southern Population 11 states 9,000,000 people 3,500,000 slaves

3 Classes of Southern Society: Gentry- Highest class; Small group (2500 people) that owned large farms. Yeomen- Large group that owned small farms, usually less than 100 acres. They were poor and depended on the gentry to do business with. Slaves- Lowest class whose lives were completely controlled by the gentry.

Slavery Slaves originally came from Africa; they were taken by white colonists to America and became personal property of the gentry. The main purpose of having slaves was to serve white people’s every need, especially picking cotton from the cotton plantation fields.

Slaves Working on a Plantation, 1862

Slavery cont. Slaves were a big investment for wealthy plantation owners; in 1860, a slave could cost $2,000. Slave masters had total control over slaves’ lives. Slaves were often physically abused and raped.

Slavery cont. Slave owners also threatened to kill slaves and their families if they tried to escape. Plantations had codes, or customary treatment, to control slaves. If you would like to read first-hand accounts of slaves and how they lived during the time, go to ome.html ome.html

Codes Slaves could not own guns. Slaves could not strike a white person. Slaves could not testify in court. Slaves could not leave the master’s plantation without permission. Slaves were not allowed to read or write.

Other Characteristics Not many big cities Not many schools (people hired tutors) The very rich studied at universities or the military and became kernels. Government- the main political party of the south was the Whig party. Southern Whigs were pro-slavery. Popular Sovereignty- idea suggested by southern states that people of a certain territory should have the right to decide whether the territory should be admitted as a slave or free state.

And now the North… Economy was based on industries and major businesses, commerce and finance. North had many manufacturing factories that dealt with textiles, lumber, clothing, machinery, leather, and wooden goods. The biggest business of the north was in railroad construction. Transportation was easier because of railroads.

The North 23 states 23,000,000 people Bigger cities than the south such as New York and Boston

The North cont. Unlike the south, the north had tariffs on their products in order to protect them from cheap foreign competition. The south opposed tariffs because it increased the price of manufactured goods. Labor for industries and factories depended on immigrants that came mainly from Europe.

The North cont. In addition to having a strong economy, the north had a strong government as well. They had better representation in Congress than the south did. Democrats- the main political party of the north. They were abolitionists- people against slavery.

Acts and Bills Wilmot Proviso- 1846; named after David Wilmot, Democrat from Pennsylvania, this bill stated that the Mexico territory that belonged to America should be free territory without slavery. Southerners opposed this bill but it was passed anyway.

Bills and Acts cont. Compromise of Stated that California should enter the Union as a free state. Kansas-Nebraska Act- 1854; Created by senator of Illinois, Stephan Douglas, this act was to organize the rest of the Louisiana territory so that it would steer the meeting of railroads in Chicago.

References Shi, David Emory and George Brown Tindall. America: A Narrative History. W.W. Norton & Company: New York; 2000 Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia; 2000 Civil War Traveler- From Revolution to Reconstruction…and what happened afterwards- The Civil War- Slavery in America- The History Place-