Cotton, Slavery, and the Old South

 The South, like the North, experienced dramatic growth in the middle yrs. of the 19 th cent. Trade in sugar, rice, tobacco, & cotton made the South a major force in international commerce & created substantial wealth w/in the region  The South experienced a much less fundamental transformation in these yrs. than did the North; “The South grew, but it didn’t develop.”

The Cotton Economy  Shift of economic power from the “upper South” to the “lower South.” Growing dominance of cotton in the southern economy  The Rise of King Cotton  Upper South – tobacco – VA, MD, & NC; many were switching to wheat

 Southern regions of the coastal South – SC, GA, & parts of FL – cultivation of rice  Gulf Coast – sugar

 Short-staple cotton; demands for cotton increased rapidly w/the growth of the textile industry in Britain & in the 1820s & 1830s in New England  “Cotton is king!”; production dominated the “lower South” or the “Deep South”

Southern Trade and Industry  Other forms of economic activity developed slowly in the South; industry remained an insignificant force in comparison w/the agricultural economy South had a very rudimentary financial system

 South’s inadequate transportation system; the principal means of transportation was water  Becoming more & more dependent on the manufacturers, merchants, & professionals of the North

 James B. D. DeBow – DeBow’s Review – a magazine advocating southern commercial & agricultural expansion & economic independence from the North (1846 – 1880)

Sources of Southern Difference  Why did it remain so different from the North? Great profitability of the region’s agricultural system; wealthy southerners had little left for other investments

 A set of values distinctive to the South that discouraged the growth of cities & industry – traditional values of chivalry, leisure, & elegance  “Cavaliers” – people happily free from the base, acquisitive instincts of northerners; reality of southern society was rather different

The Planter Class  Only a small minority of southern whites owned slaves; planter aristocracy exercised power & influence far in excess of their numbers  Planters were, in many respects, just as much competitive capitalists as the industrialists of the North

 Elaborate code of chivalry – defending their honor, often through duels; those that didn’t become planters often gravitated toward the military

The “Southern Lady”  Generally centered in the home; less frequently than Northerners did they engage in public activities or income-producing employment  Cult of honor – “defense” of women; reality – men were even more dominant & women even more subordinate in southern culture than they were in the North  Vast majority lived on farms, isolated from people

 Had less access to education than their Northern counterparts  Birth rate remained nearly 20% higher than the nation as a whole; slave labor system’s impact on white women  Many women defended the special virtues of the southern way of life

The Plain Folk  The typical white southerner was not a great planter & slaveholder but a modest yeoman farmer  Southern educational system provided poor whites w/few opportunities to learn  The subordination of the plain folk to the planter class – Why did the plain folk not oppose the aristocratic social system in which they shared so little?

 Southern highlanders, “hill country,” “backcountry” areas cut off from the more commercial world of the plantation system. Such whites frequently expressed animosity toward the planter aristocracy  Far greater in # were the nonslaveholding whites who lived in the midst of the plantation system  Other white southerners who shared almost not at all in the plantation economy & yet continued to accept its premises  The perception of race & being part of a “ruling class”

The “Peculiar Institution”  Slavery isolated the South from the rest of Am. Society  African Americans under slavery began to develop a society & culture of their own Did You Know? The banjo was introduced to America by the African Slave Culture in the mid-1600’s and remained exclusive to the black culture for more than 200 years

 Slavery was regulated in detail by law – slave codes – forbade slaves to hold property, to be out after dark, to carry firearms, to congregate w/other slaves except at church. Contained no provisions to legalize marriage  Enforcement of these laws was spotty & uneven

 Many slaves preferred to work on large plantations rather than small; more autonomy  Task system vs. gang system of labor Task system-(less common) slaves were assigned a task in the morning and when the task was done they were free for the rest of the day (common in farms where rice was grown) Gang system- more common, slaves divided into groups, each directed by a driver, and compelled to work as many hours as the overseer considered a reasonable workday

Life Under Slavery  Slaves generally received an adequate if rough diet (many cultivated their own gardens)  Homes crude cabins  Clothes: cheap clothing and shoes  Families often divided  Blacks higher death rate than whites  W/in slave family, women had special burdens but also a special authority(cooking, cleaning, child rearing along with fieldwork or housework)  Slaves were, as a group, much less healthy than whites  Household servants had a somewhat easier life

Think Pair Share? After the international slave trade was banned (making it illegal to bring more slaves into America), conditions for American slaves became somewhat better. Why? After the international slave trade was banned (making it illegal to bring more slaves into America), conditions for American slaves became somewhat better. Why? Slave owners now wanted to protect the slaves they owned because they needed them to reproduce and survive to work as long as possible since the purchasing of slaves from Africa became illegal. Sometimes for dangerous tasks like clearing malarial swamps, masters would hire poor Irishmen to do these dangerous tasks because they could be hired for a dollar a day. If an Irishmen died another could be hired at again at a very cheap price. If a slave died doing one of these dangerous jobs it would cost around $1000 or more to buy another slave to fill the void.

House Slaves Worked in closer proximity to the master Worked in closer proximity to the master This left them more vulnerable for beatings because they were more likely to be seen making a mistake or doing something wrong This left them more vulnerable for beatings because they were more likely to be seen making a mistake or doing something wrong Female house slaves were more vulnerable to sexual abuse from the masters Female house slaves were more vulnerable to sexual abuse from the masters

Female slaves often were treated badly by the master’s wife Female slaves often were treated badly by the master’s wife The master’s wife would not be able to punish or show their anger towards their husband so they often took it out on the women who were violated by the master The master’s wife would not be able to punish or show their anger towards their husband so they often took it out on the women who were violated by the master These female slaves were often punished with random beatings, extra work, and various forms of psychological abuse These female slaves were often punished with random beatings, extra work, and various forms of psychological abuse

Slavery in the Cities  Masters often hired out slaves for such tasks as mining, lumbering, docks, & construction sites  Segregation was a means of social control  Free blacks – usually in urban areas; a few cities where free black communities managed to flourish relatively unbothered by whites – New Orleans, Natchez, & Charleston

Slave Resistance  The dominant response of blacks to slavery was a complex one: a combination of adaptation & resistance  Two different reactions – “Sambo” & slave rebel

 Actual slave revolts were extremely rare  1800 – Gabriel Prosser; 1822 – Denmark Vessey; 1831 – Nat Turner, led a band of blacks armed w/guns & axes from house to house in Southampton County, VA.

 Killed 60 people before being overpowered by st. & federal troops. St. laws governing slavery became even more rigid.  Resistance to slavery usually took less dramatic forms

The Culture of Slavery  Developing own, separate culture  Slave religion – blacks throughout the South developed their own version of Christianity  Religion was more emotional; emphasized the dream of freedom & deliverance

The Slave Family  The other crucial institution of black culture in the South  Extended kinship networks were strong & important  Paternalism became a vital instrument of white control