South Carolina The History of an American State Chapter 12: Antebellum South Carolina ©2006 Clairmont Press

South Carolina The History of an American State Chapter 12: Antebellum South Carolina Section 1: Slavery in South Carolina Slavery in South CarolinaSlavery in South Carolina Section 2: Class System and Reform Class System and ReformClass System and Reform Section 3: Industry and Railroads Industry and RailroadsIndustry and Railroads

Section 1: Slavery in South Carolina Essential Question What was slave life like in Antebellum South Carolina?

Section 1: Slavery in South Carolina What terms do I need to know? antebellum overseer driver class tenant farmer abolitionist

Cotton production and plantation system were a way of life by 1850 Owners invested a lot of money in their slaves, but not all slaves were treated well by their owners slaves Overseers were people assigned to see that slaves performed the tasks assigned to them; many overseers were cruel Slaves and Masters

Slave Life Most slaves were poorly housed, fed, and clothed Children were often sold to other planters Slaves from different plantations could not visit one another

Basic Needs Slaves usually received clothes in the spring and the fall; children typically only received winter shoes Diet staples included cornmeal, potatoes, beans, molasses, and fatty meat Most slaves lived in one-room, one-door houses with stick-and-dirt chimneys; houses were often crowded and smoky

Slave Work Routines Most slaves worked outdoors in harsh conditions; some slaves worked in their masters’ homes Slaves along coast worked in swampy fields gathering barrels of rice Many slaves chopped and picked cotton in the intense summer heat

All Slaves Worked Slaves worked in gangs under a driver, a slave placed in charge; some overseers were black Slave women worked in fields, prepared food, sewed, and cared for the children Children carried water to field workers, collected fire kindling, and gathered berries Slaves did their own chores on Sundays

Slave Community Children born to slave women who married men from neighboring plantations became the property of the woman’s master Slaves were divided among white family members in wills; many slave families were separated The law recognized no slave marriages

Slaves and Religion During the early 1800s, most blacks converted to Christianity; black churches were established By 1860, there were more black Methodists in South Carolina than white members Slave workers sang Spirituals, songs about Jesus and Biblical characters; such songs gave them hope for freedom

Free Blacks A mother’s legal status, slave or free, determined her children’s status at birth Free blacks, fewer than 10,000 in 1860, tended to work in cities and towns Free blacks were often denied rights or treated unfairly; they could not vote in South Carolina Free black William Ellison, of Stateburg, owned more than 50 slaves

Slave Revolts Large uprisings uncommon because of isolation and poor communication Subtle revolts featured work slowdowns, pretended sickness, or damage to a master’s property In 1822, 69 blacks were convicted of plotting a revolt, including accused leader Denmark Vesey; 34 were hanged Denmark Vesey

Opposition to Slavery Sisters Sarah and Angelina Grimke, raised in a slave-holding family, wrote and lectured against slavery Slave revolts, such as the Nat Turner revolt in Virginia in 1831, prompted most southern whites to keep silent about any abolitionist (anti-slavery) viewsNat Turner revolt Nat TurnerNat Turner Video Many South Carolinians started defending slavery as it was attacked by abolitionists

Essential Question What were differences between the Southern classes in the years leading up to the Civil War? Section 2: Class System and Reform Class System and Reform

What terms do I need to know? class tenant farmers asylum Normal school seminary Section 2: Class System and Reform Class System and Reform

The Southern Class System The South claimed commitment to both slavery and democracy (a paradox) Planters were highest class, and the most elite were those whose wealth went back several generations Small farmers were largest group of white South Carolinians; they owned farms and supported themselves

Tenant Farmers Poor whites owned no land; they were subsistence farmers Tenant farmers cleared land and planted crops; received a share of what was harvested Slaves from wealthier plantations looked down on the poor whites; poor whites looked down on slaves Slaves were at bottom of the social ladder

Reform Movements During 1830s, debtors were removed from jails where criminals were housed The mentally ill were placed in asylums N.P. Walker school for deaf and blind established in Spartanburg in 1849 Prisons began offering training, therapy, and guidance to prisoners

Antebellum Education By 1826, the state funded more than 700 schools for over 8,000 students Most schools lacked adequate supplies and learning materials Charleston established a public school system in 1856 Normal School: institution where teachers were trained, opened in CharlestonNormal School

Other Educational Offerings Seminaries, academies for females, opened around the state; some offered boarding facilities Free blacks sponsored schools for blacks; several existed in Charleston Much emphasis was placed on improving higher education; several private colleges opened during this period

Essential Question What types of industry developed in the state during the Antebellum period? Section 3: Industry and Railroads Industry and Railroads

What term do I need to know? industry Section 3: Industry and Railroads Industry and Railroads

The Start of Industry Industry involves the manufacture or production of specific goods Cotton cultivation remained the major economic force through the early 1800s Pottery factories began operating in Edgefield district around 1810; used locally mined clay, salt, and limePottery factories

Textile Mills Poor landless white families worked in the mill Such mills helped keep jobs at home instead of relying on raw materials production in Europe and the north William Gregg opened one of the state’s largest cotton mills in Graniteville in 1849; he built an entire village around the millWilliam Gregg

Population Changes Columbia’s population grew 40 percent from 1840 to 1850; the city was center of governmentColumbia’s Charleston remained commercial and social center of the state Most South Carolinians lived in small towns; nearly 200,000 moved to neighboring states between 1820 and 1860; blacks far outnumbered whites

The Railroads In 1836, the South Carolina Railroad, 136 miles long, was the world’s longestSouth Carolina Railroad By 1857, a rail line from Charleston to Atlanta was established Columbia became hub of railroad activity in the Up Country Railroads brought improved economic conditions Click here to return to chapter menu.