1. Chapter 6: Antebellum South Carolina

2. Lesson 1: Cotton and Slavery
How did cotton become South Carolina’s most important cash crop?
Define Antebellum as meaning “before the war.” Which war was going to happen? Explain that indigo was no longer in demand from America because the British found other places to buy it during the American Revolution. After the war, South Carolina needed a better cash crop. Cotton was an important crop because it was needed in the new textile factories in England and the northern states, but it took so long to clean that it didn’t make enough profit—even though the climate in South Carolina and other parts of the South was perfect for growing cotton. Then Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin and everything changed.

3. What can we learn?
When Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, he made it possible to remove the seeds from cotton quickly.
Now cotton became “king,” an important cash crop throughout South Carolina and the South.
Planters needed more and more slaves to grow and process the cotton.
While slavery grew in the South, it decreased in the North thanks to new anti-slavery laws.
Do you think Eli Whitney realized his invention would make slavery grow and even lead to a war? (No, he was just trying to invent something to help with the problem of cleaning cotton.) Point out that although many people in the North criticized slavery, the demand for cotton in northern factories relied on the use of slaves in the South. Even so, slavery became illegal and ended increasingly in northern states.

4. Population in the South, 1790–1860
People in almost every part of South Carolina began to grow cotton. In 1820 South Carolina produced more than half the cotton grown in the country. More and more slaves were needed. Discuss the chart with your students. How much did the number of slaves grow in the South between 1790 and 1860? How many slaves were there compared to the number of white people? What about free blacks? Point out that as slavery grew, southern states passed more laws controlling slaves. Slaves were not allowed to leave plantations without a pass, meet or do business with one another, or learn to read and write. White slave patrols traveled the woods looking for runaway slaves.

5. Compare Points of View: A Slave Owner
The negro slaves of the South are the happiest, and, in some sense, the freest people in the world.
…[T]hey have all the comforts… of life provided for them.
—George Fitzhugh, slave owner
Who is talking here? Why does that make his opinion biased? Why does he say the slaves are some of the happiest people in the world? Does that make sense to you? Why or why not? Why would this man say these things? Who do you think he is talking to, and why? (He is defending slavery against critics.) Why isn’t his argument very convincing? Explain that slave owners had preachers hold church meetings for slaves telling them that the Bible proved slavery was right. But slaves held their own secret prayer meetings and sang songs about freedom called spirituals. They sang of sorrow and of hope. They compared themselves to the Bible story of Moses leading his people out of slavery in Egypt.

6. Compare Points of View: A Slave
They say that slaves are happy, because they laugh, and are merry. I myself and three or four others, have received two hundred lashes in the day, and had our feet in fetters; yet, at night, we would sing and dance, and make others laugh at the rattling of our chains. Happy men we must have been! We did it to keep down trouble, and to keep our hearts from being completely broken: that is as true as the gospel!
—John Little, former slave
How does this quote make a good rebuttal, or critical response, to the quote above from a slave owner? What does it mean to receive 200 lashes in a day? Define lashes as hits with a whip. Define fetters as rings around the feet that are chained together to keep people from moving except at a slow little shuffle. Why were John and the others whipped and kept in fetters? (As punishment for things like not working fast enough or not acting extremely humble and obedient.) How could John and his friends sing, dance, and make jokes about their chains at night? How did this “keep down trouble” and “keep [their] hearts from being completely broken”? Why is John Little’s point of view more convincing than George Fitzhugh’s? (Whose happiness is described, and who would know best about it? Also, who had the most reason for twisting the truth and why?)

7. The Slave Market
Discuss how people bought and sold slaves like property at auctions. In 1808 it became illegal to buy slaves from other countries. After that, how could slaves be bought and sold? How could the number of slaves increase? Explain that slaves were sold from different parts of the United States to different owners. The number of slaves increased over time because slaves had children who were born into slavery. The slave market shown above is now a museum. If students went on a field trip to the museum, what would they be likely to learn?

8. Think About It
How did the South Carolina (and Southern) economy become dependent on slavery to succeed?
Many South Carolina farmers did not own slaves. They and even the poorest of whites in the South almost all supported slavery. Why?
Remind students of the difference between regular crops and cash crops. A farm can grow a variety of crops to support the farm family, but it can also grow crops to sell called cash crops. Throughout South Carolina, farmers planted cotton. This was a very successful cash crop for South Carolina’s economy for many years. But the Civil War brought change to slavery, the cotton markets, and the state’s economy. Explain that slavery was part of the culture of the South—and so was racism. Sadly, slaves gave the poor someone to feel superior to in the social hierarchy, so they supported slavery even though they couldn’t afford to buy slaves. Owning slaves was part of their dream of being rich.

9. Lesson 2: Antebellum Ways of Life
What was life like for different social groups in Antebellum South Carolina?
Explain that social classes have existed throughout history in all countries and places. They vary only slightly, almost always based on wealth, power, and education. In addition, social classes in Antebellum South Carolina had to do with race and freedom. Slaves were at the bottom of what we call the social ladder because of their race and their lack of freedom. (Racist whites looked down on blacks for their skin color.)

10. What can we learn?
South Carolina’s elite class included the richest, most powerful and educated people in the state.
The middle class made a comfortable living and were educated, but lacked power and riches.
Independent farmers had less money than the middle class. They worked hard and were sometimes educated at home.
The lower class was made up of poor, uneducated white people who struggled to feed their families.
Discuss why the elites had power in South Carolina’s state government. The middle class were tradesmen, merchants, doctors, and lawyers. Children in the middle class learned how to read and write. Independent farmers worked the land themselves. Their children were sometimes educated at home. The lower class may have been tenant farmers or worked in the cities. Children of the lower class (or working poor) did not go to school, and they didn’t always have enough to eat or clothes that weren’t ragged and worn. Do we have different classes today? Why?

11. What can we learn?
There was a small number of free African Americans in South Carolina. They were not treated well, but their lives were much better than the lives of slaves.
Free blacks had jobs such as independent farmers, handymen, skilled craftsmen, housekeepers, or cooks.
In 1820 new laws made life worse for free blacks in South Carolina.
Explain how slaves could sometimes use a skill such as carpentry when their master hired them out to others. The slaves would get to keep a small part of the money. When they saved enough money they might be able to buy their own freedom. Some free blacks were never slaves and may have come to South Carolina from other states or countries. But free blacks still weren’t as free as poor whites. Free blacks had to carry papers to prove they were free. They also had to pay a special tax each year to remain free. After 1820 new laws made it very hard to free slaves at all, and free blacks were not allowed to move into the state. It was feared they would start slave rebellions.

12. Life in Slavery Slaves had to work long and hard without pay.
They lived in small one-room cabins.
They were not given much food or good clothing.
They were often whipped and otherwise punished.
Slaves were sold away from their families.
Slaves could not go where they wanted. They had no freedom to make choices about their lives.
Even slave owners who weren’t as cruel as some saw slaves as property, not real people.
Discuss each point which made the life of slave difficult. What would have been the worst thing? Many of them were very bad. Tell your class about the Denmark Vesey Plot (see sidebar on page 180). Like the Stono Rebellion, the plot frightened whites, who quickly passed even stricter laws to control slaves and free blacks.

13. Runaway Slave Ad
What is this ad for? What does Thomas Wilson offer? What makes him think Watty might be found near Mr. Blakely’s plantation? What does this tell you about what has happened to Watty’s family? Why does his wife live on another plantation? What do the words “my man WATTY” tell us about how Wilson sees Watty? Point out that in today’s money, $10 would be worth $300.

14. Think About It
How did slavery become so important in South Carolina, both as part of its culture and as part of its economy?
In what ways did life become harder for both slaves and free blacks in South Carolina over time? Why?
Although slaves were used early on in South Carolina, the growth of cotton as a cash crop after Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin made slavery much more vital. Raising cotton became the most important part of the state’s economy, and having slavery everywhere for many years made it part of the state’s culture. Following a couple of slave rebellions and the growing importance of slavery—especially to the wealthy, powerful planters who dominated the General Assembly—state legislators passed increasingly strict laws to control slaves and even free blacks.

15. Chapter 6 Quiz Identify the choice that best completes the statement.
1. ________________ means “before the war.” For South Carolina this was the time after the Revolutionary War and before the next war, the Civil War.
Antique
Pre-war
Colonial
Antebellum
Answer: D

16. Chapter 6 Quiz Identify the choice that best completes the statement.
2. _______________ was the cash crop that came to dominate South Carolina’s economy in the 1800s.
Cotton
Indigo
Corn
Rice
Answer: A

17. Chapter 6 Quiz Identify the choice that best completes the statement.
3. __________________ invented the cotton gin, which is a machine that removes the seeds from cotton.
Eli Whitney
Denmark Vesey
Thomas Jefferson
Charles Pinckney
Answer: A

18. Chapter 6 Quiz Identify the choice that best completes the statement.
4. When the demand for cotton increased, the demand for slaves ______________.
decreased
increased
stayed the same
varied
Answer: B

19. Chapter 6 Quiz Identify the choice that best completes the statement.
5. Planters thought of slaves as their _____________.
business partners
servants
property
employees
Answer: C

20. Chapter 6 Quiz Identify the choice that best completes the statement.
6. Social classes including the elite class, middle class, lower class, free blacks, and slaves were defined by ______________ in Antebellum South Carolina.
wealth, education, race, and freedom
equality under the law
government policies and birth
cases in state and federal courts
Answer: A

21. Chapter 6 Quiz Identify the choice that best completes the statement.
7. Free African Americans did not have the same ______________ as whites.
goals
freedoms
jobs
reasons for being in South Carolina
Answer: B

22. Chapter 6 Quiz Identify the choice that best completes the statement.
8. One of the worst things about life in slavery was that slaves could be _________________ at any time.
punished
made to work in the fields all day
hired out to other people
sold away from their families
Answer: D

23. Chapter 6 Quiz Identify the choice that best completes the statement.
9. Slave families lived in _______________.
small homes they owned
one-room cabins
apartments
houses like their master’s
Answer: B

24. Chapter 6 Quiz Identify the choice that best completes the statement.
10. While slavery was growing in the South, in the North it was _____________.
growing even more
staying the same
slowly being ended by new laws
something they hoped to be able to have as well
Answer: C