1. Unit 3: Antebellum Slavery to Reconstruction
Chapter 6
Life in the Cotton Kingdom

2. What does Antebellum mean?
A period of time before a war, usually refers to the American Civil War.
1820 – 1861 (start of Civil War) for reference purposes only

3. Section 1: The Expansion of Slavery
Invention of cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793
Led to rapid expansion of slavery – need land!
Atlantic coast to Texas
Slave population increased tremendously,
Grew fastest in Alabama and Mississippi

4. U.S. Slave Population, 1820 and 1860

5. Slave Population, 1820–1860
Map 6–2. Slavery spread southwestward from the upper South and the eastern seaboard following the spread of cotton cultivation.
Source: Sam Bowers Hilliard, Atlas of Antebellum Southern Agriculture (Louisiana State University Press, 1984), pp. 29–34.

6. Cotton Production in the South, 1820–1860
Map 6–1. Cotton production expanded westward between 1820 and 1860 into Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and western Tennessee.
Source: Sam Bowers Hilliard, Atlas of Antebellum Southern Agriculture (Louisiana State University Press, 1984) pp. 67–71.

7. Ownership: Slaves in the Old South
Slavery unevenly distributed – think about the statistics from yesterday!
25% of white families owned slaves by 1860
Nearly half of slaveholders owned fewer than five
1% owned more than fifty slaves

8. Slave-Owning Population (1860)

9. Black Slaveholders There were Black Slaveholders, because . . .
They did it to protect families from sale and disruption.
Not very popular. In 1830, only 2% of free blacks owned slaves.

10. Section 1 Essential Questions
Create an essential question from each of the headings below:
The Expansion of Slavery
Slave Population Growth and Ownership of Slaves in the Old South
Black Slaveholders

11. Section 1 Essential Questions
Why did slavery expand in the cotton kingdom?
How was the slave population distributed across the South?
Why did a small number of free blacks purchase slaves?

12. Section 2: Slave Labor in Agriculture
Slaves in the South
55% cultivated cotton
20% grew tobacco or produced sugar, rice, hemp
15% domestic servants
10% trades and industries

13. An engraving dating from about 1860, slaves harvest cotton under white supervision on a southern plantation.
Source: The Granger Collection, NY

14. Section 2 Essential Question
This is a brief section – create one question from the title of the section:
Slave Labor in Agriculture (the next level headings were different crops) What types of crops did slaves cultivate in the South?

15. Section 3: Other Types of Slave Labor
25% of all slaves did non-agricultural duties
House slaves ~ “elite” slaves (cooks, maids, nurses, butlers, gardeners
+ Less physically demanding
+ Better food and clothing
- Grueling to work in 19th century kitchens (Belle)
- Constantly under white supervision

16. Photograph by L. D. Andrew, 1936, from a vintage photograph taken ca
Photograph by L.D. Andrew, 1936, from a vintage photograph taken ca Georgia)

17. Domestic Slave with Planter's Family," Virginia, ca

18. Section 3: Other Types of Slave Labor
Skilled craftsmen ~ more “elite” than house slaves and included carpenters, blacksmiths, and millwrights
+ Could travel for supplies and gave a taste of freedom
+ Could be hired out (work for $$)

19. Urban Slavery Were the “immigrants” of the South
Jobs include: domestics, washwomen, stevedores, general laborers
+ Interacted with free black community
+ Had opportunities to hire out ($$)

20. Young African-American Stevedore Loading Cotton onto a Steamboat at New Orleans, 1800s

21. Industrial Slavery
Jobs included textile mills, iron working, lumber industry
Most industrialist in the South hired slaves
+ Greater autonomy
+ Could provide path to freedom

22. What type of jobs/labor was performed by the slaves in the South?

23. Why did slavery expand in the cotton kingdom?
How was the slave population distributed across the South?
Why did a small number of free blacks purchase slaves?
What types of crops did slaves cultivate in the South?
What type of jobs/labor was performed by the slaves in the South?