1. CHAPTER 8 MARKET REVOLUTION Section 3 The Southern Section

2. THE ECONOMY OF THE SOUTH  The South consisted of DE, MD, VA, NC, SC, GA, KY, TN, AL, MS, LA & AK  One phrase sums up the economy of the South during the first half of the 1800’s: “King Cotton” due to the fact that clothes were changing from linen and wool to cotton  In 1850 there was over a billion pounds of raw cotton produced  The South remained rural, or it was made up of farms and countryside instead of cities.  The physical geography of the South made it profitable – 200-290 frost free days a year, fertile soil & plentiful rain  The South was dependent on Northern banks, shipping companies and textile mills due to the lack of them in the South

3. THE ECONOMY OF THE SOUTH  The early 1800’s half the cotton crop was produced on farms with six or fewer slaves  The invention of the cotton gin created the idea of westward movement for more land for cotton production. Smaller farmers were usually the ones who did this  Not all southern states changed to cotton- VA & NC mainly raised tobacco, SC raised sugar and rice crops due to their hot & wet climate & KY raised thoroughbred horses  Although the South remained mostly rural, the cities of New Orleans, LA; Charlestown, SC; & Richmond, VA developed – they were smaller than cities of the North  These cities shared the same problems of poor housing and sanitation as the North

4. SLAVE SYSTEM  By 1850, 3.7 million African Americans lived in the US – 12% were free  In 1804 all northern states had banned or passed laws to gradually end slavery  The Constitution specified that Congress could not end the slave trade before 1808, so in that year they banned all importation of slaves  The slave trade increased in the South due to population growth among the slaves already in the US  By 1860, AA slaves made up more than half the population of SC & MS

5. SLAVE SYSTEM  The life of enslaves AAs varied- on small farms they worked side by side with their owners, possibly living in the same home and eating together but they still faced cruelties without family of friends  Most slaves lived on large cotton plantations- 20 or more slaves- where they worked in gangs under the supervision of a foreman (supervisor)  Women had a very difficult life, they would bear and care for their own children, take care of their households, cooked and served food, cleaned houses and clothes, labored in fields- in addition some endured physical or sexual abuse by slave owners

6. SLAVE SYSTEM  Slaves were saw as property that preformed labor.  As the demand for slaves rose so did their prices- a “prime” worker (male, 18-25) cost $500 in 1832 but in 1837 they would cost $1,300  This made starting a plantation very expensive and out of reach for most people  It cost between $15-60 a year to support a slave  Since purchasing slaves was so expensive slave-owners generally kept their slaves healthy enough to work but did little else for them.

7. SLAVE REVOLT  Only a small % of slaves escaped captivity or won their freedom through rebellions Vesey’s Plan  Vesey was a self educated, free slave, who grew angry over the suffering slaves received  In 1822 he planned the most ambitious slave revolt in US history  His plan called for hundreds to even thousands of rebels to seize the city of Charleston, SC  They were to raid the arsenal, kill all white residents, free the slaves & burn down the city  Vesey was betrayed by some of his followers and was hanged with 35 other AAs

8. SLAVE REVOLTS Turner’s Rebellion  Nat Turner was an AA preacher that planned a revolt under “divine inspiration” when he saw an eclipse of the sun  He led 70 slaves in raids on white families in VA where 57 white people were killed.  Local militia captured most of the rebels and hanged 20 including Turner.  These revolts were white southerner’s nightmares as AAs outnumbered the white population  This made Virginia contemplate ending slavery to end the threat but they did not  Virginia and North Carolina passed laws making it illegal to teach slaves to read.