1. Chapter 16 The South and the Slavery Controversy

2. King Cotton The Cotton gin made the cultivation of cotton profitable. Created “King Cotton” which held not only the South in it’s control but also Northern factories and shipping along with British industries. African American slaves planted and picked virtually all the cotton that formed the foundation of the nineteenth- century southern economy. The white South ferociously defended its “peculiar institution” of slavery, which ended at last only in the fires of the Civil War.

3. Interior of the Cotton Bureau in New Orleans, by Edgar Degas, 1873 Although this painting dates from 1873, French impressionist painter Edgar Degas (1834–1917) captured the insouciant self-confidence of cotton traders in the pre–Civil War era. As cotton cultivation spread into the new states of the trans-Appalachian Southwest, the entire Cotton Kingdom paid tribute to New Orleans, Queen City of the South, and the port through which millions of cotton bales fl owed out to British textile mills.

4. Harvesting Cotton This Currier & Ives print shows slaves of both sexes harvesting cotton, which was then “ginned,” baled, carted to the riverbank, and taken by paddle wheeler downriver to New Orleans for shipment to New Eng land or overseas.

5. Planter Aristocracy South was similar to an oligarchy –rule by a few- the elite planter class heavily influenced the government Wealthy planters built massive plantation houses, educated their children in private schools (often in the North), spent money on leisure activities (painting, music, etc.), and produced many famous politicians and statesmen. Planter aristocracy widened the gap between the rich and poor and hampered public education. Southern planters modeled their society after feudal Europe and often hosted jousting tournaments.

6. Slave System Cotton cultivation was wasteful and spoiled fertile soil. Large plantations became monopolies and many small farmer were forced to sell or move west. Many planters were in extreme debt due to excessive land speculation and investment in more slaves. South had a dangerous one-crop economy that discouraged manufacturing. South was bitter towards the North becoming wealthy from Southern cotton. Most immigrants could not find jobs in the South which resulted in a lack of diversity.

7. White Majority Small-scale slave owners worked alongside their slaves. Most whites in the South owned no slaves, but supported the system because they hoped to one day. Many poor whites like slavery because even though they were poor, they were still a higher class than slaves. Appalachian whites has no use for slaves and hated the wealthy planters. When the Civil War begins, the Appalachian whites will be strong supporters of the Union.

8. Slaveowning Families, 1850 More than half of all slaveholding families owned fewer than four slaves. In contrast, 2 percent of slaveowners owned more than fifty slaves each. A tiny slaveholding elite held a majority of slave property in the South. The great majority of white southerners owned no slaves at all.

9. Southern Cotton Production and Distribution of Slaves, 1820

10. Southern Cotton Production and Distribution of Slaves, 1860 The philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, a New Englander, declared in 1856, “I do not see how a barbarous community and a civilized community can constitute a state. I think we must get rid of slavery or we must get rid of freedom.”

11. Free Blacks Free blacks had either been emancipated, purchased their freedom, or were the mulatto children of their slave mother and white planter father. Detested by defenders of the slave system and discriminated against. Free blacks also unpopular in the North. Early abolitionists wanted the slaves to be freed and returned to Africa because they were believed to be unintelligent and undeserving of the United States. Irish immigrants were extremely racist because they competed for the same menial jobs as free blacks.

12. Plantation Slavery In 1860, there was nearly 4 million slaves in the South. Legal importation of slaves from Africa was ended in 1808 by Congress. England’s West Africa Squadron seized hundreds of slave ships and freed the captives. Slave smuggling was a huge problem. The US had a booming internal slave trade due to natural reproduction and relative good living conditions. Planters saw slaves valuable property and were often spared extremely dangerous work. Living conditions of slaves varied drastically.

13. A Market in People Held captive in a net, a slave sits on the Congo shore, waiting to be sold and shipped.

14. A Market in People Once in the United States, slaves continued to be treated like commodities. This woman suffers the humiliation of an inventory number pinned to her dress, most likely for her sale at a slave auction or transport to a new owner.

15. A Slave Auction Abraham Lincoln said in 1865, “Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.”

16. A Slave Auction Abraham Lincoln said in 1865, “Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.”

17. Life Under the Lash Slaves worked all day, had no political or civil rights, could not testify in court, and weren’t allowed to have their marriages legally recognized. Whipping was common and unruly slaves were often sent to “breakers” to correct the problem. Families were often separated but the majority of slave children were raised in stable, two-parent households. Slavery was more difficult in the frontiers of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Slaves developed their own unique culture by blending African and American elements.

18. The Cruelty of Slavery Slaveowners used devices like this collar with bells to discipline and patrol their slaves. This female slave shown toiling in New Orleans has such a collar riveted around her neck, designed to prevent her from hiding from her master or escaping.

19. The Cruelty of Slavery Slaveowners used devices like this collar with bells to discipline and patrol their slaves. This female slave shown toiling in New Orleans has such a collar riveted around her neck, designed to prevent her from hiding from her master or escaping.

20. Slave Nurse and Young White Master Southern whites would not allow slaves to own property or exercise civil rights, but, paradoxically, they often entrusted them with the raising of their own precious children. Many a slave “mammy” served as a surrogate mother for the offspring of the planter class.

21. Burdens of Bondage States outlawed education slaves. Slaves often worked as slow as possible which fostered the myth of black laziness. Slaves stole food and sabotaged equipment. Nat Turner was a slave preacher that led a rebellion which killed about 60 people in Virginia. It was quickly put down. In 1839, slaves seized command of the Spanish slave ship Amistad and attempted to sail back to Africa. Driven ashore on Long Island and imprisoned for 2 years before finally winning their Supreme Court case and returning to Africa. Southerners now lived in a constant state of fear regarding their slaves which fostered racism.

22. Slaves Being Marched from Staunton, Virginia, to Tennessee, by Lewis Miller, 1853 In this folk painting of slaves in transit from the upper South to the new cotton lands of the lower South, couples travel together and children accompany parents. In reality the forced movement of slaves often involved the painful separation of family members.

23. Tag Identifying Slaves and Free Blacks in Charleston All slaves in Charleston, South Carolina, were reminded of their status as property by the tags they were forced to wear, marked with their skills—such as porter or mechanic or carpenter—and the year the tag was issued. After 1848 even free blacks had to wear tags, ensuring that no African American could be anonymous in the city. The badge above was issued to a freed slave in Charleston, South Carolina, sometime after 1848.

24. Early Abolitionism American Colonization Society was founded in 1817 to send former slaves back to Africa. This society founded the country of Liberia on Africa’s western coast. By 1860, most slaves were native born Americans and no desire to return to Africa. Second Great Awakening made many aware of the sin of slavery. American Slavery As It Is by Theodore Dwight Weld and Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe were effective abolitionist writings.

25. Early Emancipation in the North

26. “Am I Not a Man and a Brother? Am I Not a Woman and a Sister?” A popular appeal.

27. Radical Abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison published the antislavery newspaper, The Liberator. Asked for total and immediate emancipation. Garrison and his followers founded the American Anti-Slavery Society. Free black abolitionists included David Walker, Sojourner Truth, and Frederick Douglass. Douglass was an emancipated slave who was discovered by abolitionists and gave many lectures on slavery. Suffered numerous beating and threats. His autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass was very popular. He would eventually become the US minister to Haiti.

28. William Lloyd Garrison (1805– 1879) The most conspicuous and most vilified of the abolitionists, Garrison was a nonresistant pacifist and a poor organizer. He favored northern secession from the South and antagonized both sections with his intemperate language.

29. Sojourner Truth Also known simply as “Isabella,” she held audiences spellbound with her deep, resonant voice and the religious passion with which she condemned the sin of slavery. This photo was taken about 1870.

30. World’s Anti-Slavery Convention, London, 1840 The convention assembled antislavery advocates from around the world, but it refused to seat female delegates. Women were allowed to observe, but not to take part in, the official proceedings. The frustrations of the unseated American representatives led to the historic Woman’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848 (see p. 352).

31. Frederick Douglass (1817?– 1895) Born a slave in Maryland, Douglass escaped to the North and became the most prominent of the black abolitionists. Gifted as an orator, writer, and editor, he continued to battle for the civil rights of his people after emancipation. Near the end of a distinguished career, he served as U.S. minister to Haiti.

32. South Lashes Back Nat Turner’s Rebellion, the publication of The Liberator, and the Nullification Crisis heightened the fear and suspicion in Southerners. Slave supporters stated the Bible and Aristotle both supported slavery. Supporters said it had rescued the savage Africans from the jungles and converted them to Christianity. Said slaves were part of the family and were not treated as badly as workers in northern factories. Southern states outlawed any political debates regarding slavery and post-masters were ordered to destroy abolitionist material in the mail.

33. In Defense of Slavery This pair of illustrations contrasts the supposedly benevolent slave regime of the South with the harshness of working life in Eng land, where starvation wages and unemployment blighted workers’ lives. Apologists for slavery frequently invoked this comparison between allegedly paternalistic slavemasters and the uncaring capitalists who captained the Industrial Revolution.

34. In Defense of Slavery This pair of illustrations contrasts the supposedly benevolent slave regime of the South with the harshness of working life in Eng land, where starvation wages and unemployment blighted workers’ lives. Apologists for slavery frequently invoked this comparison between allegedly paternalistic slavemasters and the uncaring capitalists who captained the Industrial Revolution.