Transcript Slide 1

THE SOUTH AND THE SLAVERY
CONTROVERSY, 1793-1860
Chapter 16
Cotton is King
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In 1787 many in both south
and the north thought that
slavery was on its way out.
Reasons?
Impact of Eli Whitney’s cotton
gin.
Seeds no longer removed by
hand
King Cotton
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Cotton becomes dominant cash
crop in south, especially in the gulf
bottom lands.
Southern planters buy new land
and slaves aggressively
Northern shippers make big profits
shipping.
Britain highly dependent on
American cotton.
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Britain’s most important product in
the 1850s was cotton cloth.
About 75% of its cotton came from US.
1/5th of Britain’s workers directly or
indirectly got livelihood from cotton
processing.
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Southern Cotton Production, 1860
Changes in Cotton Production
1820
1860
The Planter “Aristocracy”
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Before the Civil War planter aristocracy
controls government in the South.
Planter Aristocracy at the top.
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1850, only 1733 families owned more than
100 slaves.
Cream of the political and social leadership.
Owned the lion’s share of the wealth.
Shaped the lives of southern women
System retarded economic
development.
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Why?
Slaves Of The Slave System
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Problems with plantation system:
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Hard on the land
Economy was monopolistic
System was economically unstable
 World prices of cotton
 Over speculation
Led to a dangerous dependence on one crop
South lacked diversity
 Discouraged manufacturing
Southern planters present northern
middlemen, bankers, agents and shippers
Slave-Owning Population (1850)
Below the 1733 leading
families were the less
wealthy slave owners.
345,000 families
representing 1.7 Mill
people in 1850.
 Over 2/3 owned fewer
than 10 slaves.
 Maj. of whites didn’t own
slaves
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Whites Without Slaves
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Majority
Mostly subsistence farmers on poorer land
Bottom of group: “Poor white trash”, “rednecks”,
“crackers” – but used to a tough life and the
outdoors, they will make great soldiers
Had no stake in the slave economy, but were
some of the strongest supporters of the system
 Why?
Mountain whites: very poor, resented slavery,
“Hillbillies”
Free Blacks: Slaves Without Masters
By 1860 there were about 250,000 free
blacks
 Societies’ attitude toward them.
 Risk of being high-jacked back into slavery.
 Attitude in the North
 Northern v. Southern view of blacks
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The house of the Mirault
family, prominent free family
of color in Antebeullum
Savannah
Henry and Elizabeth Cunningham were free persons of color built the above
house in 1810. It lies across the street from Second African Baptist Church,
founded in 1802, where Reverend Cunningham was pastor from 1803 to 1842.
Plantation Slavery
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4 Million black slaves
Basement of southern society.
Numbers had quadrupled since 1800.
Important source of wealth
Stagnated the southern economy.
By 1830 slavery was primarily located in
the South, African Americans were
enslaved on small farms, large
plantations, in cities and towns, inside
homes, out in the fields, and in industry
and transportation
Fully 3/4 of Southern whites did not own
slaves; of those who did, 88% owned
twenty or fewer.
Southern Population (1860)
Distribution of Slaves, 1860
Slave Life
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Hard work, ignorance and oppression
No political or legal rights.
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Many places illegal to teach reading.
By 1860 most slaves concentrated in the Deep
South.
While most engaged in agricultural work, they
worked as mechanics, blacksmiths, drivers,
carpenters, and in other skilled trades. Black
women carried the additional burden of caring
for their families by cooking and taking care of
the children, as well as spinning, weaving, and
sewing.
Some slaves worked as domestics, providing
services for the master's or overseer's families.
Slave Life
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Planters patriarchal
Slave beatings last resort
Most slaves in stable two parent household
Kept cultural roots
No political or civil rights
Property under the law.
Slave Rebellions
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The few slave rebellions were not
successful. Often informed upon
by other slaves.
The New York Slave Revolt of 1712
Gabriel in Richmond
Denmark Vesey, Charleston in
1822.
Most famous was rebellion by Nat
Turner in Va. in 1831.
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Significance
Early Abolition
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Early abolitionism. Quakers.
American Colonization
Society (1817)
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Liberia. 15000 freed blacks
transported to Africa
James Madison, Daniel
Webster, James Monroe,
Stephen Douglas, John
Randolph, William Seward,
Francis Scott Key, General
Winfield Scott, John Marshall
and Roger Taney.
Why don’t more American
Blacks go back to Africa?.
Growth of Abolition
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In the 1830s abolitionist turned into a
crusade.
Head of Lane Theological Seminary, hotbed
of early abolitionism. Very influential and
father of
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Harriet Beecher Stowe Her novel Uncle Tom's
Cabin (1852) energized anti-slavery forces in
the American North, while provoking
widespread anger in the South.
Henry Ward Beecher a prominent
Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer,
abolitionist, and speaker in the mid to late
19th century
Catharine Beecher American educator known
for her forthright opinions on women’s
education as well as her vehement support of
the many benefits of the incorporation of
kindergarten into children's education
Radical Abolition
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1831 William Lloyd Garrison
burst onto the scene. young
His view on slavery.
Published militant abolitionist
magazine: The Liberator.
Founded the American AntiSlavery Society in 1833.
"I do not wish to think, or speak, or write,
with moderation. . . . I am in earnest -- I will
not equivocate -- I will not excuse -- I will
not retreat a single inch -- AND I WILL BE
HEARD."
Black Abolitionists
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Sojourner Truth
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Slave in New York
Spoke only Dutch until 10
David Walker—Militant.
Frederick Douglas
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Greatest of the Black
abolitionists
escaped from bondage in
1838 at 21.
Protégé of Garrison
Frequently mobbed by
northerners
That man over there says that women need to be
helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and
to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever
helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or
gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman?
Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed
and planted, and gathered into barns, and no
man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could
work as much and eat as much as a man - when
I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't
I a woman? I have borne five children, and seen
most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out
with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me!
And ain't I a woman?
Frederick Douglas
The South Lashes Back
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Before 1830:
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More anti-slavery societies in south
than north
Southerners openly debated merits of
slavery.
After 1830 debate in South ends
and many southerners defend as
positive good. What changed?
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Nat Turners rebellion in 1831
Nullification Crisis
Reaction to Northern criticism
Southern preachers arguing that
slavery supported by Bible
The Abolitionist Impact In The North
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Abolitionists were not particularly
popular in the North for some
time. Why?
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North had heavy stake in the cotton of
the south.
Textile mills relied on southern
cotton.
Many northerners feared political
controversy.
Northern politicians distanced
themselves from the abolitionists.
Abolitionists harassed
Yet, by 1850 abolitionism had
gained strength and taken root as a
popular cause.
End of Chapter