Transcript The South and the Slave Controversy 1793-1860

The South and the Slave
Controversy 1793-1860
The South and the Slave
Controversy 1793-1870
 Slavery was dying out, but the invention of the cotton
gin prompted the plantation owners to keep their
slaves as they now produced a high profit harvesting
cotton.
 "Cotton is King!"
 The South controlled Britain because 75% of Britain's
cotton came from the South.
The Planter Aristocracy
 The antebellum South was more of an oligarchy-a
government run by the few. The government was
heavily affected by the planter aristocracy. The
dominance of aristocracy in the South widened the
gap between the rich and poor because the aristocrats
made all the decisions in their favor in government.
 The Southern plantation wife commanded the female
slaves.
The Slave System
 The economic structure in
the South became
increasingly
monopolistic. The
plantation system was very
financially unstable. The
temptation to overspeculate (no profit
w/material held) in land
and slaves caused many
planters to plunge into
debt.
The White Majority
African Slave & Mistress
“Gone with the Wind”, 1939
The White Majority
 The less wealthy slave owners
were below the wealthy slaves
owners. The smaller slave
owners didn't own a majority of
the slaves, but they made up a
majority of the masters. Next
came the large number of whites
(3/4 of South white population)
who didn't own slaves. These
whites were a support of slavery
because they wanted to
eventually own a slave or two
and achieve the "American
dream" of moving up socially in
society.
The White Majority (Part Two)
 The less prosperous non-slave-holding whites were
known as "poor white trash" and "hillbillies." Next
came the mountain whites who lived in the valley of
the Appalachian range. Civilization hadn't reached
them yet, and they supported Abraham Lincoln's
Union party.
Free Blacks
 Many free blacks settled in New
Orleans.
 In the South, the free blacks
were prohibited from having
certain jobs and forbidden from
testifying against whites in
court. They were known as the
"3rd Race."
 In the North, the free blacks as
individuals were hated more
than in the South.
 White southerners liked the
black as an individual, but hated
the race. The white northerner
professed to like the race, but
disliked the individual.
Plantation Slavery
 Because the price of "black
ivory" (slaves) was so high,
slaves were smuggled into
the South despite the
importation of African
slaves into American
ended in 1808. Most slaves
were the offspring of slaves
already in America.
 Planters regarded slaves as
major investments.
Life Under the Lash
 "Black Belt"- region where
most slaves were
concentrated; stretched
from South Carolina and
Georgia into Alabama,
Mississippi, and Louisiana.
 Blacks managed to sustain
family life in slavery.
 Blacks molded their own
distinctive religious forms
from a mixture of Christian
and African elements.
The Burdens of Bondage
 Slaves were not
permitted to read
because reading brought
ideas and ideas brought
discontent.
 Slavery in the South was
known as the "peculiar
institution."
Early Abolitionism
 American Colonization Society- founded in 1817;
focused on transporting the blacks back to Africa.
 Republic of Liberia- founded in 1822 as a place for
former slaves.
 The Second Great Awakening inflamed the hearts of
many abolitionists against the sin of slavery.
 Theodore Dwight Weld- abolitionist who spoke
against slavery; wrote the pamphlet American Slavery
As It Is (1839) which made arguments against slavery;
went to Lane Theological Seminary.
Radical Abolitionism
 William Lloyd Garrison-
wrote a militantly antislavery newspaper The
Liberator; publicly burned
a copy of the Constitution.
 Sojourner Truth- freed
black woman who fought
for black emancipation
and women's rights.
 Frederick Douglasslectured widely for
abolitionism; looked to
politics to end slavery.
Radical Abolitionism
Sojourner Truth
Frederick Douglas
The South Lashes Back!
 In 1832, states were moving to make the emancipation of
any kind illegal. This nullification crisis of 1832 caused
the voice of white southern abolitionism to be silenced.
 The Southerners argued that slavery was supported by the
Bible.
 The Gag Resolution required all anti-slavery appeals to be
tabled without debate in the House of Representatives.
 In 1835, the government ordered the southern postmasters
to destroy abolitionist material due to anti-abolitionist
mobbing and rioting at a postal office in Charleston, South
Carolina.
The Abolitionist’s Impact in the
North
 Abolitionists were, for a long time, unpopular in many
parts of the North. The southern planters owed much
money to the northern bankers-should the Union
dissolve, the debts would be lost. New England textile
mills were fed with cotton raised by the slaves-if
slavery was abolished, then the vital supply would be
cut off and there would be unemployment.
 "Free-soilers" opposed extending slavery to the
western territories.