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Presentation for Mr. West's Class
Life in the South
Between 1820 and 1860, life in the south was largely agricultural with few large cities.
Southerners prided themselves on their love of tradition, and took things at a leisurely pace.
They had no factories, and barely took part in industrializing.
One Alabama politician stated,"We want no manufactures; we desire no trading, no mechanical or manufacturing classes, As long as we have our rice, our sugar, our tobacco and our cotton, we can command wealth to puchase all we want.
In 1793, Yale grad Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin.
After the invention of the cotton gin, slavery was revived.
Key term:
revived: regain life, become popular again.
Because there was such a high demand for slaves, their value increased drasctically.
Slave traders began to smuggle enslaved people from the West Indies,
In 1790, the average cost for a field hand was anywhere between $300 and $350. By 1860, the average cost was about $1,500.
The Southern Class Structure
The Planters were owners of large plantations. At this time in the South, land and slaves were considered as badges of wealth and prestige. Planters were usually men, but could include men and women. Planters often participated in politics.
The largest populated class, the Yeomanry, usually owned hundereds of acres and held between 10 and 40 slaves. Some had no slaves at all. After work, they usually had square dances.
Poor whites made up a small portion of the population. Most lived in the "land of do without" (mountains and pine woods). They rented their land. They barely kept their families from starving, but enjoyed rights denied to enslaved and free African Americans.
About 200,000 free African Americans lived in the South around 1850. They had to register, wear special badges, pay special taxes, and live in separate areas from whites. Some states even passed laws for the African Americans to either leave or be re-enslaved.
Many slaves resisted. Some just ran away, while some took a more subtle approach, such as a worker raising their hoe and stop working after their overseer passed, and then lowering it again when the overseer turned around. Some learned to read and write, even though illeagal.
The slaves had to follow "slave codes", which basically denied their rights as human beings.They could not own property or strike a white person (even in self defense), and could not even leave their own plantations without permission.
QUESTIONS
Eli Whitney
The Planters
(cc) image by quoimedia on Flickr
Yeomanry
Poor Whites
(cc) image by rocketboom on Flickr