Plantation and Slavery Spreading

Chapter 11, Section 2

The Cotton Boom The industrial revolution

increased the number of goods being produced.

It also increased the demand for raw materials.

In England, textile mills needed huge quantities of cotton to produce goods to sell.• Cotton growers in the South

wanted to meet this demand.

The Cotton Gin Traditionally, cotton had to be cleaned by hand- a

process that took a worker one day to clean just one pound.

In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin- a machine that could clean up to 50 pounds of cotton per day.

Slavery Expands From 1790 to 1860, cotton

production increased more than a thousand fold due to the cotton gin.

Using slaves, the South raised millions of bales of cotton ach year.

As cotton production grew, so did the demand for slavery.

In 1808, it became illegal to import Africans.• However, birth rate among the enslaved

increased rapidly.• Between 1810 and 1840, the enslaved

population more than doubled.

Southern Support for Slavery

Southern farmers owned few or no slaves.• Many supported slavery anyway, in hopes to buy

slaves someday, allowing them to raise more cotton and earn more money.

Only one-third of white families owned slaves in 1840. • One-tenth had large plantations with 20 or more

slaves.• Slaveholders with large plantations were the

wealthiest and most powerful people in the South.

African Americans in the South By 1840, enslaved people formed about 1/3 of

the South’s population.

Not all enslaved people labored on plantations.• In cities, some worked as domestic servants, skilled

craftsman, factory hands, and day laborers. • Under the law, they were considered property.

In 1840, about 5 percent of African Americans in the South were free. • They were either born free, been freed, or bought their

own freedom.• Some states made them leave once they gained freedom.

Families Under Slavery The sale of family members was

one of the cruelest parts of slavery.• Some slaveholders would not part

mothers from children, however, many did.

When slaves remained together, they took comfort in their families.

Enslaves people did marry, however their marriage was not legally recognized.

They tried to raise children, even though they could possible lose their child to the slave trade.

A Common Culture By early 1800, a distinctive African-

American culture had emerged in the South.

This culture helped African Americans bond together and endure the brutality of slavery.

Religion became an inspiration.• Messages from the Bible and the book of

Exodus offered opportunities of hope for their people.

They expressed their beliefs in spirituals- folk songs.

African-American spirituals later influenced blues and jazz.

Slave Rebellions Most famous slave rebellion was

carried out by Nat Turner.

In August of 1831 in Southampton County, Virginia, turner and 70 followers killed about 55 white men, women, and children.

Most of turner’s party was captured.

Turners was tried and hanged.

Turners rebellion spread fear among the whites in the South.