unit 3: antebellum slavery to reconstruction chapter 6 life in the cotton kingdom
TRANSCRIPT
What does Antebellum mean?
A period of time before a war, usually refers to the American Civil War.
1820 – 1861 (start of Civil War) for reference purposes only
Section 1: The Expansion of Slavery
Invention of cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793– Led to rapid expansion of slavery – need
land!• Atlantic coast to Texas
– Slave population increased tremendously, 1790-1860
• Grew fastest in Alabama and Mississippi
Slave Population, 1820–1860
• Map 6–2. Slavery spread southwestward from the upper South and the eastern seaboard following the spread of cotton cultivation.
Source: Sam Bowers Hilliard, Atlas of Antebellum Southern Agriculture (Louisiana State University Press, 1984), pp. 29–34.
Cotton Production in the South, 1820–1860
• Map 6–1. Cotton production expanded westward between 1820 and 1860 into Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and western Tennessee.
Source: Sam Bowers Hilliard, Atlas of Antebellum Southern Agriculture (Louisiana State University Press, 1984) pp. 67–71.
Ownership: Slaves in the Old South
Slavery unevenly distributed – think about the statistics from yesterday!
• 25% of white families owned slaves by 1860• Nearly half of slaveholders owned fewer than
five• 1% owned more than fifty slaves
Slave-Slave-OwningOwning PopulatiPopulati
onon (1860)(1860)
Slave-Slave-OwningOwning PopulatiPopulati
onon (1860)(1860)
Black Slaveholders
There were Black Slaveholders, because . . .
- They did it to protect families from sale and disruption.
- Not very popular. In 1830, only 2% of free blacks owned slaves.
Section 1 Essential Questions
Create an essential question from each of the headings below:
– The Expansion of Slavery
– Slave Population Growth and Ownership of Slaves in the Old South
– Black Slaveholders
Section 1 Essential Questions
– Why did slavery expand in the cotton kingdom?
– How was the slave population distributed across the South?
– Why did a small number of free blacks purchase slaves?
Section 2: Slave Labor in Agriculture
Slaves in the South– 55% cultivated cotton– 20% grew tobacco or produced sugar, rice,
hemp– 15% domestic servants– 10% trades and industries
An engraving dating from about 1860, slaves harvest cotton under white supervision on a southern plantation.
Source: The Granger Collection, NY
Section 2 Essential Question
This is a brief section – create one question from the title of the section:
– Slave Labor in Agriculture (the next level headings were different crops)
What types of crops did slaves cultivate in the South?
Section 3: Other Types of Slave Labor 25% of all slaves did non-agricultural
duties House slaves ~ “elite” slaves (cooks,
maids, nurses, butlers, gardeners
+ Less physically demanding+ Better food and clothing
- Grueling to work in 19th century kitchens (Belle)- Constantly under white supervision
Photograph by L.D. Andrew, 1936, from a vintage photograph taken ca. 1880 - Georgia)http://www.gwu.edu/~folklife/bighouse/panel9.html
Domestic Slave with Planter's Family," Virginia, ca. 1859-64
http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/slavery/details.php?categorynum=9&categoryName=Domestic%20Servants%20and%20Free%20People%20of%20Color&theRecord=10&recordCount=56;
Section 3: Other Types of Slave Labor Skilled craftsmen ~ more “elite” than
house slaves and included carpenters, blacksmiths, and millwrights
+ Could travel for supplies and gave a taste of freedom
+ Could be hired out (work for $$)
Urban Slavery
Were the “immigrants” of the South Jobs include: domestics, washwomen,
stevedores, general laborers + Interacted with free black community
+ Had opportunities to hire out ($$)
Young African-American Stevedore Loading Cotton onto a Steamboat at New Orleans, 1800shttp://www.art.com/products/p14385227-sa-i3032613/young-african-american-stevedore-loading-cotton-onto-a-steamboat-at-new-orleans-1800s.htm?sorig=0
Industrial Slavery
Jobs included textile mills, iron working, lumber industry
Most industrialist in the South hired slaves
+ Greater autonomy
+ Could provide path to freedom