Currier & Ives, Cotton Plantation

Growing Black Population

600% increase in black population, 1790-1860 Less than 700,000 in 1790; 4

million by 1860 1 out of every 3 Southerners –

majority in Mississippi & South Carolina

Mostly due to natural increase - only 50,000 smuggled in after 1808

260,000 free blacks by 1860 (6% of black population) Over 10% of all blacks free by

1810, but many states forbade manumission in 1820s-1830s

Required to carry papers & very limited in rights

Could own slaves – 3,200 did so Many were mulattoes

Population of the Southern States

Blacks in the North

Northern states phased out slavery Penn. (1780), N.Y. (1799), Conn. & N.J. (1804)

provided for gradual abolition – almost all free by 1840

Mass. Supreme Court ruled slavery violated state constitution in 1781

Slavery barred from Northwest Territory (1787)

Over 3/5 of Northern blacks lived in cities Most were unskilled laborers Only 5 states allowed black men to vote

The Rise of King Cotton

Eli Whitney’s cotton ‘gin made it possible to profitably grow short-staple cotton.

Annual production soared: 1790 – 3,000 bales 1810 – 178,000 bales 1860 – 4 million bales

By 1860, South grew 75% of world’s cotton.

Eli Whitney’sCotton ‘Gin

The Cotton Kingdom

Over ½ grown in Ala., Miss. & La. ¾ grown by slaves

1 million slaves moved to new western plantations, 1790-1860 Mostly young adults 60-70% sold Equal sex ratio,

except for sugar plantations

Plantation Profits

Capitalist agriculture 8% annual return on

investment, 1820-60 Demand rose 5% annually

Benefited rest of U.S. Cotton = 60% of U.S.

exports by 1840 South became prime

market for Northern manufactured goods

Hampered economic development of South Few factories No public education

Main Plantation Crops

Slaveowning Concentrated in Wealthy Hands Only 26% of Southern white families owned

slaves by 1860 Majority of slaveowners had 5 or fewer 2.7% owned 50 or more 0.1% owned 200 or more

Average wealth of slaveowners was 13.9 times that of non-slaveowners

Majority of slaves lived on middling or large holdings 25% on small holdings (1-9 slaves) 50% on middling holdings (10-49 slaves) 25% on large holdings (50 or more)

Plantation Life

Supervision varied by size: Resident masters supervised smaller

plantations (under 30 slaves) Hired overseers ran larger ones Foremen (drivers) often slaves

Lenient treatment mixed with harsh punishment Typical rations = 1 peck of cornmeal

& 2.5-4 lb.s of bacon per week; 4 suits of clothing per year

Each family had small wooden cabin, cleaned regularly to protect health

Sundays & Saturday afternoons off

Slave Quarters, Carter’s Grove Plantation, Virginia

Slave Quarters, Carter’s Grove Plantation, Virginia

Life as a Slave Nuclear families with 7

children on average Masters encouraged monogamy

to maintain order most escapees were young,

unmarried men Economic imperatives took

precedence, however 1/3 of all slave marriages broken

up by sale of spouses in Upper South

almost ½ of all children separated from at least 1 parent

Distinction between field slaves & house slaves real, but exaggerated Field slaves (75%) had more

freedom but worse conditions House slaves (25%) had better

conditions but less freedom

Picking cotton

The Paradox of Black - White Relations Dialectical relationship

Each shaped the other Blacks contributed to broader

American culture while creating separate subculture

Whites could never resolve inherent contradictions of slavery Philosophical contradiction:

rests on assumption that one man completely surrenders his will and becomes an extension of another man’s will

Legal contradiction: slaves simultaneously people & property

Plantation near Richmond, VA

Justifications for Slavery

Racism – blacks seen as lazy & childlike Argued slavery civilized &

Christianized them Argued only whipping would make

slaves work Christian Religion

Believed Bible condoned slavery Thought “Curse of Ham” (Gen. 9:20-

27) justified it Feudal Myth

claimed reciprocal relationship – provided for slaves’ needs in exchange for devoted service

Paternalistic care contrasted with “inhumane” treatment of Northern factory workers

Woodcuts fromJosiah Priest,In Defense of Slavery

Blacks’ View of Slavery

Rejected racism, but learned to conform to whites’ expectations to avoid punishment

Saw Christianity as affirming their equality & offering promise of earthly freedom as well as heavenly redemption

Blacks neither grateful for care, nor considered it payment – viewed it as fundamental right Used whites’ rhetoric of feudalism

to demand better treatment Appreciated “good” masters &

accepted punishment when deserved

Slave manacles

Extremely Unfavorable Conditions for Rebellion

High ratio of whites to blacks, unlike rest of the Americas

Small size & dispersed nature of most slaveholdings

Well-armed resident masters who kept close watch on their property

Political stability (except during the Revolutionary & Civil Wars)

Running Away

50,000 slaves ran away each year

75% of escaped slaves were in teens or 20s

Most returned to families or tried to pass as free blacks in cities

Some went “on strike” to negotiate better conditions

UndergroundRailroad map

Effects of Slavery on White Relationships

All whites got benefits of being part of the “master race” Racism used to keep nonslaveholding white

majority in favor of system All white men expected to ride slave patrols

Concept of chivalry defined women as weak & in need of protection from rapacious black men

Women had to endure husbands’ raping of female slaves Women often biggest critics of slavery as a result –

e.g. Sarah & Angelina Grimke