SLAVES AND MASTERS
The South as American Counterpoint
Shrouded in Myth: “Gone with the Wind” versus “Simon Legree”
Distinctive Features: heat, humidity, staple crop agriculture, native born populations, race
Colonial Economics
The Divided Society of the Old South
Wealth divides white Southerners by class
White society also divided by region Black society also divided with
about 6% free Race divides all Southerners by
caste
Slavery the Peculiar Institution
Slavery the SystemThe Slave ExperienceResistance
The Growth of Slavery
Cotton gin makes cotton production profitable.
New territory is being opened for slavery.
Slavery is fundamental to the growth of cotton.
Owning slaves seen as way to economic prosperity.
Eli Whitney and Slavery
Inventor of the cotton gin It will make cotton
production efficiently and cost effective which will drive the demand for slaves
Whitney will also introduce a rifle with interchangeable parts which will aid in producing weapons quickly for the American Civil War
Anglo Justifications for Slavery
Racial Blacks are seen as
“brutes” and should be controlled
Religious Bible scripture provides
examples of slavery Scientific
Blacks are inferior to whites
Paternalism Blacks are being taken
care of
Slave Concentration, 1820Slave Concentration, 1820Slave Concentration by 1860
Distribution of Slave Labor, 1850
55%
15%10%
10%
10%
Cotton
Domestic Work
Rice or Sugar
Tobacco
Mining, Industry, or Construction
50% of all slaves lived in the
50% of all slaves lived in the
Black Belt (“Cotton Belt”)
Black Belt (“Cotton Belt”)
Slaves’ Daily Life and Labor
90% of slaves lived on plantations or farms
Most slaves on cotton plantations worked sunup to sundown, 6 days/week
About 75% of slaves were field workers, about 5% worked in industry
Urban slaves had more autonomy than rural slaves
Conditions of Slavery
Lived in crude quarters that left them exposed to bad weather and disease.
Diets consisted of cornmeal and salt pork.
The weather conditions of the South made health problems like yellow fever, dysentery, and malaria common.
Slave codes reinforced the concept that slaves were property and prevented slaves from having any rights.
The Plantation System
Plantations were diverse economically and self sufficient.
Slaves were organized into specialized gangs that performed specific duties.
Productivity was tied to maintaining discipline.
Field Slaves
Majority were field slaves and worked dawn to dusk. Some worked under the task system which required slaves to complete a specific job once done they were free to manage own affairs.
Did skilled work like carpentry and ironsmithing and unskilled work like tending the crops.
The women also had to care of their families by cooking, tending house and taking care of the children too!
Masters hired out slaves to perform other duties and keep the slave’s wages.
House Slaves
Household slaves cooked, cleaned, and nursed the master's children.
Are constantly watched by their masters and mistresses. Had far less privacy than those who worked the fields.
House slaves faced beatings, verbal abuse and sexual assault.
Slave Quarters
The Big House
Slave Families, Kinship, and Community
Normal family life difficult for slaves fathers cannot always protect children families vulnerable to breakup by masters
Most reared in strong, two-parent families Extended families provide nurture,
support amid horror of slavery Slave culture a family culture that
provided a sense of community
African American Religion
Black Christianity the cornerstone of an emerging African American culture
Whites fear religion’s subversive potential, try to supervise churches and preaching
Slave religion kept secret from whites reaffirmed the inherent joy of life preaches the inevitable day of liberation
Slave Resistance
Slaves worked slowly, broke tools, faked illness and destroyed crops.
Many stole livestock, food, or valuables, burned buildings or killed their masters.
They pursued education! Learning to read is a powerful tool!
Resistance and Rebellion
Run away often aided by the Underground Railroad
Stories, songs asserting equality
Slave Punishment
Slaves were punished for not working fast, being late, talking back, running away, and other reasons.
Slave punishment included whippings, torture, mutilation, imprisonment, the threat of abusing a loved one and being sold away.
Resistance and Rebellion
1800--Gabriel Prosser 1822--Denmark Vesey 1831--Nat Turner
Slave Rebellions and Uprisings, 1800-1831
Gabriel Prosser’s Rebellion
Gabriel Prosser plans the first major slave rebellion.
Gabriel wanted to create an independent black state in Virginia on August 30, 1800.
Gabriel and 26 of his companions are hanged.
Denmark Vesey’s Rebellion
Minister who plans rebellion with over 1,000 members.
Informant betrays revolt. Most faced deportations and hangings.
South is paranoid about slave revolts and Slave Laws.
Nat Turner’s Rebellion
Nat Turner claimed to have visions and was ordered by God to rebel.
In August 1831, led a revolt in which 57 men, women and children are hacked to death.
The rebellion causes the South to pass strict Slave Codes.
Free Blacks in the Old South
Southern free blacks severely restricted Sense of solidarity with slaves Generally unable to help
Repression increased as time passed Had to register with the state & carry “freedom”
papers Were excluded from certain jobs Subjected to re-enslavement & fraudulent
“recapture” By 1860 some state legislatures were
proposing laws to force free blacks to emigrate or be enslaved
White Society in the Antebellum South
Only a small percentage of slave owners lived in aristocratic mansions less than 1% of the white population
owned 50 or more slaves Most Southern whites were yeomen
farmers
The Planters' World
Big planters set tone, values of Southern life
Planter wealth based on commerce land speculation slave-trading cotton planting
Plantations managed as businesses Romantic ideals imitated only by richest
The Value of Cotton Exports as a Percentage of All U.S. Exports
Planters and Paternalism
Planters pride themselves on paternalism
Better living standard for Southern slaves than others in Western Hemisphere
Relatively decent treatment due in part to their increasing economic value after 1808
Planters actually deal little with slaves Slaves managed by overseers Violent coercion accepted by all planters
Small Slaveholders
Slave conditions worst with fewer than 20 slaves share the master's poverty slaves at the complete mercy of the
master Masters often worked alongside the
slaves Most slaves would have preferred the
economic and cultural stability of the plantation
Yeoman Farmers
Small farmers resent large planters Some aspire to planter status Many saw slavery as guaranteeing
their own liberty and independence Slavery viewed as a system for
keeping blacks "in their place"
A Closed Mind and a Closed Society
Planters fear growth of abolitionism Planters encourage closing of ranks Slavery defended as a positive good
Africans depicted as inferior slavery defended with Bible slavery a humane asylum to improve Africans Slavery superior to Northern wage labor
Contrary points of view suppressed
Slavery and the Southern Economy
White Southerners perceived their economic interests to be tied to slavery
Lower South: slave plantation society
Upper South: farming and slave-trading region
The Internal Slave Trade
Mixed farming in Virginia and Maryland
Need less labor, more capital Upper South sells slaves to lower
South Virginia, Maryland, and Kentucky take
on characteristics of industrializing North
Sectional loyalty of upper South uncertain
Slave Concentration, 1820
The Rise of the Cotton Kingdom
"Short-staple" cotton drives cotton boom Cotton gin makes seed extraction easy Year-round requirements suited to slave labor Cotton in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama,
Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, east Texas Large planters dominate cotton production 1850--South produces 75% of world's cotton,
cotton the most important U.S. business
Slave Concentration, 1860
Slavery and Industrialization
Southerners resent dependence on Northern industry, commerce
Southerners project industrial schemes some propose using free white labor others propose the use of slaves
Slaves work in southern factories High cotton profits discourage shift to
industry
The "Profitability" Issue
Slavery not profitable for South as a whole
White small farmers have lower living standards than most Northern farmers
Profits from cotton not well-distributed Slave system results in waste of
human resources, Southern underdevelopment
Defending Slavery
Southern planters feared revolts & the growth of abolitionism & used a new defense slavery: It was sanctioned in the Bible Constitution did not prohibit it Slavery was a “natural” way of life for
“inferior” Africans Slavery was more humane than Northern
industrial exploitation
Defending Slavery
Proslavery Southerners protected South against anti-slavery ideas: Feared abolitionist propaganda would inspire
slave rebellions or inspire the yeoman to support abolition
Increased restrictions on blacks by making it illegal to teach slaves to read & write
Banned church services & meetings without supervision
Conclusions
The post-1793 cotton boom transformed the American economy & Southern society: Cotton facilitated westward expansion & the
entrenchment of African slavery in the South In the 1830s, the South became increasingly
defensive about perceived Northern attempts to end slavery
Worlds in Conflict
Separate Southern worlds planters slaves less affluent whites free blacks
Held together by plantation economy, web of customary relationships