The Southern Region’s History

A Plantation Economy

• Plantations: large farms that grow mostly one crop– Rice– Cotton– Hemp– Tobacco– Indigo– sugar

Inventions that helped Plantations

• Eli Whitney– Invented the cotton gin

• Eliza Lucas Pinckney– Encouraged people to grow indigo

• Norbert Rillieux– Invented evaporating pan

System of Slavery

• Big plantations were like small villages. They had houses, barns, fields, and warehouses.

• Needed a lot of workers.– Many owners chose to purchase African

slaves.

http://slaveryinamerica.org/narratives/nar_smerrick.htm

Plantation Owners

– Good homes– Good clothing– Jewels– Art

Slaves

• Rough cabins

• Little Clothing

• Little Furniture

• Owners could beat or sell them at any time.

Lavina Bell Narrative

Ebramsey NarrativeMarie Perkins Narrative