The Antebellum South (Pre Civil War)

What was the south's view on their economy?

"No power on earth dares to make war upon it. Cotton is king"- very romantic willing to go to war over cotton

What was the #1 seller in the antebellum?

Cotton "King"

Why don't the southerners like tariffs?

tariffs make it so Britain can't buy cotton so they don't like that

What grows the Cotton industry?

Cotton gin, rich soil, and textile factories in Britain

Plantation owners owned how many slaves?

20 or more- plantations are a large business enterprise

How many people were plantation owners?

1/30 people

Who were plantation owners?

Paternalistic society- Men- man of the house, father to everyone (kids, slaves, even wife)

How many people were Yeoman farmers?

1/2 people

How much land did Yeoman farmers own?

80-160 acres

How did Yeoman farmers take care of their land?

By working on it themselves- sometimes working on plantations

Did Yeoman farmers support Slavery?

Yes- wanted hope of becoming a plantation owner one day

How educated were poor whites?

Illiterate, lazy, and poor- not very

How did poor whites trade?

Traded with slaves for rations in exchange for tools & items

What type of jobs did poor whites do?

Dangerous jobs- plantation owners didn't want to risk slave lives bc they're expensive

Did poor whites support slavery?

Yes- dream of becoming a plantation owner

How many free blacks were living in the South by 1860?

262,000

How could Slaves become Free Blacks?

Owner could emancipate slaves or they can buy themselves out

How did the Owner emancipate slaves?

When owner dies, usually for an old slave that raised them or slave children that he may or may not have had a part in creating

How did slaves buy out their freedom?

If the owner lets them they can work a job for cash

Why would Free Blacks usually stay on the plantations after they were freed?

When they were freed they would stay because of their family if they are still enslaved
No money- no where to go

What was hard about being a Free Black?

Being free you need identification papers at all time - sometimes the poor whites would kidnap a free black and steal their papers and sell them back into slavery

How were slaves treated?

Depending on the owner, could be great or horrible

Who was in charge of the slaves?

Plantation owner's wife - for food, clothes, medicine, etc

How did slaves maintain social networks despite separating?

Slaves tried to form family units- when separated another slave might adopt children of a mother that was sold off

Why would slave owners let their slaves marry if it was illegal?

Happy slave = better slave, Children means they don't have to pay for those slaves

How did slaves adapt to the oppressive conditions?

Creating a separate black culture- religious psalms and stories (like tortoise and the hare- little guy winning in the end)

What would Plantation Owners try to do in order to prevent slave revolts?

tried to hide parts of the bible (like moses) to avoid revolts but the slaves already knew about it lol

Even though slaves knew about the uprising parts of the Bible, how often did they revolt?

Very infrequently- revolt = you are dead