Chapter Two: The Antebellum South – The Southern Economy and Slavery

Flashcards covering key concepts from Chapter Two: The Antebellum South, including the Southern economy, slavery, class structure, external capital, and cultural factors shaping development.

How was the Southern economy in 1860 characterized in relation to modernization and industrial development?

It remained largely rural and agricultural with little substantial industrial or manufacturing growth, relying on slave labor and staple crops.

What did some Southerners mean when they proclaimed 'we have no cities… we desire no manufactures' in 1861?

They valued tradition and stability and resisted the Northern vision of merit-based, free-labor capitalism and industrial progress.

What crop dominated the Southern economy and exports in the antebellum period?

Cotton; it was the central crop around which wealth and the marketing system revolved.

Who were the 'factors' in the cotton trade, and what did they do?

Factors were commission merchants, mostly Northern (Yankees) or Britons, who financed, stored, insured, transported, and sold cotton for planters, taking commissions.

Why did the Southern economy fail to modernize despite growth, according to the notes?

Because capital was tied up in slaveholding, there was little investment in manufacturing and infrastructure, and cultural values blocked industrial development.

What was the purpose and outcome of the Southern Commercial Convention (1840s–1850s)?

To promote Southern railroads, steamship lines, ports, banks, and manufacturing with Southern capital; it largely remained political and failed to achieve sustained economic independence.

What is meant by 'Herrenvolk democracy' in the Southern context?

An ideology asserting white supremacy and the inferiority of Black people, used to preserve the social and political order of slavery.

What was the typical pattern of slave ownership among white families in the 1850s?

About one-third of white families owned slaves; however, more than half of all slaves were held by a small minority (roughly 12%) of owners with 20+ slaves.

How did slavery affect the white work ethic and labor patterns in the South, according to Olmsted?

Slavery dampened white labor discipline and efficiency; forced labor by slaves reduced motivation for white workers, and some argued slaves slowed others’ productivity.

What was the state of education and literacy in the South around 1860?

The South had a weak commitment to education, with a large portion of the population illiterate and literacy significantly lower than in the free states.

What impact did Eli Whitney’s cotton gin (1793) have on the Southern economy?

It made short-staple cotton profitable and widely cultivable, fueling a cotton boom and expanding plantation slavery.

What regions traditionally supplied colonial exports before 1776, and which crops were prominent?

The South supplied most exports, notably tobacco from Virginia and Maryland, and rice, Indigo, and naval stores from the Carolinas and Georgia.

Describe the outside capital and banking influence on the Southern economy.

Much capital for financing and marketing cotton came from outside the South; Northern banks and capital dominated investment and manufacturing, with limited Southern capacity.

Why did the U.S. slave population rely on natural reproduction after 1808, according to the notes?

The international slave trade had ended in 1808, so growth depended on natural reproduction rather than new imports.

What were the three groups of nonslaveholding whites in the South, and how did they differ?

Hill country (anti-slavery, smallholders, often opposed planter interests), piney woods (poor whites, tenants), and piedmont (smaller planters who often aspired to own slaves and were tied to the plantation economy).

What has been described as the 'colonial' character of the South’s economy, and why?

Despite growing wealth, the South remained a supplier of raw crops and a consumer of Northern manufactured goods, with profits flowing outward through factors and outside capital.

What was the South’s share of national cotton manufacturing capacity in relation to its cotton output?

Southern cotton-growing states possessed only a small fraction of the nation’s cotton manufacturing capacity (about 6%), despite producing much cotton.

How did the 'invisible institution' and slave spirituals contribute to slave culture?

The black church and spirituals provided cultural survival, leadership, and expression of longing for freedom within a system that restricted legal rights.