Lesson 22: The South & Slavery

The South

Rural, agricultural region built on slave labor and cash crops like cotton.

Cotton / Tobacco / Rice / Indigo / Sugar

Major Southern cash crops; cotton becomes dominant after 1800.

Lower South

Region where slavery was strongest; dominated by cotton plantations.

Upper South 

Mixed region with both plantations and small farms; less dependent on cotton.

Border South

States where slavery was declining and less central to the economy.

Plantation

Large agricultural estate worked by enslaved labor; bigger than a farm.

“Peculiar Institution”

Southern euphemism for slavery.

“Down the River”

Phrase describing enslaved people being sold southward to harsher plantation regions (especially Mississippi River area).

Cotton Kingdom

The cotton-dominated economy of the Deep South.

“The great and foul stain”

John Quincy Adams’s phrase describing slavery as a moral evil.

Planters

Wealthy slaveholders owning large plantations; top of Southern society.

“Affair of honor”

Dueling culture among Southern men defending personal reputation.

Plantation Mistress

White woman managing household tasks on a plantation; faced gender expectations and a double standard.

Overseer

White employee hired to supervise enslaved labor and maintain productivity.

Driver

Enslaved person chosen to oversee other enslaved workers under the overseer.

“Poor Whites”

Lower-class white farmers; often landless; still supported slavery for social status.

Slave Codes

Laws controlling enslaved people’s behavior (no reading, no movement without passes, no assembling, etc.).

Free Persons of Color

Legally free Black people in the South; faced heavy restrictions and discrimination.

Auction Houses

Places where enslaved people were bought and sold.

Fancy Trade

The selling of light-skinned enslaved women for sexual exploitation.