In-Depth Notes on Slavery and Society in Antebellum America

Focus Questions

11.1 How did the experience of enslaved people vary across time and place?

11.2 What divided and united white southern society?

11.3 How was slavery related to economic success in the United States?

11.4 What developments shaped the history of American slavery in the first half of the nineteenth century?

Nat Turner’s Rebellion: A Turning Point in the Slave South

Date: August 22, 1831

Nat Turner led a slave rebellion striving for freedom, motivated by a vision of liberation.

He killed approximately 60 white individuals, including men, women, and children, as he sought to inspire other enslaved people to join his cause.

The rebellion was suppressed within 48 hours by local militia forces, leading to the execution of the rebels, with many captured and tried under a special court.

White Southerners' Reaction:

Believed that abolitionist propaganda incited rebellions, leading to fears regarding the safety of the enslaved population.

Imposed new laws to restrict the movements and rights of enslaved people, including curfews, prohibitions on meeting in groups, and education bans.

Restrictions were also placed on white individuals who opposed slavery to stifle dissent and maintain social order.

After these events, resistance movements became less direct and more covert than open revolt, relying on subtle forms of defiance.

The World of Southern Blacks

11.1 The Varied Experiences of Enslaved People

Docility and Obedience: Slave masters employed physical and psychological methods to control slaves, using rewards for compliance and severe punishments for disobedience.

Dignity and Agency: Enslaved African Americans managed to maintain a sense of dignity despite the brutal conditions, often cultivating a strong sense of community and mutual support among themselves.

Cultural Production: They created a rich inner world, manifesting their disdain for the belief that slavery was beneficial through music, storytelling, and religious practices that reinforced their hopes for freedom.

11.1.1 Daily Life and Labor of Slaves

Life on Large Plantations:

Primarily in the Cotton Belt, where cotton became a major cash crop following the invention of the cotton gin.

Enslaved individuals worked in groups under overseers for long hours, typically from sunup to sundown, with little rest.

Tasks and Variability:

Women and children worked in the fields alongside adults, often performing different tasks such as plant care, weeding, and harvesting.

Sugar plantations in Louisiana had night work during harvest season with high mortality rates due to exhaustion and unhealthy working conditions.

Rice plantations in South Carolina and Georgia used a task system allowing slaves some control over their labor, fostering a semblance of autonomy when completing tasks.

11.1.2 Slave Work Beyond the Fields

Field Hands: Nearly three-fourths of enslaved individuals were field hands engaged primarily in agricultural work.

Urban Enslavement: Some worked in skilled trades or domestic services, enjoying more autonomy than field hands, including opportunities for earning wages.

11.1.3 Resistance and Rebellion

Open Rebellion Timeline:

Gabriel Prosser's Rebellion (1800)

March on New Orleans (1811)

Vesey Conspiracy (1822)

Nat Turner's Revolt (1831)

Less Risky Resistance Methods: Included running away to freedom, participating in the Underground Railroad, and engaging in passive resistance such as work slowdowns or feigning illness.

11.1.4 Free People of Color

Post-1830 Restrictions: The fear of revolts led to harsher penalties for free people of color, emphasizing the duality of perception between enslaved persons and free blacks, limiting their rights and freedoms.

Solidarity and Community: Free blacks shared kinship ties with slaves and often faced similar discriminatory laws forbidding their education and movement.

11.1.5 Racial Identity on Trial

Legal Definitions of Race: Courts often defined individuals by fractions of African ancestry, affecting social and civil identities, wherein a single drop could classify one as black.

Contemporary Relevance: Issues of race and citizenship continue to resonate, exemplified by societal perceptions surrounding figures such as Barack Obama, highlighting ongoing racial prejudices.

White Society in the Antebellum South

11.2 Societal Divisions and Unity

Slavery Ownership Statistics:

Only 25% of southern whites owned slaves, and fewer than 4% were planters.

A majority, about 75%, were non-slaveholding yeoman farmers or artisans who were often economically dependent on the plantation economy.

11.2.1 The World of Planters

Plantation Culture: Wealthy planters significantly influenced society, creating a social order that many aspired to, while more modest slaveholders looked to emulate their lifestyle through social climbing.

Business on Plantations: They were run comparatively as businesses, augmented by the work of wives in managing households, finances, and labor allocation.

11.2.2 Mentality of Paternalism

Racial Justifications: Planters viewed themselves as benevolent guides to enslaved people, perpetuating racial inequalities through the argument that they offered a civilized life for the enslaved.

Economic Interests: Paternalism often intertwined with economic motivations, as slaves were seen not just as laborers but as capital assets essential to their wealth.

11.2.3 Yeoman Farmers

Community Life: Non-slaveholders aspired to rise in social hierarchy through slave ownership, underpinning a collective racial identity that supported slavery while fostering social distinctions between whites and blacks.

Family Roles: Women's work was crucial in maintaining household economics, often focusing on subsistence farming, care for children, and household management.

11.2.4 Proslavery Arguments

Southern Unity: Fears of lower-class whites turning against slavery fostered a defensive attitude and the solidifying of white identity against abolitionist sentiments, leading to common justifications of slavery’s moral and economic advantages.

Rationalizing Slavery’s Morality: Many argued that slavery was a natural state for Africans, supported by religious texts and humanitarianism, positing that it was beneficial for both the enslaved and slaveholders alike.