Unfinished Nation - Chapter 11: Cotton, Slavery, and The Old South

The Cotton Economy

The Rise of King Cotton

While much of the upper South relied on the growth of tobacco crops, the use of the land under tobacco continued to make it less and less profitable. Many farmers and plantations switched to growing rice, sugar, and short-staple cotton. While rice and sugar were difficult to grow, the cotton industry quickly took off and saw rapid growth from 1820-1860.

cotton kingdom: cotton constituted nearly two-thirds of the total export trade of the United States by 1860, with production booming in the Deep South
second middle passage: hundreds of thousands of slaves moved from the upper South to the cotton states between 1840-1860, usually bought by rich plantation owners

Southern Trade and Industry

Other forms of economic and industrial pursuits developed in the South, however at a much slower pace than the cotton industry. Flour milling and textile and iron manufacturing had a small growth in areas that need such production. Transportation and industrialization in the South was far behind that in the North. The main form of shipping goods and transporting people was through the use of steamboats and large watercraft on rivers connecting southern cities.

Southern White Society

The Planter Class

Rich aristocrats of the south ran strict “business-like” models of their plantations for the sake of maintaining dominance and wealth. They focused on buying and selling slaves, anticipating fluctuation in markets, arranging transportation of crops, controlling costs, and maintaining a sizable profit.

yeoman farmers: farmers who own small plots of land and usually farm without the assistance of slaves
James Henry Hammond: a senator in the late 1850s, he championed cotton’s value to southern society and argued for a ruling planter class and working slave class
planter class: the richer slave owning institutions who held the majority of power in the South, supported by the institution of slavery and monetary prosperity

Consider the Source: Senator James Henry Hammond Declares “Cotton Is King”

Hammond describes the beauty and prosperity of the Southern lands, saying it is among the most valuable in all the world. He mentions the strength of the southern army, the economic and agricultural growth key to the South’s strength, and specifically outlines the power of cotton in America as well as its exports to foreign nations that relied on it.

The “Southern Lady”

White women had specific societal roles and expectations in the South. Their roles similar to women in middle-class families in the North, they were expected to be companions to and hostesses for their husbands, as well as nurturing mothers for their children. They often engaged in housework and domesticity, seldom engaging in public activities or income-producing employment.

cult of honor: dictated that southern white men give particular importance to the defense of women, being considered extremely dominant over the more subordinate roles of white women

The Lower Classes

Below planters and plantation owners came yeoman farmers, and even lower than them were the landless poor. The educational disparities between wealthy planters and poor farmers only furthered the gap. Many expressed animosity for the aristocracy of plantation owners, however they did little to combat this system. Sentiments of racial supremacy from both rich and poor white people alike also kept the institutions from being highly questioned or protests, as virtually all white people (in the south especially) saw black people as inferior to them.

Slavery: The “Peculiar Institution”

Varieties of Slavery

The slave codes provided a dominant impact of oppressive rules for slaves during this time. While these general guidelines for slavery were considered the standard, how they were enforced and consequently used to punish enslaved people depended on each master. Some masters treated their slaves in warm and benevolent manners, however many were tyrannical and cruel.

peculiar institution: a term white southerners commonly used to refer to slavery, meaning it was distinctive and special
abolitionists: people who opposed slavery and strove to expose it as a brutal, dehumanizing institution
slave codes: laws in the South that forbade slaves to hold property, leave their masters’ premises without permission, be out after dark, congregate with other slaves except at church, carry firearms, testify in court against white people, strike a white person even in self-defense, and prohibited them from learning to read or write

Debating the Past: Analyzing Slavery

Over time, historians and people have analyzed and debated the experiences and effects of slavery. A common narrative in the 19th and early 20th centuries was that slavery was a generally harmless notion where the majority of enslaved people were content and cared for by their masters. However, as time has passed and more narratives are brought to the light, people have seen that slavery was extremely detrimental and caused physical and psychological harm to the people enslaved.

Life Under Slavery

Slaves lived in slave quarters, usually detached and rough cabins on white plantation estates. They were fed a measly diet and often did not get enough to eat, lacking in nutritious foods. Slave women worked particularly hard, as they usually worked in the fields alongside the men, while handling the cooking, cleaning, and child rearing. On larger plantations, slaves would be assigned to either domestic work or labor in the fields.

Slavery in the Cities

Conditions of urban slavery were different than those in agrarian settings. In cities, slaves often had more freedom to perform various errands and leave the households, briefly escaping the ever-present watch of their masters. Slaves on contract worked in mining, lumbering, docks, construction sties, drove wagons, and performed more menial labor. Some slave women and children worked in textile mills. This also gave them opportunities to interact with free Black people and other white people in different settings.

Free African Americans

Sometimes slaves (especially those in urban areas) were able to earn or buy their own freedom, and their families’ freedom, too. In rare cases, some slaves were set free by masters who had moral qualms about slavery, or after a master’s death. Some former slaves were able to thrive and find jobs, creating free Black communities in cities such as New Orleans, Natchez, and Charleston.

Elizabeth Keckley: an enslaved woman who bought freedom for herself and her son with proceeds from sewing, later becoming a seamstress, personal servant, and companion to Mary Todd Lincoln
manumission: the ability of a slaveowner to free their slaves

The Slave Trade

Many enslaved people were bartered for, transported, and bought by different masters, uprooting them and consequently separating them from their families. Slave traders took advantage of these jobs to sell Black people for as much as $2000, depending on the person. The slave trade was dehumanizing and brutal. It separated parents and children, and caused great suffering that had aftereffects lasting for decades.

the Amistad: a ship of Portuguese slave hunters who had enslaved Africans, the Africans took charge of the ship in revolt and tried to sail back to their homelands unsuccessfully

The Culture of Slavery

Slave Religion

Virtually all African Americans were Christians in the early 19th century, some converting voluntarily and others under coercion from their masters. Autonomous Black churches were banned by law, however Black people were able to develop their own version of Christianity, incorporating ideas of voodoo, polytheistic religious traditions, and uniting under the circumstances of bondage. Many saw Black religion as more joyful and affirming, as they praised the idea of freedom and deliverance.

Language and Music

Many enslaved people came from different regions and therefore spoke various African languages. As a result, most learned a simple, common language known as pidgin. It drew from both English and African languages. Music was extremely important to Black enslaved people as well, and they used rhythm, instruments like the banjo, and their voices to create songs and tunes. Enslaved people used music to pass the time during field work, convey hidden meanings or codes in songs, and tell stories of hope and freedom from slavery.

The Slave Family

A “nuclear family” model was usually seen among early African American families. Many Black women had children as young as fourteen or fifteen (sometimes due to forced sexual relations with their masters), and had more children than white women on average. Premarital pregnancy was not condemned, however it was common for Black couples to marry shortly after conceiving a child. The slave trade broke apart up to a third of all Black families, creating interconnected systems and communities of kinship with other Black people.

Slave Resistance

While slaveowners tried to argue that enslaved people were content and cared for, evidence can be seen in many forms through revolts, resistance, attempted escapes, etc. that Black people yearned for freedom and detested slavery. African Americans were able to approach slavery with adaptation and resistance, staying strong to themselves and their communities in the face of extreme abuse and suffering under slavery.

Gabriel Prosser: gathered 1,000 rebellious slaves outside Richmond in 1800, but his plot was uncovered by Virginia militiamen who stifled the uprising, ending up being executed after the revolt
Denmark Vesey: a free Black man, in 1822 his some 9,000 followers prepared to revolt, but word leaked out and suppression and retribution followed
Nat Turner: a slave preacher who led a band of African Americans in 1831 with guns and axes from house to house in Southhampton County, Virginia, killing sixty white men, women, and children, leading to the execution of over 100 Black people in the aftermath

Conclusion

Comprehension Questions

1. Why did cotton become the leading crop of the South? 2. Why did industry fail to develop in the South to the extent that it did in the North?

3. How did slavery function economically and socially?

4. What was the effect of slavery on white slaveowners? On slaves? On nonslaveowning whites? On free blacks?

5. Through what means did slaves maintain a distinct African American culture?