Chapter 16 - The South and the Slavery Controversy

==Cotton== ==accounted for half the value of all American exports after 1840==
Britain’s most important manufactured item was cotton cloth in the 1850s with Britain importing 75% of its raw cotton from the South which caused the South to have a significant influence in Britain

The South was more of an oligarchy
The government was affected by the planter aristocracy with the Southern aristocracy widening the gap between the rich and poor due to aristocrats making governmental decisions in their favor
The Southern plantation wife was known to command the female slaves

South’s economic structure became increasingly monopolistic
==Southern economy== ==was quite dependent on cotton which caused the economy to be unstable==
Several of the plantation owners over-speculated in land and slaves which caused them to fall into debt

The white population of the South consisted of wealthy slave owners, less wealthy slave owners, and non-slave holding whites (¾ the population)
The non-slave holding whites supported slavery as they eventually wanted to own slaves adn achieve the “American dream” of moving up in society
- The less prosperous non-slave holding whites were known as “hillbillies” or “poor white trash”

Several free blacks settled in New Orleans but were generally not liked in the North and South with them being known as the “3rd Race”
- Free blacks weren’t allowed to have certain jobs and were prohibited from testifying against whites in court in the South
White southerners liked blacks as individuals but hated the race
White northerners professed that they liked the race but disliked the individual

Due to the price of slaves being so high, slaves were smuggled into the South despite legal importation of African slaves into the U.S. having ended in 1808
Most slaves were the children of slaves already in America
Planters saw slaves as major investments

The ==“Black Belt” was a region of the South where most slaves were concentrated==
- Went from South Carolina and Georgia into Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana
Blacks managed to continue their family life in slavery and formed their own religious from a mixture of Christain and African elements

Slaves weren’t allowed to read because reading brought ideas with ideas leading to discontent
Slavery in the South was known as “peculiar institution”
Nat Turner’s Rebellion was a southern rebellion against slavery which was led by Nat Turner, with it eventually being defeated

==American Colonization Society== ==was founded in 1817 and focused on transporting blacks back to Africa==
The ==Republic of Liberia== ==was founded in 1822 and was a place for former slaves==
All southern slaves were born and in America and didn’t have any desire to retrun to Africa by 1860
The Second Great Awakening caused many abolitionists to speak out against the sins of slavery

==William Lloyd Garrison== ==wrote an anti-slavery newspaper called “The Liberator”==
The ==American Anti-Slavery Society== ==was founded in 1833 with the purpose of opposing slavery==
==Frederic Douglass== ==was a black abolitionist who lectured for abolitionism==
- Looked towards politics to end slavery

Virginia defeated numerous emancipation bills from 1831 to 1832 while other states did the same and prohibited all forms of emancipation with this series of emancipation setbacks came to be known as the nullification crisis of 1832
- The ==Nullification Crisis of 1832== ==silenced the voice of white southern abolitionism==
Southerners argued that slavery was supported by the Bible and said that slavery was good for the Africans as it introduced them to Christianity

Abolitionists were unpopular for a long time in many parts of the North
Southern planters owed a lot of money to the northern bankers and ff the Union collapsed, these debts wouldn’t be repaid
If slavery was abolished, then the cotton supply would be cut off which would result in unemployment
==“Free soilers” opposed the extension of slavery to the western territories==