Slavery, Abolition, and the Quest for Freedom: The Coming of the Civil War, 1793-1861 Chapter 6 Life in the Cotton Kingdom.

Slavery, Abolition, and the Quest for Freedom: The Coming of the Civil War, 1793-1861

Chapter 6

Life in the Cotton Kingdom

1835 AdvertisementA slave buyer offers cash for men, women, and children in this 1835 advertisement.

I. The Expansion of Slavery

Invention of cotton gin, 1793 Made cotton profitable

Rapid territorial expansion of slavery Atlantic coast to Texas Forced removal of American Indians Slave population increased six-fold, 1790-

1860 Grew fastest in Alabama and Mississippi

Map 6–1. Cotton Production in the South, 1820–1860Cotton production expanded westward between 1820 and 1860 into Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and western Tennessee.

Ownership: Slaves in the Old South Slavery unevenly distributed 25% of white families owned slaves in 1860,

down from 36% in 1830 Nearly half of slaveholders owned fewer than

five slaves 12% owned more than twenty slaves 1% owned more than fifty slaves Typical slave lived on a sizeable

plantation

U.S. Slave Population, 1820 and 1860

Map 6–2. Slave Population, 1820–1860Slavery spread southwestward from the upper South and the eastern seaboard following the spread of cotton cultivation.

Black Slaveholders

In 1830, only 2% of free blacks owned slaves.

Protected their families from sale and distribution

Southern states made manumissions harder

Threatened to banish former slaves

The Battle of Put-in Bay

In this engraving, which dates to about 1860, slaves harvest cotton under white supervision on a southern plantation. Note the division of labor with women picking and men packing and carrying.

II. Slave Labor in Agriculture

Slaves in the South 55% cultivated Cotton 10% grew tobacco 10% produced sugar, rice, hemp 15% domestic servants 10% trades and industries

Agriculture, Industry, and Slavery in the Old South, 1850

Map 6–3. Agriculture, Industry, and Slavery in the Old South, 1850.

The experience of African Americans in slavery varied according to their occupation and the region of the South in which they lived.

Slave Labor in Agriculture (cont.) Tobacco Labor intensive crop Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, North Carolina Rice South Carolina and Georgia coastal

waterways Large plantations needed large labor force Some with 300, 500, one planter with 1,000

slaves

Slave Labor in Agriculture (cont.) Sugar

Along the Mississippi River – Southern Louisiana

-Warm climate Long growing season Sixty inches of rain per year Constant labor Harsh conditions ~ hot and humid African Americans feared being sent to work here

Cotton Exports as a Percentage of All U.S. Exports, 1800–1860

Figure 6–1. Cotton Exports as a Percentage of All U.S. Exports, 1800–1860

Cotton rapidly emerged as the country’s most important export crop after 1800 and key to its prosperity. Because slave labor produced the cotton, increasing exports strengthened the slave system itself.

Slave Labor in Agriculture (cont.) Cotton Most important crop in the South and the

nation Exports more than 50% Increased exports strengthened slavery itself

Cotton plantations employed bulk of slaves Britain and New England textile mills Mississippi and Alabama ~ leading producers Price for slaves increased

Cool Down

Explain why you think most slave owners owned very few slaves?

List the four main crops that required slave labor.

Hauling the Whole Week’s Picking

Hauling the Whole Week’s Picking, painted in 1842 by William Henry Brown, shows slaves at work on a Mississippi cotton plantation. Brown emphasizes the heavy physical exertion required of men, women, and children.

III. House Servants andSkilled Slaves

25% of slaves did non-agricultural duties House servants ~ elite slaves

Cooks and maids Less physically demanding Better food and clothing Grueling, hard work in 19th century kitchens Closer white supervision than field hands

Skilled craftsmen ~ elite slaves Carpenters, blacksmiths, and millwrights Traveling for tool and spare parts gave a taste of freedom “Hiring out” – sold service to another

Urban Slavery

Urban slaves Domestics, washwomen, waiters, artisans– Interacted with free black community

Urban slaves had opportunities to earn money when not working for masters

Hired out and paid masters a portion of earnings

More self-sufficiency ~ masters had less control

Industrial Slavery About 5% of 1860 slave population

Textile mills in South Carolina and Georgia– Iron Works in Virginia and other locales– Lumber industry, naval stores

Most industrialist in the South hired slaves– Slaves preferred industrial to plantation

• Greater self-rule• Path to freedom for some

Population Percentages in the Southern States, 1850.

Map 6–4. Population Percentages in the Southern States, 1850.

The percentages of slaves, free African Americans, and white people varied from state to state. In the upper South white populations were substantially larger than black populations. In the deep South, however, the races were more in balance.

Punishment

Physical punishments For good performanceFear of the lash

–Induced discipline and work

–Encouraged cooperation for mutual protection

Louisiana Slave Displays ScarsIn this 1863 photograph a former Louisiana slave displays the scars that resulted from repeated whippings. Although this degree of scarring is exceptional, few slaves were able to avoid being whipped at least once in their lives.

Slave Punishment

Check Point

Breaking of Kunte Kinte

The Domestic Slave Trade The Selling of slaves from plantation to plantation South and westward cotton expansion Upper

South sells excess slaves to Lower South Upper South sent 50% slaves to Lower South, 1820-1860

“Sold down river” Economic necessity Profit Form of punishment Separated families

A Black Father Being Sold Away from His Family

This woodcut of a black father being sold away from his family appeared in The Child’s Anti-Slavery Book in 1860. Family ruptures, like the one shown, were among the more common and tragic aspects of slavery, especially in the upper South, where masters claimed slavery was “mild.”

A Slave CoffleBefore 1850 Washington, D.C. was a major depot in the domestic (or interstate) slave trade. This woodcut portrays a slave coffle—a group of slaves bound together—passing the Capitol Building

in about 1815.

VII. Slave Families

No legal standing Unions were encouraged

– Reduced rebelliousness in young, single men Slave weddings

– Most could chose their mates– Jumping the broom

Southern white concept of patriarchy (male dominance) saw white men have complete power over their wives.

Because black men lacked power, their wives were more like partners than servants

Slave Families (cont.)

Children - Survival skills deception and cleverness Instructed in family history, religion, conduct Folk stories Extended family relationships

High infant mortality Diseases Unsupervised play with white children

Exploitation

Sexual exploitation Long-term relations between slave women and masters common in 19th century

More common was forced sex

Justifications: Black women were promiscuous and deduced

white males Reduced Prostitution Promoted purity among white women

Virginian Luxuries

Throughout its existence, slavery in America encouraged white men to exploit black women for sexual purposes and to abuse black men and women physically. Virginian Luxuries, painted c. 1810, aimed to expose and ridicule these practices.

Sexual Exploitation Story

In Antebellum south (pre-civil war) case of Robert Newsom and Celia

Robert Newsom 60 year old slave master, Celia 14 year old slave

Repeated abuse She murdered him in 1855 Celia’s attorney argued that Missouri law made it a

crime to “take any woman unlawfully against her will” and Celia had the right to defend herself.

White male jury Convicted her of murder and executed

Cool Down

Why was physical punishment so widely used by slaveholders?

Could slavery have existed if it wasn’t for physical abuse? Explain.

VIII. The Socialization of Slaves

Subtle survival skills Mental agility Self-confidence Learned to watch what they said around

whites Learned not to talk back Learned to camouflage their feelings

Religion

Coping mechanism Mid-19th century most slaves Protestant

– Biracial Baptist and Methodist churches• Racially segregated• Shared cemeteries

Slaves believed white churches taught “Servants obey your masters”

Preferred semi-secret black church• Moses and deliverance• Emotional - Musical

Plantation Burial

British artist John Antrobus completed this painting in about 1860. It is named Plantation Burial and suggests the importance of religion among enslaved African Americans.

The Character of Slavery Legacy

Historians have debated the character of the old south’s slave system

1910’s – U.B. Phillips, slavery a benign institution Christian slave owners cared largely for content

slaves; rescued an inferior race from barbarism 1950’s – Exploitation for white profits Most masters never met their slaves face to face Stories of whippings, domestic slave trade, family

separation.