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Old South
Peculiar Institution Lower South Upper South Border South Yeoman Farms Cash Crops Old Southwest |
Cotton Kingdom
Steamboats Planter Plantation Mistress Overseers Driver Poor Whites Slave Codes |
Free Persons of Color
Mulattoes Slave Trade Prosser Conspiracy Nat Turner's Rebellion |
The South, Slavery, and King Cotton
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During the first half of the 19th century (1800s), the South went from a few coastal states to large region that stretched beyond the Mississippi River. This larger expanded region that allowed slavery BEFORE the Civil War is known as the Old South. After the Civil War when slavery was abolished, or eliminated, it was called the New South. The Old South, even during its expansion west, remained mostly rural (rural means that it was less populated and did not contain a lot of large cities) and dependent on agriculture. The North, on the other hand became less rural and developed an economy based on industry.
After the War of 1812, the crop that was most grown in the South was cotton. Great Britain bought most of South's cotton crop which drove prices and demand for the crop up. The North's role in cotton was through factories that would loom or spin the cotton into material that could be used to make clothing and other products. |
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The increase of cotton production led to the increase use and dependence on slave labor. The vast majority of Southern whites did not own slaves, but they typically did not speak out about the what John C. Calhoun called, a peculiar institution. This term allowed Southern elites (the richest and most powerful Southerners) to refer to slavery without actually saying the word "slavery."
Many Souths
The South was not a single culture of whites, but made up of different subcultures (smaller groups). There is the Lower South, which is the most dependent on commercial cotton production and contained the highest number of slaves. The Lower South is made up of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. By 1860, slaves made up half of the total population in the Lower or Deep South. The states in the Upper South, were not as dependent on cotton and produced other crops such as tobacco, wheat, and corn. It did not have as many large plantations as the Lower South, but was instead made up mostly of family farms. Most of these farms did not contain slaves were simply run by the family that lived on the land. They typically mostly produced crops for their own use and sold a little extra to get supplies they needed. These were called yeoman farms. The Upper South consisted of Virginia, the western part of North Carolina, Tennessee, and northern Georgia.
The Border South, was the only place that slavery was actually becoming a smaller institution because the climate was not suited for large scale cotton farming. By 1860, 90% of Maryland and Delaware's black population was free. The Border South consisted of Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware.
All areas of the South grew cash crops. Cash crops are crops grown for money and not for eating. Cotton and Tobacco are cash crops.
The Border South, was the only place that slavery was actually becoming a smaller institution because the climate was not suited for large scale cotton farming. By 1860, 90% of Maryland and Delaware's black population was free. The Border South consisted of Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware.
All areas of the South grew cash crops. Cash crops are crops grown for money and not for eating. Cotton and Tobacco are cash crops.
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The Old Southwest - The Old Southwest became the new region for large plantations as the population of the coastal states grew. By 1830, two-thirds of the South's cotton was produced in the Old Southwest states of western Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas.
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By 1860, the center of the cotton kingdom stretched from the Atlantic Ocean, through the Deep South, and finally to Texas. This was where the vast majority of cotton was raised and where the largest slave owning plantations could be found. Steamboats on the rivers made cotton from the Upper South and the Border South able to be shipped to coastal ports in places like New Orleans and Mobile, or it could be shipped north to New York.
The Planter Class & Plantations
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The culture of cotton and slavery created a class of Southerners that became economically and politically powerful. There were not many large plantations in each state, but those who owned them, controlled most of the political power in their state. Large planters behaved like an aristocracy, or like they were royalty. Many believed they were the natural leaders in the South because of their financial success. Planters were different from farmers because they owned large tracts of land in which they had large home on with many slaves. All labor was done with slave labor. Planters themselves did little actual work and their success was illustrated by the fact they could spend their time tending to things unrelated to the farm. The 10,000 richest plantation owners in the South only made up 3% percent of the total Southern population, but they controlled everything.
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Slaves tended to every need of the planter and his wife, called a mistress. While Southern culture, especially in the planter class, was dominated by men, the plantation mistress also had an important role in society. The plantation mistress managed and made sure that everything that was related to home was tended to and taken care of. She made sure slaves in charge of domestic or household duties, did them. She managed what meals to have slaves prepare, social events, and even births. Often times, the plantation mistress herself saw herself as something of a slave to the house and to her husband.
Another aspect of plantation life were overseers, who managed slaves and were responsible for maintaining the buildings, fences, and grounds. They were usually family members of the planter, but could also be farmers that learned they could make more money by being hired as overseers. Many would often move about from plantation to plantation in search of better wages and work. Many overseers were ruthless and mean, they used fear and intimidation to keep slaves from causing the plantation any trouble. The only higher position that a slave could expect to obtain was that of a driver. Drivers were slaves that were favored and trusted by plantation owners and overseers, they managed or oversaw the work of small work gangs, mostly in the cotton fields. They made sure everyone in their "gang" worked and did what they were supposed to do.
Earliest known image of slaves before the Civil War.
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Plantation House
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Over half of white Southerners fell into the class of yeoman or small farmers. They were usually uneducated, and worked hard to barely scratch out a living on their farms. They often lived in small cabins with their family on fifty acres or less. They raised enough livestock to feed their family would trade with neighbors anything that was "extra." On small farms, everyone in the family was expected to work. Some small farmers made enough extra money in order to purchase a few slaves, but rarely more than 3 or 4. They would work alongside their slaves and often developed a closer relationship to them.
The last social level of whites in the South, was that of poor white. Poor whites barely made enough to live off of and often did so because they were not motivated to do more than what was necessary to survive. They generally did not own much land, if any, and were often considered squatters, or someone who lives on property without owning it. They lived in small cabins or shacks and often made their own clothing and owned very little possessions. Even then they were known as hillbillies and sometimes even referred to as "trash."
The last social level of whites in the South, was that of poor white. Poor whites barely made enough to live off of and often did so because they were not motivated to do more than what was necessary to survive. They generally did not own much land, if any, and were often considered squatters, or someone who lives on property without owning it. They lived in small cabins or shacks and often made their own clothing and owned very little possessions. Even then they were known as hillbillies and sometimes even referred to as "trash."
Slavery in Stoddard County
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Stoddard County is an interesting case study of a border state county that was made up primarily of yeoman farmers who originally had traveled to the county in the 1840s from North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Less than ten percent of households in the county (143) were from states outside of the South. The institution of slavery, while present, had little influence over the political or economical forces within the county. According to the 1860 census, only 215 slaves out of a total county population of 7,874 were located in Missouri (less than three percent). The largest slave owner, Samuel Holmes, owned sixteen slaves on his farm between present day Essex and Dexter. The overall average among slave owners was 3.5 slaves, most living in or connected to the family home. Only twenty-four of the county's fifty-four slave owners served in the Confederate forces. One out of every thirty-one soldiers from Stoddard County was a slave owner.
At the time of the Civil War ninety-two percent of cotton raised in Missouri was raised in four southern counties: Stoddard, Shannon, Dunklin, and Dallas, which possessed a white population of 20,562 and a slave population of 513 |
Runaway slave sought in Stoddard County
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The house at left is the only known pre-Civil War home in Stoddard County still standing. It was the home of Henry Miller who owned several slaves that lived in outbuildings behind the house.
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Black Society in the South
Slaves were obtained in one of three ways. They were inherited by the children of slave owners, born on the farm or plantation, or lastly, purchased at auction. Buying and selling slaves was a huge business, especially in the Deep South, and fortunes were made on the sale of slaves. Slaves just the Civil War were worth more than $30,000 each in todays money, many plantation owners found it more profitable to deal in slaves than actual farming.
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The enslaved population lived in a complex system of rules, regulations, and restrictions. Formal slave codes were developed in each state that regulated the treatment and rules that slaves had to endure or experience. Slaves were not allowed to leave the plantation without permission, or be outside after dark without written permission. Some codes made it illegal for slaves to learn to read or write, for fear they would pass notes to start a rebellion.
African-Americans who were not slaves were called free persons of color. They were a small group in many states and their status was very vulnerable because they were always worried they could be returned into slavery. Free blacks could marry, own land, and enter into contracts. They could not vote, own weapons, testify against whites in court, most had to have an identity card and pay taxes for being "free." A large number of free blacks were mulattoes, people of mixed racial ancestry. Mulattoes made up about 20% of the free black population and were generally regarded and allowed a few more rights and freedoms than most. Some mulattoes built fortunes and became slave owners themselves. William Ellison, freed by his white father, developed a successful business in South Carolina making cotton gins, while he managed a 900 acre farm where he owned more than 60 slaves. In 1830 the US census reported that 3,775 free blacks, or 2% of all free blacks, owned 12,760 slaves. |
Mulatto man before the Civil War
Mulatto children
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Slave Trade - In 1808, Congress and President Thomas Jefferson outlawed the importation of slaves from Africa. This made the slave trade in the U.S. more important and more profitable. Cities saw slave trader markets spring up, New Orleans had twenty of them. Slaves would be brought in by owners where they would be fattened up with better food, new clothes, and groomed. Each slave was inspected by potential buyers while on the auction block. They looked at teeth and gums, any deformities, and especially looked for any scars from a whip, if a slave had whip marks it would hurt the sale because it would be assumed he was an "unruly" slave. The worst scenes were of children separated from parents and sold off "down river" or further south. Some states like Louisiana and Alabama did not permit slave children to be separated from their mother until age 10.
Some slaves and owners developed mutual close relationships, while others experienced a life of brutal violence and fear. Many times when a slave was being punished, it was made into a public spectacle to show other slaves what would happen if they too broke the rules.
Some slaves and owners developed mutual close relationships, while others experienced a life of brutal violence and fear. Many times when a slave was being punished, it was made into a public spectacle to show other slaves what would happen if they too broke the rules.
Slave ID tags from South Carolina
A former slave showing the use of collar used to move unruly slaves and used as a way to keep slaves from running away.
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Slave collar with bells to keep a slave from running away.
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More examples of slave collars
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Slave Rebellions
The greatest fear that all whites had in the South were organized slave revolts, such as the one that occurred on the island of Haiti in 1791, where slaves revolted and killed all of the whites on the island. The strong authority and firepower of southern whites made organized resistance risky and dangerous. In 1800, a slave named Gabriel Prosser, a blacksmith, on a plantation near Richmond, Virginia, planned a revolt with hundreds of slaves where they planned to overtake the state capital and capture the governor. Prosser expected poor whites to join in his crusade to take down the white elite planters of the state. Someone tipped off the authorities and Gabriel's small army was forced to disperse or separate. Gabriel along with 26 others were captured and hanged, while ten others were deported, ending the Prosser Conspiracy.
On August 22, 1831, in Southampton, Virginia, slave Nat Turner led a revolt (also called an insurrection), where Turner used his position as a trusted overseer to start his rebellion. Turner was also a preacher and believed that God had told him to lead a revolt and set all slaves free. Turner began his revolt by killing the entire family of his owner. Nat Turner's revolt lasted two days and resulted in the deaths of 57 whites, most of them women and children (including 10 school children). Turner was eventually captured and made an example of him and those of his followers they captured. In response the Virginia legislature barred slaves from learning to read and gathering at religious functions. Virginia also created armed patrols to look for slaves out after night.
On August 22, 1831, in Southampton, Virginia, slave Nat Turner led a revolt (also called an insurrection), where Turner used his position as a trusted overseer to start his rebellion. Turner was also a preacher and believed that God had told him to lead a revolt and set all slaves free. Turner began his revolt by killing the entire family of his owner. Nat Turner's revolt lasted two days and resulted in the deaths of 57 whites, most of them women and children (including 10 school children). Turner was eventually captured and made an example of him and those of his followers they captured. In response the Virginia legislature barred slaves from learning to read and gathering at religious functions. Virginia also created armed patrols to look for slaves out after night.