American Stories:American Stories:A History of the United States

Second Edition

Chapter

American Stories: A History of the United States, Second EditionBrands • Breen • Williams • Gross

Slaves and Masters1793–1861

11

Horrid Massacre in Virginia Horrid Massacre in Virginia (1831) (1831) A A composite of scenes of Nat Turner’scomposite of scenes of Nat Turner’s Rebellion, an Rebellion, an illustration from a book entitled “Authentic and illustration from a book entitled “Authentic and

impartial narrative of the tragical scene which was impartial narrative of the tragical scene which was witnessed in Southampton County [New York, witnessed in Southampton County [New York,

1831].1831].

Slaves and MastersSlaves and Masters1793–18611793–1861

• The World of Southern Blacks• White Society in the Antebellum South• Slavery and the Southern Economy

Nat Turner’s Rebellion: A Turning Nat Turner’s Rebellion: A Turning Point In The Slave SouthPoint In The Slave South

• Nat Turner leads slave rebellion for freedom; killed sixty whites

• 48 hours later, rebels executed• White Southerners believed abolitionist

propaganda caused rebellions• New laws restricted slaves’ rights to

move about, assemble, learn to read and write

The World of Southern BlacksThe World of Southern Blacks

The World of Southern BlacksThe World of Southern Blacks

• Constant resistance of Southern ideology, repression

• Constant aspiration to freedom• Psychic survival helped create and

maintain a unique African American ethnicity

Slaves’ Daily Life and LaborSlaves’ Daily Life and Labor

• 90% of slaves lived on plantations or farms

• Most slaves on cotton plantations worked sunup to sundown, 6 days/week

• About 75% of slaves were field workers, about 5% worked in industry

• Urban slaves had more autonomy than rural slaves

Picking Cotton Picking Cotton Although cotton cultivation Although cotton cultivation required constant attention, many of the tasks required constant attention, many of the tasks involved were relatively simple. On a cotton involved were relatively simple. On a cotton plantation most slaves, including women and plantation most slaves, including women and

children, were field hands who performed the same children, were field hands who performed the same tasks. Here a slave family stands behind baskets of tasks. Here a slave family stands behind baskets of

picked cotton in a Georgia cotton field.picked cotton in a Georgia cotton field.

Slave Families, Kinship, Slave Families, Kinship, and Communityand Community

• Normal family life difficult for slaves Fathers cannot always protect children Families vulnerable to breakup by masters

• Most reared in strong, two-parent families

Slave Families, Kinship, Slave Families, Kinship, and Community (cont’d)and Community (cont’d)

• Extended families provide nurture, support amid horror of slavery

• Slave culture a family culture that provided a sense of community

A Slave Family A Slave Family Though death or sale broke up Though death or sale broke up many slave families, some families, especially many slave families, some families, especially

those on large, stable plantations, managed to stay those on large, stable plantations, managed to stay together. This 1862 photograph by Timothy H. together. This 1862 photograph by Timothy H.

O’Sullivan shows five generations of a slave family, O’Sullivan shows five generations of a slave family, all born on the plantation of J. J. Smith in Beaufort, all born on the plantation of J. J. Smith in Beaufort,

South Carolina.South Carolina.

Resistance and RebellionResistance and Rebellion

• 1800: Gabriel Prosser rebellion fell apart because of violent storm

• 1822: Denmark Vesey Well-planned conspiracy for slaves to seize

armory and then take Charleston slaves

Resistance and Rebellion (cont’d)Resistance and Rebellion (cont’d)

• Great Dismal Swamp fugitives• 1831: Nat Turner revolt• 1835–1842: 2nd Seminole War

Slaves escaped and joined Seminoles

Resistance and Rebellion (cont’d)Resistance and Rebellion (cont’d)

• Runaway often aided by the Underground Railroad

• Work-related Work slowdowns Sabotage Poison masters

• Stories, songs asserting equality

Free Blacks in the Old SouthFree Blacks in the Old South

• Southern free blacks severely restricted Sense of solidarity with slaves Generally unable to help

• Repression increased as time passed • By 1860, some state legislatures were

proposing laws to force free blacks to emigrate or be enslaved

White Society in the White Society in the Antebellum SouthAntebellum South

White Society in the White Society in the Antebellum SouthAntebellum South

• Only a small percentage of slave owners lived in aristocratic mansions Less than 1% of the white population

owned 50 or more slaves

• Most Southern whites were yeomen farmers

The Planters’ WorldThe Planters’ World

• Big planters set tone, values of Southern life

• Planter wealth based on Commerce Land speculation Slave trading Cotton planting

The Planters’ World (cont’d)The Planters’ World (cont’d)

• Plantations managed as businesses• Romantic ideals imitated only by richest

Plantation Mansion Plantation Mansion Painting by Adrien Persac Painting by Adrien Persac depicting the back of a plantation house in depicting the back of a plantation house in

Louisiana as seen from the bayou. Persac was Louisiana as seen from the bayou. Persac was commissioned to paint some of the great houses in commissioned to paint some of the great houses in

the region, and in 1858 he published a map the region, and in 1858 he published a map showing the plantations along the Mississippi River showing the plantations along the Mississippi River

from Natchez to New Orleans.from Natchez to New Orleans.

Planters, Racism, and PaternalismPlanters, Racism, and Paternalism

• Planters prided themselves on paternalism

• Better living standard for Southern slaves than others in Western Hemisphere

• Relatively decent treatment due in part to their increasing economic value after 1808

Planters, Racism, and Planters, Racism, and Paternalism (cont’d)Paternalism (cont’d)

• Planters actually dealt little with slaves• Slaves managed by overseers • Violent coercion accepted by all

planters

Small SlaveholdersSmall Slaveholders

• Slave conditions worst with fewer than 20 slaves Slaves share the master’s poverty Slaves at the complete mercy of the

master

• Masters often worked alongside the slaves

• Most slaves would have preferred the economic and cultural stability of the plantation

Yeomen FarmersYeomen Farmers

• Small farmers resented large planters • Some aspired to planter status• Many saw slavery as guaranteeing their

own liberty and independence• Slavery viewed as a system for keeping

blacks "in their place"

Yeoman Household Yeoman Household Carl G. Von Iwonski, Carl G. Von Iwonski, Block Block House, New BraunfelsHouse, New Braunfels. Most slaveholders in the . Most slaveholders in the

South were not large plantation owners but small South were not large plantation owners but small farmers of modest means who lived not in pillared farmers of modest means who lived not in pillared

mansions but in small, rough log cabins. Many mansions but in small, rough log cabins. Many others were yeoman farmers who owned no slaves.others were yeoman farmers who owned no slaves.

A Closed Mind and a A Closed Mind and a Closed SocietyClosed Society

• Planters feared growth of abolitionism• Planters encouraged closing of ranks

A Closed Mind and a A Closed Mind and a Closed Society (cont’d)Closed Society (cont’d)

• Slavery defended as a positive good Africans depicted as inferior Slavery defended with Bible Slavery a humane asylum to improve

Africans Slavery superior to Northern wage labor

• Contrary points of view suppressed

Slavery and the Slavery and the Southern EconomySouthern Economy

Slavery and the Slavery and the Southern EconomySouthern Economy

• White Southerners perceived their economic interests to be tied to slavery

• Lower South: Slave plantation society• Upper South: Farming and slave-trading

region

Sales Lewis MillerSales Lewis Miller, , Slave SaleSlave Sale, Virginia, probably , Virginia, probably 1853. Slave auctions, such as the one depicted in 1853. Slave auctions, such as the one depicted in

Lewis Miller’s sketchbook, were an abomination and Lewis Miller’s sketchbook, were an abomination and embarrassment to many Americans.embarrassment to many Americans.

The Internal Slave TradeThe Internal Slave Trade

• Mixed farming in Virginia and Maryland• Needed less labor, more capital• Upper South sold slaves to lower South• Virginia, Maryland, and Kentucky took

on characteristics of industrializing North

• Sectional loyalty of upper South uncertain

The Rise of the Cotton KingdomThe Rise of the Cotton Kingdom

• "Short-staple" cotton drove cotton boom

• Cotton gin made seed extraction easy • Year-round requirements suited to

slave labor

TABLE 11.1 TABLE 11.1 U.S. Slave Population, 1820 and U.S. Slave Population, 1820 and 18601860

TABLE 11.1 (continued) TABLE 11.1 (continued) U.S. Slave Population, U.S. Slave Population, 1820 and 18601820 and 1860

The Rise of the The Rise of the Cotton Kingdom (cont’d)Cotton Kingdom (cont’d)

• Cotton in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, East Texas

• Large planters dominated cotton production

• 1850: South produced 75% of world’s cotton, the most important U.S. business

Cotton as a Percentage of All U.S. Exports, 1800–Cotton as a Percentage of All U.S. Exports, 1800–1860 Hine, Darlene, Clark, Hine, William, C., 1860 Hine, Darlene, Clark, Hine, William, C.,

Harrold, Stanley, C. AFRICAN-AMERICAN ODYSSEY: Harrold, Stanley, C. AFRICAN-AMERICAN ODYSSEY: THE COMBINED VOLUME, 4/E (c) 2008 Printed and THE COMBINED VOLUME, 4/E (c) 2008 Printed and Electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson Electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson

Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Conclusion: Worlds in ConflictConclusion: Worlds in Conflict

Conclusion: Worlds in ConflictConclusion: Worlds in Conflict

• South was divided by class, race, culture, and geography

• A booming plantation economy, customary relationships could obscure underlying antagonisms

• Fragile society would become apparent under pressures of civil war

King Cotton King Cotton Steamboats in New Orleans await Steamboats in New Orleans await bales of cotton for shipment. By 1860 production of bales of cotton for shipment. By 1860 production of

“King Cotton” in the South peaked at 4.8 million “King Cotton” in the South peaked at 4.8 million bales.bales.

TimelineTimeline