Henretta • Brody • Dumenil
America’s History
Sixth Edition
CHAPTER 12
The South Expands: Slavery and Society,
1820-1860
Copyright © 2009 by Bedford/St. Martin’s and
Matthew Ellington, Ruben S. Ayala High School
Chapter 12: The South Expands,
Slavery and Society, 1820-1860
1. Creating the Cotton South
A. The Domestic Slave Trade
B. The Dual Cultures of the Planter Elite
C. Planters, Smallholding Yeomen, and Tenants
D. The Politics of Democracy
2. The African American World
A. Evangelical Black Protestantism
B. Slave Society and Culture
C. The Free Black Population
Part 1: Creating the Cotton South
1A: The Domestic Slave Trade
• Government helped the expansion of slavery: Louisiana Purchase,
Indian removal, Texas, Mexican War
• 1 million slaves moved south or west, 1800-1860
– 60% sold via coastal or inland networks
– 40% moved with their masters
• Most slave
families remained
intact despite
hardships
Part 1: Creating the Cotton South
1B: The Dual Cultures of the Planter Elite
• 3,000 families owned more than 1,000 slaves each
• Tobacco and rice planters lived as aristocrats
• Cotton entrepreneurs lived more simply and the slaves worked
much harder, especially with gang-labor
Antebellum Plantation
Part 1: Creating the Cotton South
1C: Planters, Smallholding Yeoman, and Tenants
• 5% Planter Elite (20+ slaves)
• 5% Middle-Class Planters (6-20 slaves)
• 15% Smallholders (1-5 slaves)
• 35% Yeomen (landowners, no slaves)
• 40% Tenants or Laborers (no slaves, no land)
Part 1: Creating the Cotton South
1D: The Politics of Democracy
• Politicians appealed to the white voting masses
• South’s standard of living was 80% national average
• Despite its wealth, the South remained economically
dependent on the North, England
Part 2: The African American World
2A: Evangelical Black Protestantism
• Synthesis of African and American cultures, brought to the South
by the Second Great Awakening
• Distinctive and joyous brand of worship (e.g. negro spirituals, ring
shout)
African-inspired slave dance
Preacher in an AME Church
Part 2: The African American World
2B: Slave Society and Culture
• Slave society became more homogenous
• Strong families and communities gave some stability
• Slave resistance took many forms and caused
masters to modify their harsh tactics
Part 2: The African American World
2C: The Free Black Population
• Free blacks in the north had few political rights
• Free blacks in the south lived mostly in the upper
south and along the coast and feared re-enslavement