Chapter 16 Overview
The South and the
Slavery Controversy
Part 1. The Cotton Kingdom
Why cotton?
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Naturally, southern farmers wanted a
profitable, reliable crop. They found
that crop in cotton.
Other crop choices were flawed
Tobacco badly depleted the soil &
prices were unreliable.
Rice could only be grown along water
Sugar required a substantial investment
to farm, making it a "rich man's crop."
Cotton Gin—1793 (Eli Whitney)
Why Cotton?
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Eli Whitney's cotton gin, invented in 1793,
allowed 50 times more cotton to be produced
per day. The machine separated the cotton
from its seeds.
Demand for cotton from British and American
textile mills was very strong. (textiles are
woven cloth).
The Southern climate was perfect for cotton
growing.
Cotton was compatible with corn growing.
The Effects of the Cotton Boom
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In 1800, cotton accounted for 7% of all U.S. Exports.
By 1860, cotton accounted for 57% of U.S. exports.
Slavery was not required to grow cotton. In fact, an
estimated 35-50% of cotton farmers owned no slaves
in 1860.
Slavery made it possible to harvest more cotton and to
do it quickly. Plantations with many slaves could
increase their profits significantly.
By 1830, cotton employed about 3/4 of Southern
Slaves.
In 1790, there were about 700,000 slaves in the U.S.
By 1860, there were about 4,000,000.
In 1860, the 12 wealthiest counties in the U.S. were all
in the South.
Part 2. Social Classes in the
Old South
The Planter Aristocracy
• Only 1,733 families owned more than 100
slaves in 1850.
• Large slave-owners dominated the Old
South politically and economically
• Sought the best soil and moved frequently
• Planters were susceptible to debt and
overly dependent on one crop
Small Slaveholders
• About ¼ of southerners lived in slaveowning families
• In 1860, 88% of al slaveholders owned
fewer than 20 slaves
• Most hoped to become larger planters
Non-Slave Owning Whites
• About ¾ of southern whites did not own
slaves
• Often relegated to the worst land
• Often subsistence farmers
• Saw slavery as a path to upward mobility
• Proud to be white
Free Blacks
• About 6% of Southern blacks were free
• Many were located in the cities
• Economic opportunities existed, but so did
severe discrimination
• Restrictions tightened after Nat Turner
rebellion
Slaves
• There were about 4 Million slaves in1860
• Slaves were the primary form of wealth in the South
• Discussion: What were the greatest cruelties of
slavery?
Resistance
• What were the most common forms of
slave resistance?
• Why wasn’t violent rebellion more
common?
Nat Turner Revolt
Nat Turner was an American slave whose failed
slave rebellion in Virginia in 1831 was the most
remarkable instance of black resistance to
enslavement in the antebellum South. The
rebels traveled from house to house, freeing
slaves and killing all the white people they
found. Because the slaves did not want to alert
anyone to their presence as they carried out
their attacks, they used knives, hatchets, axes,
and blunt instruments instead of firearms. Turner
called on his group to "kill all whites." Until
Turner and his brigade of slaves met resistance
at the hands of a white militia, 55 white men,
women and children were killed.
Abolitionism
• During the pre-Civil War years, the
movement to abolish slavery gained
momentum in the North.
• Abolitionists disagreed in their approach.
• While many Northerners wanted slavery to
be restricted, few saw themselves as
abolitionists.
The Southern Response
• Abolitionists were seen as a threat not
only to the future of slavery, but also as a
source of potential slave revolts.
• Southerners increasingly defended slavery
in the face of this “foreign” attack.
• What were the major southern pro-slavery
arguments?