Antebellum South Carolina Classes of People
elite
wealthy, upper
class
rich with land
owned 20 or
more slaves
middle
tradesman,
merchants,
shopkeepers,
doctors
(physicians),
and lawyers
(attorneys)
got rich by cash
crops like cotton
and rice
lived in cities
and towns
now the elite not
only lived on the
coast, but also in
the midlands and
the upstate
had some
political and
social influence
in their
neighborhoods
children were
educated by
private tutors or
at private schools
may have
owned a few
slaves to do
household
chores
greater political
power and
influence in the
state
made laws that
protected their
interests
including slavery
children were
taught to read
and write and
might pursue a
profession like
their fathers
lower
unskilled and
uneducated
individuals who
were often
landless
job opportunities
were limited;
richer people
preferred to use
slave labor
instead of hiring
lower class people
lower class people
squatted on land
and focused on
growing enough
food to feed
themselves and
their families
(subsistence
farming)
children were
uneducated (no
public school);
needed to work to
financially support
the family
had little social or
political influence
independent
free African-
farmers
Americans
lived on small farms
which they worked
themselves with help
from family members
some might own a few
slaves, but worked
alongside them in the
fields
children might be
educated at home
the majority of farming
in the state was done
by independent
farmers
as growing cash crops
became more
prosperous for them,
they bought more
slaves and increased
their social and political
standing
some became
members of the elite
At the time of the Civil
War, not all South
Carolinians owned
slaves.
most lived in Charleston
usually skilled workers such
as carpenters, tailors, and
shoemakers
others (outside of
Charleston) were small
farmers who typically had
been given their freedom
by a master for some
special deed or service
some actually owned slaves
Once freed, many stayed in
the region to buy the
freedom of wives and
children.
children might be taught to
read and write at home (no
public schools)
did not have political or
social equality with other
Southerners
had to pay a special tax to
carry their freedom papers
wherever they went
lived in fear of being made
a slave again
enslaved AfricanAmericans
unpaid, but given a few clothes and
limited amount of food
were bought, sold, and considered
the property of their white masters
allowed few personal freedoms
and had to carry a pass issued by
their master to travel from one
plantation to another
many were born and died on the
same plantation
one-room slave cabins with dirt
floors under the strict supervision
of their masters
some sold upon the death of their
masters, when they were
disobedient, or when the master
needed extra cash (families could
be separated)
slaves (including women and
children) worked from sun-up to
sun-down
illegal for slaves and their children
to learn to read and write because
such knowledge might encourage
them to escape
slaves who disobeyed the rules or
tried to escape were punished,
sometimes severely