The Slave System
Early Emancipation in the North
Characteristics of the Antebellum
South
1. Primarily agrarian.
2. Economic power shifted from the
“upper South” to the “lower South.”
3. “Cotton Is King!”
* 1860 5 mil. bales a yr.
(57% of total US exports).
4. Very slow development of industrialization.
5. Rudimentary financial system.
6. Inadequate transportation system.
Southern Society (1850)
6,000,000
“Slavocracy”
[plantation owners]
The “Plain Folk”
[white yeoman farmers]
Black Freemen
250,000
Black Slaves
3,200,000
Total US Population  23,000,000
[9,250,000 in the South = 40%]
Southern Population
Slave Auction Notice, 1823
Slave Auction: Charleston, SC-1856
Slave Accoutrements
Slave Master
Brands
Slave muzzle
Anti-Slave Pamphlet
Slave Accoutrements
Slave leg irons
Slave shoes
Slave tag, SC
Slaves at Work
1. Working in Fields
– Slaves worked from sun up to
sun down
– Sickness and bad weather
rarely stopped them from
working
– Slaves often did not get
breaks during the work day
2. Working in the Planters House
– Some slaves worked as nurses, cooks, or
housekeepers
– These slaves had better clothes and housing
– Had to work for the master 24 hours a day
though
Graniteville Textile Co.
Founded in 1845, it was the South’s first
attempt at industrialization in Richmond, VA
Southern Agriculture
Slaves Picking Cotton
on a Mississippi Plantation
Slaves Using the Cotton Gin
Changes in Cotton Production
1820
1860
Value of Cotton Exports
As % of All US Exports
“Hauling the Whole Week’s Pickings”
William Henry Brown, 1842
Slaves Working
in a Sugar-Boiling House, 1823
Objective: To examine the slave codes that existed in
the antebellum South.
Cotton Field, Oklahoma
Returning From The Field
• Most slaves worked as
field hands on cotton
plantations.
Slavery in America
The photo captures the
physical and mental
fatigue of a woman as
she returns from a
day's work in the field
picking cotton. Her
dress is as worn as her
face, and though she is
weary she is
determined. Notice the
woman's fatigue, the
character of her face,
her strong hands, the
sturdy but much used
• Slaves were
responsible for
clearing land and
planting and
harvesting crops.
An AfricanAmerican woman is
shown here
balancing a basket
of cotton on her
head on a farm in
Augusta, Georgia.
(1870)
This is a young
African
American child
working in a
cotton field.
Although this
photograph was
taken after the
end of slavery
(1885) the plight
of African
Americans
improved very
little in the
American
South.
• Some
slaves
became
skilled
workers,
such as
carpenters
or
blacksmiths.
The blacksmith was considered a skilled craftsman and
therefore more valuable as a slave than field hands, which
included women and young children.
Life Under Slavery
1. Living Conditions
– Lived in small poorly built
cabins
– Leaky roofs, dirt floors, just
opening for doors and
windows
– Given little food or clothing
Slave-Owning Population (1850)
Slave-Owning Families (1850)
Slaves posing
in front of
their cabin on
a Southern
plantation.
A Real Georgia Plantation
The Southern “Belle”
A Slave Family
2. Punishment and Slave Codes
– Slaves were sometimes
severely punished
– Sometimes whipped, beaten,
or burned
– “Slave Codes” were laws that
controlled slaves actions
– Could not travel far from home
– Not allowed to be educated
(no reading or writing)
Whip lash marks on the back of a slave in the late nineteenth century.
Slave Culture
1. Family and Community
– Family was the most important part of the slave
community
– Slaves often feared about being separated from
their families
– Slaves would pass down stories and customs
– They used folk tales to teach lessons on how to
survive slavery
2. Religion
– By the early 1800s many slaves were Christians
– They sang Spirituals about being saved from
slavery
– Slaves blended some parts of Christianity with
traditional African beliefs
– Worshiped in secret
The Ledger of John White

Matilda Selby, 9, $400.00 sold to Mr.
Covington, St. Louis, $425.00

Brooks Selby, 19, $750.00 Left at Home –
Crazy

Fred McAfee, 22, $800.00 Sold to Pepidal,
Donaldsonville, $1200.00

Howard Barnett, 25, $750.00 Ranaway. Sold
out of jail, $540.00

Harriett Barnett, 17, $550.00 Sold to
Davenport and Jones, Lafourche, $900.00
US Laws Regarding Slavery
1. U. S. Constitution:
* 3/5s compromise [I.2]
* fugitive slave clause [IV.2]
2. 1793  Fugitive Slave Act.
3. 1850  stronger Fugitive Slave Act.
Southern Slavery--> An Aberration?

1780s: 1st antislavery society created in Phila.

By 1804: slavery eliminated from last
northern state.

1807: the legal termination of the slave
trade, enforced by the Royal Navy.

1820s: newly indep. Republics of Central &
So. America declared their slaves free.

1833: slavery abolished throughout the British
Empire.

1844: slavery abolished in the Fr. colonies.

1861: the serfs of Russia were emancipated.
Slavery Was Less Efficient
in the U. S. than Elsewhere

High cost of keeping slaves from
escaping.

GOAL  raise the “exit cost.”
u
Slave patrols.
u
Southern Black Codes.
u
Cut off a toe or a foot.