APUSH: Slavery, Freedom,
and The Crisis of Union
Mr. Weber -- Room 217
Activator Tuesday 11/17
1. How did slavery shape the economic and social
relations in the Old South?
2. What were the conditions in which slaves lived and
worked?
3. Why did many white southerners support slavery
even while they did not own slaves themselves?
4. Why do you think slavery was called the “peculiar
institution?”
Agenda
Activator, agenda, and objective (10 minutes)
The “peculiar” institution lecture (30-45 minutes)
Comprehension check (15 minutes)
Primary source analysis: voices of freedom (30-45 minutes)
Where we are headed: slave culture and resistance video clip (5
minutes)
Slave resistance and rebellion project (begin in class, time permitting,
finish for HW due Thurs).
Exit ticket and homework (5 minutes)
Objective
You will all…
Analyze the economic and social role of Slavery in the
Old South and understand the conditions of slave life,
1840-1860.
(AP Topic #10).
How did slavery shape social and
economic relations in the Old South?
King Cotton: cotton replaced sugar as the world’s
major crop produced by slave labor.
3/4ths of the worlds cotton supply came from the
southern U.S.
Cotton supplied the textile mills in the North and
Great Britain.
How did slavery shape social and
economic relations in the Old South?
The Southern Economy: economic growth was
different from the North.
There were few large cities in the South.
The cities were mainly centers for gathering and
shipping cotton.
How did slavery shape social and
economic relations in the Old South?
The “Plain Folk” of the Old South: three out of four
white southerners did not own slaves.
Most white southerners lived on self-sufficient farms in
isolated areas and were poorly educated.
Most supported slavery.
The majority supported the planter elite and slavery
because of shared bonds of regional loyalty, racism, and
kinship ties.
How did slavery shape social and
economic relations in the Old South?
The Planter Class: Ownership of slaves provided a rout
to wealth, status, and influence.
Slavery was a profit-making system.
Men watched the world market for cotton, invested in
infrastructure, and managed their plantations.
How did slavery shape social and
economic relations in the Old South?
Paternalism: from the word patria as in father, this was
the idea that slaves were well taken care of under
slavery.
Slave owners were committed to a hierarchical,
agrarian society.
Paternalism was a kind of proslavery argument which
enabled slave owners to think of themselves as kind,
responsible masters.
What were the conditions in
which slaves lived and worked?
Slaves were considered
chattel, or property and
had few legal rights.
They could not testify
against a white person,
carry weapons, or leave
the plantations.
Labor was most of the
slaves daily existence
What were the conditions in
which slaves lived and worked?
Gang labor and task labor: Most slaves worked in the
fields.
An estimated 75% of women and 90% of men worked
as field hands.
On large plantations they worked in gangs under the
direction of an overseer, a man who was generally
considered to be cruel by the slaves.
What were the conditions in
which slaves lived and worked?
Maintaining Order: The system of maintaining order
rested on force.
There were many tools a master had to keep order,
including whipping, exploiting divisions among slaves,
incentives, denial of education, and the threat of sale.
Comprehension
Check
Take no more than the next 15 minutes to answer the following
four multiple choice questions and two short answer using the
key terms from lecture.
The Peculiar Institution
1. In the Old South, the percentage of white families that
owned slaves was approximately
10 percent.
25 percent.
40 percent.
60 percent.
The Peculiar Institution
2. Which of the following was not a central theme of
planter ideology?
The competitive marketplace is where we make our
fortunes—but it is not where we derive our values.
There is no place for fixed social hierarchies in a
democratic republic.
We are the aristocrats of our region; women, children,
slaves, and poorer whites depend upon us for guidance
and protection.
Wealth is meant to be consumed, not merely reinvested.
The Peculiar Institution
3. Cotton was “King” during the first half of the nineteenth
century. Three-fourths of the world’s supply came from the
United States, and textile manufacturers in New England,
Great Britain, France, and Russia depended on the
American cotton supply. Define “textile”:
Tiles, usually made of ceramic and cotton, used in
building houses, manufacturing plants, and government
buildings.
Woven cloth.
A small book or text, usually on a topic of general
interest to the reading public.
Steam engine-powered factory or manufactures.
The Peculiar Institution
4. Slaves made up a significant portion of the Old South’s
field laborers.
house servants.
skilled artisans.
all of the above.
Short Answer
Key Terms: King Cotton, the Southern economy, Plain
folk of the Old South, Planter class, Paternalism, Chattel,
Gang labor, Overseer, Maintaining order…
1. How did slavery shape the economic and social relations
in the Old South?
2. What were the conditions in which slaves lived and
worked?
4 Advanced
3 Proficient
2.5 Basic
2 Below Basic
Shows mastery of
the objective by
explaining all key
terms in proper
context
Understanding of
objective shown by
explaining most
key terms
Knowledge of
objective shown
through
explanation of
some key terms
Misunderstanding
of objective or
incorrect use of
several key terms
Analyzing Primary Sources
(15 minutes)
Turn to the Voices of Freedom, pp.404-405.
Read Solomon Northup Twelve Years a Slave (1853) and
pick one sentence you think best represents the main
idea of the text.
Write that sentence in your notebook.
Read J.D.B. De Bow The Non-Slaveholders of the South
(1861) and pick one sentence you think best represents
the main idea of the text.
Write that sentence in your notebook.
Analyzing Primary Sources
In groups, take turns explaining why you chose the sentence you chose.
Pick no more than 3-5 words which you all agree best represent the main
idea of the text.
Write them on the paper provided.
Pass the paper to the next group and write comments on their choice of
words. (Remember to initial your comments so I can grade them later).
Why do you think the picked those words?
Would you have chosen differently? Why?
How well do those words sum up what you understand to be the main
idea of the text?
How do these phrases relate to our understanding of economic and
social role of slavery in the Old South and the conditions in which
slaves lived (our objective for today)?
Where We Are Headed…
Forecasting: What to look for
in the reading…
For Thursday: Finish Chapter 11, pp.413-423.
Slave culture
The slave family
The threat of sale
Gender roles among slaves
Slave religion
Desire for liberty
Slave resistance and rebellion
Forms of resistance
Fugitive slaves
The Amistad
Slave revolts
Nat Turner’s rebellion
Slave Resistance and Rebellion
Your job is to solve the murder mystery and identify the
cause of death for John Taylor, the plantation owner.
Look through the evidence: Obituary; Daily routine;
Plantation map; and the Description of slaves.
Was Mr. Taylor poisoned or did he get sick?
Who had the motive to kill him?
Who had the knowledge necessary to prepare the poison?
Who could give it to him without being noticed?
If someone did poison him, how come they didn’t get caught?
Review Questions for Thursday’s
Test
1. How would you describe slave culture, explaining the
similarities and differences among various regions?
2. Why did many white southerners support slavery even
when they did not actually own slaves?
3. What forms of slave resistance were practiced in the
American South?
4. Given that by 1860 the economic investment represented
by the slave population exceeded the value of the nation’s
factories, railroads, and banks combined, explain how
important slavery was to the national economy and the
emergence of the U.S. as a great power.
Exit ticket and homework
Exit ticket:
What does the video clip and anticipation of where we
are headed Thursday suggest about the economic and
social role of slavery in the Old South, and what do
you expect to understand about the conditions of slave
life, 1840-1860?
Homework:
Finish chapter 11 (reading test Thurs.)
Slave Resistance and Rebellion project due Thurs.