Livia Chan
AP US History
Chapter 11 Questions
1) Discuss the relationship between the principles of American capitalism and the spread of cotton
and slavery, as well as the interdependence of the north and south.
The principles of American capitalism influenced the spread of cotton and slavery
because of the ideas of opportunities and supply/demand. The Cotton Kingdom was created as a
result of the high demand of cotton in America in the 1800s. The Industrial Revolutions in
America and Britain created a large textile industry, which fueled the demand for short-staple
cotton. The North was especially dependent on the South for their cotton and the South as a
result relied on the North to continue to buy their cotton. As demand grew, people moved south
and became entrepreneurs, starting their own cotton plantations because American capitalism
allowed them to control their own opportunities without much government interference. The
southern cotton planters thought they could make incredible profits from cotton and
bought/smuggled more slaves into their plantations. Each planter hoped to produce the best and
sell the most cotton which showed how competition resulted from American capitalism.
2) Describe the overall relationship between the North and the South in the early to mid 1800s.
The North and the South developed an interdependent relationship between each other in
the early to mid-1800s. The South largely depended on the North for the success of their cotton
market and the North depended on the South for their cotton for textile industries. As the
Industrial Revolution occurred, the North’s textile industry expanded, fueling the demand for
southern cotton. The South was somewhat more dependent on the North than the North was on
the South. Southern transportation system was not as advanced as the North and there were few
industries. As a result, the South relied on the northern manufacturers to provide goods to them
and the southern economy was not as influential as the North.
3) Describe southern society and culture (make sure to discuss both the socioeconomic hierarchy
and the role of women).
Southern society was quite different from that of the North as a result of the different
economies and circumstances. Although the South was perceived as an area largely populated by
wealthy plantation owners, in reality, that was not the case. There were only a few planters in the
South but they exercised their power as if they were larger in number. Under the aristocratic
planters were the yeomen farmers who were often larger in number than the planters but were
greatly dependent on the planters for financial aid, access to cotton gins, and markets for
crops/livestock. Many farmers owned very few slaves, if any at all. Under the yeomen farmers
were a small group called the hill people. The hill people were nonslaveowning whites who lived
isolated, in the mountains. Many of them opposed both the planter aristocracy and slavery.
Southern white women were put in a more subordinate category than even the North. By living
on farms, they were isolated from the rest of society. On plantations, women were often
completely uninvolved in the economic process, staying at home to watch over the household
activities. In the South, very few women went to school and of the ones that did, they only
learned how to be good wives and were never allowed to reach higher education.
4) What was slavery like in cities and what was life like for free African Americans?
In the cities, there were more free African Americans but they were greatly restricted in
fear of black revolts against the whites. Many whites in the cities sold their slaves to the
countryside because they feared revolts or wanted to enter a different business. As the slave
population decreased, segregation between the two races increased in order to secure the
loosening line between the blacks and the whites. Free blacks would have more freedom than
slaves and had the ability to create violence and form revolts without as much constraint. As a
result, whites feared, the slaves would be inspired to revolt too, eventually overpowering their
masters. The rising momentum of the abolition movement in the North also prompted
southerners to limit free blacks’ rights. Overall, white southerners were driven by their fear of
African Americans overpowering them to create tighter restrictions against free blacks.