Ch. 4.3 Note Making Guide
Ch. 4.3 The Southern Colonies: Plantations and Slavery
Section Objectives:
1. To analyze the plantation economy and the use of slaves.
2. To describe plantation life.
3. To understand life under slavery.
4. To describe resistance to slavery.
Key Terms: Describe the following terms in your own words.
Indigo
 A plant that yields a deep blue dye.
Eliza Lucas
 A young woman that introduced indigo as
a successful
plantation crop
Overseers
 A worker
hired by planters to watch and direct the work of
slaves.
Stono Rebellion
 An uprising
of slaves in South Carolina where slaves killed
several planter families, it led to the tightening of already
harsh slave laws
William Byrd II (Pg. 121 in the margin)
 One of the most well known
planters in the South.
One American’s Story
-Who was George Mason?
 Born into a wealthy
family from Virginia, he would become
a wealthy plantation owner himself.
-What shaped life in the Southern Colonies? What colonies were located in the South?
 Plantation economy and slaves

Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia
1. The Plantation Economy
-What geographic factors made plantation crops profitable?
 The South’s soil and year growing season
plantations.
were ideal for
-Why did planters begin to use enslaved Africans for labor?
 African slaves were used because plantation
owners could
not find enough laborers.
A. The Turn to Slavery
-How did the use of slaves change the population of the Southern Colonies?
 Slaves made up 40 percent of the Southern population
2. Plantations Expand
-How did the growth of slavery affect farming in South Carolina and Georgia?
 Without slavery plantations would not have developed
A. The Planter Class
-How did the planter class become so powerful?
 They owned the most slaves
-How did the planter class treat its enslaved workers?
 A majority were treated poorly, some owners treated their
slaves fairly.
3. Life Under Slavery
-How did overseers treat the enslaved Africans?
 Would whip the slaves if they worked to slow.
-How did enslaved people live?
 They lived in a small cabin, corn and pork
-What was the effect of the plantation system on the culture of the enslaved people?
 Africans kept their religion, music, stories, and dance
4. Resistance to Slavery
-How did enslaved Africans fight against their enslavement?
 Damaged goods, carried out orders wrong,
and worked
slowly
-What was the significance of the Stono Rebellion?
 Stricter laws against slaves (slave codes)
-In what ways did slave codes change?
 Slaves could no longer leave the plantation
without
permission, and it was illegal for slaves to meet with free
Africans.
Textbook, Pg. 123 Warm Up
3a. 40 percent
b. Rice, indigo, tobacco, and corn
c. purposely damaged goods, worked slowly, pretended they didn’t
understand orders
4. North- The farming season is not as long therefore the demand
for slaves is not high
The North has a cooler climate in the fall and winter
The North also has rocky soil
South- Farming season lasted all year
The climate allows for farming year round
The rich fertile soil also allows for farming year round
Slaves are needed to do the labor on the plantations