Chapter 11:
Cotton, Slavery,
and the Old South
Before we begin examining Chapter
11, in your group answer the
following questions:
How did the Market / Economic
Revolution change America?
How do you think Andrew Jackson
would have felt about it?
The Rise of King Cotton
Up until the 1820s,
tobacco was a major
staple of the Southern
agricultural economy.
Cotton was grown;
however, it was still
overshadowed by rice
and sugar
Increase in the textile
industry in New
England increased the
demand for cotton
The removal of the
N.A. combined with
westward expansion
opened up new land
for cotton growing
By 1860, the southern
economy relied almost
completely on cotton.
1820 - 500,000 bales of
cotton
1860 – 5,000,000 bales
of cotton
“Cotton is king!”
With the expansion of King
Cotton, the expansion of
slavery spread with it.
Southern
Industry
Why was Southern Industry weak?
Weak financial / banking
structure
Inadequate
transportation system
• Hardly any canals
• Poor roads
• Railroad system failed
to tie the region
together
Too dependent on
North
Canals in 1840
Brinkley discusses some
arguments historians have as to
why the South experienced
“colonial dependency” to the
North. What are those arguments
and which one do you agree with?
White Society
in the South
Jigsaw
“HONOR”
THE PLANTER CLASS
THE SOUTHERN LADY
THE PLAIN FOLK
Directions and Objectives
• Each group will have this class to prepare its lesson.
• Each lesson will be 5-7 minutes long.
• Be as creative and lively as you can when presenting /
teaching
• Everyone is expected to participate in the
presentation
• Non-presenting groups are expected to pay attention
and take notes
• After all the groups have presented, everyone should
have a good understanding of the social structure and
make-up of white society in the “Old South”
The Culture of
Slavery
Let’s Review…
Cultural Aspirations
What is culture and what
contributes to culture?
Slave Culture
Language
Pidgin: slave
language that
combined
African and
English words.
Music
Religion
- Most slaves were
- Just as
Christians
important as
(Baptists or
language
Methodists)
- Slaves formed their
- Very rhythmic
own version of
- Fields and
Christianity
religious services - More emotional
and joyful than
whites
Family
- Marriages were
common among slaves
- Women bore children
at a younger age
- Families could be
broken up at anytime
• Extended kinship
networks
- Paternal relationship
with master
Slavery: The
“Peculiar Institution”
Do you remember
learning about “Black Codes?”
Black Codes were laws during the
Reconstruction period that limited the
rights of freedmen….where did
Southerners get the idea for
them??????
Slave Codes
SLAVE CODES
Slaves cannot:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Own property
Leave their masters’ without permission
Be out after dark
Congregate with other slaves (other than church)
Carry a firearm
Strike a white
Any person with a trace of African ancestry was
defined as black.
Reality of Slavery
Since the master was the end all be all, treatment of
slaves was circumstantial.
Some plantations experienced a different type of slavery
– somewhat of a paternal relationship
The majority of slaveowners were small farmers,
however, the majority of slaves lived on medium to large
plantations. This was a much different experience.
Task and Gang Systems were utilized
Life Under Slavery
Slavery was especially hard for women…why?
High mortality rates….was life for factory
workers in the North worse?
Some slaveowners did try to prolong the
lifespan of their slaves  slave children were
shielded from hard labor until adolescence.
Overseers were particularly harsh on slaves
Females were vulnerable to sexual abuse from
masters and overseers  children from these
incidents were hardly ever recognized by their
fathers
What was slavery
like in the cities?
The Slave Trade
1. How were the slaves prepared for sale?
2. How is the owner of the slaves depicted?
3. How did you feel regarding the end of the reading?
Slave Resistance
• Nat Turner’s
Revolt
• Disobedience to
the master
• Refusing to work
hard