Life in Antebellum America
Unit 4, Lesson 3
Essential Idea
• The North, West, and South had different
cultures during the Antebellum Period.
Antebellum Period
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Time Period:
Antebellum Period
Meaning:
Time in American
history BEFORE the
Civil War
(“antebellum” is Latin
for “before war”)
• The North, West, and
South were very
different during the
Antebellum Period
Life in the North
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Northern Farming Declines:
Climate in the North was colder
Soil was rockier and less fertile
Farms were small due to high population
Small farms struggled to compete with large farms in the West
Results:
Result #1- Some farmers moved west to start bigger farms on fertile soil
Result #2- Some abandoned farming and moved to cities to work in factories
Urbanization
• Urbanization:
• Many farmers in the
North moved into cities
• Many immigrants moved
into cities
• Both groups moved to
cities to work in
FACTORIES
• Urbanization- growth of
cities, which happened
mainly in the North
Life in Northern Cities
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Problems with Urbanization:
1. Overcrowding:
Cities struggled to adjust to
the population boom
Tension grew between
Americans and immigrants
2. Crime:
Rise in crime led to creation
of police departments
3. Fire:
Crowded wooden buildings
were a fire danger, so fire
departments developed
Life in Northern Cities
• 4. Sanitation:
• No sewers and
horses were used
for transportation
• Human/animal
waste and trash
rotted in streets
• 5. Families:
• Less close since
men left home to
work in factories
• Poor working
conditions led to
alcohol abuse,
hurting families
Northern Factories
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Factory Conditions:
Bosses had a negative relationship with workers
Workers worked long hours for low wages
Conditions were unsafe and unsanitary
Working
Conditions
• Lowell Mill System:
• Textile mills employed
single women and
children
• Workers lived in dorms
built around the mill,
creating a “company
town”
• They were strictly
controlled, worked long
hours, and were paid
even less than men
Early Unions
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Unions:
Some workers formed unions to push for better conditions
Unions had little success, seen as bad or illegal
Commonwealth v. Hunt- Supreme Court ruled that unions
were legal
Life in the West
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Farming:
Farming was common, where large pieces of fertile land existed
Psychological impact:
Isolated, lonely, fearful of conflict with Indians
Connection with Cities:
Farmers relied on internal improvements to trade with cities in the North
Life in the South
• The Cotton Gin and
Slavery:
• The cotton gin
caused slavery to
expand throughout
the South
• There were 4
MILLION slaves in
America when the
Civil War began
• The Growth of
Slavery
The “Cotton
Kingdom”
• “Cotton Kingdom:”
• The South was called the
“Cotton Kingdom” because
its economy was based on
cotton and slavery
• Expansion and Sectionalism:
• Southerners wanted slavery
to expand to the West,
where more land was
available
• This caused tension with
northerners who did not
want slavery to expand
Life in the South
• Lack of industrialization:
• Wealthy planters held the most political and economic power
• Planters had little interest in industrialization since they made money
from plantations
• Southern society remained based on cotton production
Society in the South
• White Society:
• MOST whites did NOT own slaves, but
did support it
• Wealthy planters:
• Smallest group, but had the most money,
power, land, and slaves
• Yeoman Farmers:
• Largest group, owned few if any slaves,
lived modestly, had little power
• Poor Whites:
• Owned little land and no slaves, but
supported slavery due to racism?
• Freemen:
• Some blacks were free, many had saved
money to buy their own freedom
Slavery
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Slave codes:
Slave codes were laws that helped control slaves
Slaves could not own property, own guns, testify against whites, or become literate
Purpose:
Keep slaves at the bottom of society
Keep slaves too ignorant to be able to rebel
Slavery
Plantation Conditions
• Plantation
conditions:
• Slaves were
viewed and
treated as
property
• Most slaves
worked hard
from dawn till
dusk
• Life for Slaves
Plantation Conditions
• Slaves were motivated to work by the
threat of physical punishment
• Slave auctions sold slaves and often
permanently separated families
• Plantation Slavery
Slave Culture
• Slave culture:
• Slave families were
strong despite
oppression
• Songs were
important and
often contained
hidden meanings
• Christianity was
important to many
slaves and gave
them hope
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Resistance and Rebellion
Resistance:
Passive resistance—slaves often sabotaged equipment and engaged in work
slow downs
Running away—slaves often ran away, often using the Underground Railroad
Resistance and Rebellion
• Rebellions:
• Occasionally
slaves
rebelled with
violence
• Slave
rebellions led
to tighter
slave codes