Eli Whitney and the
Cotton Gin (1793)

 Reduced number of slaves needed to separate seeds
from the cotton
 Increased the number of slaves needed to be in the
fields to keep up with the pace.
Eli Whitney
Statistics

 1790-1840 export of southern cotton drives American
economy
 British manufacturers bought as much cotton as
South could produce
 Up to Civil War, southern exports were roughly $200
million/year (60% U.S. exports)
 Southern cotton financed northern industry
 Profits from cotton shipping (controlled by
Northerners) paid for northern factories
Effects

 Although slavery was becoming increasingly
unpopular, high profits were hard to overlook
 1808: international slave trade banned
 South relies on natural increase and internal slave
trade
 Southern capital was tied up in cotton production
and slavery:
 South lagged behind in industrialization, railroads,
etc
King Cotton

 Lack of southern industrialization was a matter of
choice.
 Railroads, factories considered risky
 Unwilling to introduce free wage labor into the
controlled society of slavery
 Between 1790-1860 slave population grew:
 700,000 to over 4 million
Slavery based on
violence

 Sheer number of slaves (1 out of 3) terrified white
southerners
 Gang labor with overseer with whip to ensure swift
punishment
 Free blacks subject to strict “black codes”
 White people feared influence that free blacks might
have on slaves
Slave Revolts

 Gabriel Prosser (1800)
 Planned to lead slaves into Richmond, Va
 Plan was uncovered and James Monroe (then Va.
Gov.) sent militia to put down revolt.
 Prosser eventually caught and hanged
 Denmark Vessey (1822) (Charleston, S.C)
 Former slave who purchased freedom
 Plan was uncovered and he was executed
Gabriel
Prosser
Nat Turner

 August 1831
 Most famous slave revolt
 Used religious imagery to lead slaves
 Killed 55 white people
 Turner eludes capture until October and executed
 Retaliation of militias resulted in murder of
hundreds of slaves
Nat Turner
nd
2
Great Awakening

 Slaves not permitted to practice African religion
 Great Awakening introduced Christianity to slaves
 Slaves owners believed Christianity would foster
obedience
 Slaves found a liberating message that strengthened
community and spiritual freedom
William Lloyd Garrison

 Abolitionist publisher of “The Liberator”
 Leading anti-slavery newspaper
 Published in 1831
William Lloyd
Garrison
Sarah and Angelina
Grimke

 Daughters of prominent southern slave owner
 Left the south to speak out against slavery
Southern Defense of
Slavery

 Found justifications in the Bible
 Pointed out Greek and Roman society
 Recognition of slavery in the Constitution
 Claimed slaves were treated better than factory
workers in the north
 1836: Southerners introduce “gag rule” in Congress
that prohibits anti-slavery debate