Chapter 16 Flashcards
Did the cotton gin reduce the need for slave labor?
How did cotton transform the South, the North, and Britain?
No, the cotton gin did not reduce the need for slave labor. The faster processing rates demanded the need for higher harvest rates which meant more slave labor!
The “cotton kingdom” would boom the South’s economy, benefit the shippers from the North, and generally profit the US’s wealth. Since the main buyers of cotton were Britain, Britain had an economic dependency on Southern harvesters to provide them cotton.
How did the US plantation system impact social life in the south?
Talking points:
- Social class
- Women’s status
The US plantation system provided the very few to become wealthy and powerful aristocrats who owned much of the land over the South as well as political influence. The plantation system effectively widened the gap between the rich and the poor even more.
The lives of southern women were transformed as well. Mistresses of plantations would have control over household staff. Enslaved women would perform household activities (cooking, cleaning, etc.) and these female slaves felt pride in their status as “members” of the household.
Where were the cons of slavery in America?
For plantation owners, having so much work on the land led to excessive farming which meant soil ruinage. Speaking of land, since the South was practically one-crop dependent, you had to rely on so many factors that were out of your control.
You had to be rich to participate in the Cotton Kingdom. The industry was monopolistic and rarely favored the small farmer because of how much the liability it was to own slaves in the first place.
In general, for the South, it was disfavorable to even be in the Cotton Kingdom because most of the American wealth was flowing to the North to bankers and shippers. There was little chance to grow American society since slave labor discouraged (European) immigration.
What did the social hierarchy look like for southern whites?
Why was the count of how many slaves you owned the main indicator of your social status as a white man in the south?
Why did the “little man” who owned little to no slaves defend slavery so much?
Only around 1/4th of the Southern population actually owned more than 20 slaves to even a smaller population that owned more than 50+. These were the rich plantation owners.
The rest of the three-quarters were made up of either “lesser masters” or nonslaveholding whites. Lesser masters were farmers who owned less than 10 slaves. Slaves were expensive and a huge liability to own. Nonslaveholding whites were seen as poor and dirty. The small population that lived in the Appalachians were the mountain settlers who did not want to do anything with slavery and left their hands off the Cotton Kingdom.
Slave count was the main indicator of your social status because of how expensive slaves were. The bigger the plantation you had, the more slaves you needed, in turn, making you a wealthier more powerful white man.
Owning slaves was seen as a tool of social mobility. It was the drive of the American dream to climb up the social ladder. It gave whites a sense of racial superiority over Blacks in the first place and abolition would diminish that. That’s why the little man defended slavery so much.
What was life like as a free Black in America?
Free Blacks often consisted of descendants of free Blacks who came from the Revolutionary days or descendants of the offspring of slavemasters and enslaved Black mistresses.
Even though they were given the liberty of being free from slavery, they were provided limited rights because of the racial superiority that still existed in America (especially in the North). They had no rights in court and were forbidden to work certain jobs.
Because of the labor competition they had against European immigrants, they also attained racial agitation towards free Blacks.
What characterized American slavery?
Since slave imports were banned in America, the majority of the slave population were descendants from Black families or mulattoes (offspring of master and enslaved mistress).
Slaves were seen as expensive, liable investments and in reality, they hobbled down economic growth in American society.
How did slaves fight back?
Slaves would sabotage the line of production to a rate so slow that was enough to spare them the whip. They would also try to spark chaos in plantation life. Runaways were common in the deep south.
Rebellions would occur such as Nat Turner’s rebellion where a visionary leader would lead an uprising against their master. The rebellion would soon die down however after extra resistance forces were later called.
Describe the evolution of early abolitionism
First efforts of early abolitionism would begin in the “ridding” of free Black slaves by transporting them in the new-founded Republic of Liberia
The Second Great Awakening would inspire the hearts of many devout and well-funded preachers to spread antislavery gospel across America.
What were the radical efforts made by abolitionists?
Abolitionist rhetoric was spread through media like The Liberator newspaper where strong convictions were expressed to push the agenda of antislavery.
The American anti-slavery society was a rally of prominent abolitionists across American society making their imprint to end slavery.
Frederick Douglass and other freed Black slaves were walking examples of what the end of slavery could be and were the rebelling force against enslavement of Blacks.
How did the South defend themselves from abolitionist efforts?
After the South recognized the efforts by abolitionists, they tightened their laws on slavery and passed “slave codes”. Fear was whipped into slaves and idealistic propaganda was used to brainwash slaves and to suppress their desire for freedom.
