The South and the Slavery Controversy

 

I.                    Cotton in the South

a.       Eli Whitney

                                                               i.      Before Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, people were talking about slavery’s unprofitability.  However, his invention in 1793 made possible the wide-scale cultivation of cotton

                                                             ii.      Cotton quickly eclipsed tobacco, rice, and sugar as the main crop in the South

                                                            iii.      This created a demand for labor, causing slavery to increase

                                                           iv.      Planters would buy more slaves and land to grow more cotton, so as to buy still more slaves and land

b.      Cotton and the Economy

                                                               i.      Cotton was ½ of all U.S. exports after 1840

                                                             ii.      South produced ½ of the world’s supply of cotton

                                                            iii.      North –

1.      Shippers reaped a large profit:

a.       Would load cotton at southern ports

b.      Transport them to England

c.       Buy manufactured goods for sale in the U.S.

                                                           iv.      England –

1.      Most important manufacture was cotton cloth (1/5 of population got its livelihood from that)

2.      75% came from the South

                                                             v.      South –

1.      Southern leaders knew that Britain was tied to them by cotton and this dependence gave them an inflated sense of power

2.      “Cotton was King”

3.      Though that any conflict with the North would result in England helping the South

II.                 The Planter “Aristocracy”

a.       Rich Southern Planters Rule

                                                               i.      1850 – 1,733 families owned more than 100 slaves each.  This group made up the political and social leadership of the section and nation

                                                             ii.      They could educate their children in the finest schools (North or abroad)

                                                            iii.      Money provided the leisure for study, reflection, and politics

b.      Southern Society

                                                               i.      Dominance by the rich was undemocratic and widened the gap between the rich and poor

                                                             ii.      Had a feudal society, with manors and jousting tournaments

c.       Women In Southern Society

                                                               i.      Had more of a leadership role

                                                             ii.      Gave daily orders to cooks, maids, seamstresses, laundresses, and body servants

                                                            iii.      Treatment of the slaves by women varied

                                                           iv.      Nearly no slaveholding woman believed in abolition

III.               The Slave System

a.       Problems With Plantation System

                                                               i.      Land Butchery –

1.      Greedy planters took all the nutrients out of the soil because they were concerned with making a profit

2.      This caused people to move West to find good land

                                                             ii.      Monopolies –

1.      As the land wore down, small farmers sold their holdings to the rich and went north or west

                                                            iii.      Overspeculation –

1.      Caused many planters, including Andrew Jackson in his later years, to get in a huge debt

2.      Slaves were expensive (cost $1,200) – had to be fed, clothed, given health care, deliberate injuries, runaways, disease, lightening

                                                           iv.      One-Crop Economy –

1.      System discouraged a healthy diversification of agriculture

2.      Southerners didn’t like the Northern middlemen (bankers, agents, shippers) getting rich (born in Yankee clothes and died in Yankee coffins)

                                                             v.      European Immigration –

1.      North –

a.       Added to the manpower and wealth of the North

2.      South –

a.       Discouraged by the competition of slave labor (couldn’t get a job)

b.      High cost of fertile land

c.       European ignorance of cotton growing

IV.              The White Majority

a.       Slave Owners

                                                               i.      1850 – 1,733 families had 100+ slaves; 255,000 had 10- slaves

                                                             ii.      ¼ white southerners owned slaves

b.      Small Slaveowners

                                                               i.      Small slaveowners were usually small farmers

                                                             ii.      Worked alongside the slaves

c.       Whites Who Owned No Slaves

                                                               i.      1860 – over 6.1 million

d.      Flatland Whites

                                                               i.      Majority lived in backcountry and were poorer

                                                             ii.      Subsistence farmers – raised corn and hogs, not cotton

                                                            iii.      Lived isolated lives – occasionally a prayer meeting

                                                           iv.      Known as “hillbillies”, “crackers”, or “clay eaters”

                                                             v.      Why did they support slavery?

1.      Had no direct stake in the preservation of slavery, yet they hoped to preserve the system in case they could buy a few – “American dream” of upward mobility

2.      Took comfort knowing that they weren’t on the bottom of the social ladder

e.       Mountain Whites

                                                               i.      Independent small farmers

                                                             ii.      Didn’t own slaves

                                                            iii.      Were attached to the Union

V.                 Free Blacks

a.       Free Black Population

                                                               i.      1860 – 250,000

                                                             ii.      Upper South – emancipation was traced to idealism (group of ideas or way of thinking) of Revolutionary Days

                                                            iii.      Deep South – free blacks were mulattoes (children of white planter and slave mistress)

                                                           iv.      Some purchased their freedom with earnings from labor after hours

b.      Conditions of Free Blacks in the South

                                                               i.      Prohibited from working in certain occupations and from testifying in court against whites

                                                             ii.      Could be forcefully taken back into slavery

                                                            iii.      Were examples of what could be achieved by emancipation and were resented by defenders of the slave system

c.       Conditions of Free Blacks in the North

                                                               i.      250,000

                                                             ii.      Antiblack feeling was frequently stronger in the North than in the South

                                                            iii.      Denied the right to vote and barred from public schools

                                                           iv.      Hated by immigrants who competed with them for jobs

                                                             v.      The agitation of the North spread to the new territories in the from of prejudice

                                                           vi.      Some were beaten by mobs (Frederick Douglass – abolitionist and orator – from Maryland – escaped slavery to MA – helped with the Underground Railroad and campaigned for Lincoln)

VI.              Plantation Slavery

a.       Importation of Slaves

                                                               i.      1860 – 4 million slaves

                                                             ii.      Boom was from cotton and demand for labor

                                                            iii.      Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise –

1.      Allowed the slave trade to continue for 20 years – 1808

2.      Because the slave trade was so profitable, (slaves were expensive), many slaves were smuggled in

3.      A few people doing the slave trade were caught, but most were acquitted by southern juries

                                                           iv.      Most of the new slaves came from reproduction.  This implied much about the tenor (general direction) of the slave regime and family life

b.      Slaves as Investments

                                                               i.      Planters invested $2 billion by 1860

                                                             ii.      Slaves were the primary form of wealth in the South

                                                            iii.      Most were spared dangerous jobs (tunnel blasting and swamp draining) – low wage-earning Irish laborers were hired for that

c.       Slaves Breeding

                                                               i.      SC, FL, MI, AL, and LA each had about a majority of blacks

                                                             ii.      Breeding slaves was not encouraged.  However, women who bore many children were highly prized (some were promised freedom if they produced 10 children)

                                                            iii.      White masters would intermingle with slaves, increasing the mulatto population

d.      Slave Auctions

                                                               i.      Sold along with cattle and horses

                                                             ii.      Were often chained so they couldn’t get away

                                                            iii.      Families were separated on the auction block.  This was one of the themes of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin

VII.            Life as a Slave

a.       Varying Conditions as a Slave

                                                               i.      Hard work and oppression

                                                             ii.      Men and women toiled in the field from dawn until dusk

                                                            iii.      Had no civil or political rights – no legal marriage (could get protection from murder or unusually cruel punishment – some States offered further protections – banning the sale of a child under the age of ten)

                                                           iv.      All laws were difficult to enforce because slaves couldn’t testify against whites in court

                                                             v.      Some took care of white children – “mammy”

b.      Beatings

                                                               i.      Whipping was common

                                                             ii.      Caused slaves to be sullen (gloomy) and hurt their resale values

                                                            iii.      Most planters didn’t want to whip their slaves because their prosperity was riding on them

c.       Concentration of Blacks in the Deep South

                                                               i.      SC, GA, AL, MI, and LA were the biggest slaves owning States – farmed cotton

                                                             ii.      Life was harder here than in the Old South because it was on the frontier (where life was tougher)

d.      Large Plantation Slaves

                                                               i.      Most lived on plantations of 20 or more slaves

                                                             ii.      In some counties in the Deep South, slaves made up 75% of the population

                                                            iii.      Family life was stable

1.      A slave culture developed

                                                           iv.      Forced separation was more common on smaller plantations and in the upper South

e.       Family Life as a Slave

                                                               i.      Most slaves were raised in stable two-parent households

                                                             ii.      Named children for grandparents

                                                            iii.      Avoided marriage between first cousins

f.        African Traditions

                                                               i.      Many were Christianized from ministers from the Second Great Awakening.  Religion was a mix of Christian and African elements

                                                             ii.      “Responsorial” style of preaching – minister’s remarks were punctuated with amens (adaptation of the give-and-take between caller and dancers in the African ringshout dance)

VIII.         The Burdens of Bondage

a.       Emotions of Slaves

                                                               i.      Deprived of dignity and sense of responsibility that comes from independence

                                                             ii.      Denied an education because reading brought ideas, and ideas brought discontent (most States had laws against educating slaves and most were illiterate)

                                                            iii.      The “American Dream” was a mockery and hopeless

b.      Reaction of Slavery By Slaves

                                                               i.      Slowed the pace of their labor just to the point where their slaves wouldn’t beat them.  This fostered the myth of black “laziness” in the minds of whites

                                                             ii.      Stole food and other goods from the plantation

                                                            iii.      Sabotaged expensive equipment, stopping work until it was repaired

                                                           iv.      Rarely poisoned their masters’ food

c.       Attempts At Freedom

                                                               i.      Many tried to runaway

                                                             ii.      Some rebelled:

1.      1822 – Denmark Vesey (won enough money in a lottery to buy freedom) plotted a rebellion in Charleston, SC (it was betrayed by informers; Vesey and about 30 others were hung) – some historians think the conspiracy was real

2.      1831 – Nat Turner (a black preacher) led a rebellion that killed 60 Virginians (mostly women and children); Turner and 15 others were hung

d.      Results of the Threat of Rebellion

                                                               i.      The poor conditions of slavery and the brutality of the whip and branding iron increased black hostility

                                                             ii.      White southerners increasingly feared rebellious blacks

                                                            iii.      Rebellions ended Southern abolitionist organizations

                                                           iv.      The South was one of the last areas of slavery in the Western world.  The defenders of slavery were forced to degrade themselves because of this

e.       Reaction to Rebellion

                                                               i.      Southern legislatures passed stricter controls on slaves

                                                             ii.      After the uprisings, the movement to abolish slavery was primarily supported in the north

IX.              Early Abolitionism

a.       Early Abolitionist Movement

                                                               i.      Gradually, antislavery societies were created

                                                             ii.      It first appeared among the Quakers during the Revolutionary War

                                                            iii.      Because most people didn’t like blacks, early abolitionists advocated shipping them back to Africa.  1817 – American Colonization Society

                                                           iv.      1822 – Republic of Liberia on the West African coast was established for former slaves (this even appealed to Lincoln).  15,000 freed blacks were transported there over 4 years.  None really wanted to go there after having lived in America and become partially accustomed to how it was in America.  1860 – Virtually no southern slaves were Africans, but African-Americans, with their own distinctive history and culture

b.      Abolitionist Movement Spreads

                                                               i.      In the 1830s, the abolitionist movement spread because:

1.      1833 – The British emancipated the slaves in the West Indies

2.      Second Great Awakening – Instilled the feeling that slavery was a sin

c.       Theodore Dwight Weld

                                                               i.      Was evangelized by Charles Grandison Finney in the Burnt Over District

                                                             ii.      Went to Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, OH (presided over by Lyman Beecher, father of Harriet Beecher Stowe)

                                                            iii.      In 1834, he and others were expelled for organizing an 18-day debate on slavery.  He and the others were called “Lane Rebels.”  They spread out across the Old Northwest preaching antislavery gospel

                                                           iv.      Weld also created a propaganda pamphlet, called American Slavery as It Is (1839).  Its arguments made it among the most effective abolitionist pieces and greatly influenced Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin

X.                 Radical Abolitionism

a.       William Lloyd Garrison

                                                               i.      Published an antislavery newspaper in Boston called The Liberator

                                                             ii.      Lasted from 1831-1861

                                                            iii.      Wanted to stamp all of it out immediately (most others wanted gradual change)

                                                           iv.      Wanted the North to succeed from the South

                                                             v.      Also wanted equal rights for women

                                                           vi.      Offered no real solution to the problem – advocated the forming of an independent slave republic that would bring an end to slavery

b.      Black Abolitionists

                                                               i.      David Walker –

1.      Advocated a bloody end to slavery in Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World (1829)

                                                             ii.      Sojourner Truth –

1.      A freed black woman who fought tirelessly for black emancipation and women’s rights

2.      Was illiterate, but a charismatic speaker

3.      Believed she was hearing the voice of God (so she changed her name to this)

4.      Advocated having a “negro state”

                                                            iii.      Martin Delaney –

1.      Advocated the mass recolonization of Africa.  He even visited Africa to seek a suitable site for relocation

c.       Frederick Douglass

                                                               i.      Escaped from slavery in 1838

                                                             ii.      Born in MD

                                                            iii.      Was a great orator

                                                           iv.      Was beaten and had many threats against his life

                                                             v.      1845 – Published Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

                                                           vi.      Helped raise two regiments of black soldiers during the Civil War

                                                          vii.      Looked to politics to solve the problem of slavery.  He backed the following parties:

1.      1840 – Liberty Party

2.      1848 – Free Soil Party

                                                        viii.      1850s – Republican Party (Campaigned for Lincoln during the election of 1860)

XI.              The South Lashes Back

a.       Southern Abolitionist Movement

                                                               i.      1820s – More antislavery societies in the South than the North

                                                             ii.      1831-1832 – VA legislature defeated various emancipation proposals

1.      After this, the slave States began tightening their slave codes and moved to prohibit emancipation of any kind

                                                            iii.      1830s – Nat Turner’s conspiracy and Garrison’s newspaper (which Southerners thought would create violence) created a hysteria

b.      Nullification Crisis of 1832

                                                               i.      Further planted fears of revolts from blacks

                                                             ii.      Jailings, whippings, and lynchings were often done to prevent the discussion of the slavery problem

c.       Black Slaves vs. Women/Children Wage Earners of the North

                                                               i.      Women and children worked in poor conditions in the North.  Southerners were quick to come them to slaves

                                                             ii.      Women and children –

1.      Worked in dark and stuffy factories

2.      Older workers were discarded

                                                            iii.      Blacks –

1.      Worked in fresh air

2.      Old and sick were cared for

d.      Results of Slaves vs. Wage Earners Debate

                                                               i.      These arguments widened the gap between the North and South

                                                             ii.      South isolated themselves not only from the North, but the western world

                                                            iii.      South reacted defensively

                                                           iv.      South grew intolerant of slavery questions

e.       Gag Resolution

                                                               i.      Piles of anti-slavery petitions poured into Congress

                                                             ii.      1836 – Southerners in the House passed this resolution.  It required any anti-slavery appeals to be put aside without debate

1.      John Quincy Adams, after 8 years, got its repeal

2.      Increased discussion by Southern conventions of ways to escape Northern economic and political hegemony ()

f.        Anti-Slavery Literature

                                                               i.      Sent to plantations

                                                             ii.      Blacks couldn’t read, but could see the pictures and drawings

                                                            iii.      One mob broke into a post office and burned abolitionist mailings

                                                           iv.      1835 – The National government ordered southern postmasters to destroy abolitionist material and called on southern State officials to arrest federal postmaster who did not comply (Not freedom of the press)

XII.            The Abolitionist Impact in the North

a.       Lack of Abolitionist Support In the North

                                                               i.      Constitutional Reverence –

1.      Had been brought up to revere and support the Constitution.  Slavery was one of the compromises coming out of the Constitutional Convention

2.      Garrison’s talk of secession wasn’t favored at all by Northerners

                                                             ii.      Economic Stake –

1.      Southern planters owed northern bankers and other creditors about $300 million.  This sum would be lost succession were to happen

2.      New England textile mills were fed with cotton raised by the slaves.  Succession might cut off this vital supply and lead to unemployment

b.      Violence in the North

                                                               i.      People sometimes committed acts of violence on extreme abolitionists

                                                             ii.      1835 – Garrison had a rope tied around him and was dragged through the streets of Boston by the Broadcloth Mob, but escaped

                                                            iii.      1837 – Reverend Elijah Lovejoy’s printing press was destroyed four times and he was killed by a mob in this year

c.       Summary of Abolitionism in the 1850s

                                                               i.      Many citizens had come to see the South as the land of the unfree and the home of a hateful institution

                                                             ii.      Few northerners were prepared to abolish slavery outright.  However, growing numbers were opposed to extending it to the western territories – called “free-soilers”