Chapter 14: The South

John C. Calhoun

(1830s-40s) Leader of the Fugitive Slave Law, which forced the cooperation of Northern states in returning escaped slaves to the south. He also argued on the floor of the senate that slavery was needed in the south. He argued on the grounds that society is supposed to have an upper ruling class that enjoys the profit of a working lower class.

Denmark Vesey

*A slave who won enough money in a lottery to buy his own freedom *Gained wealth and influence in South Carolina *Accused of using church get-togethers to plan a violent slave revolt *Vesey and thirty-four other slaves were hanged *Some historians doubt the conspiracy was real

Why were some African Americans free?

-Some born free -Some bought their freedom -Some ran away

Why were Free African Americans discriminated against?

-Southerners worried Free AF Am would encourage slaves to rise up against slaveholders -feared they posed a threat to the institution of slavery -believed Af Am could not survive without slavery

What types of discrimination did free African Americans face?

-limited rights -couldn't vote or have certain jobs -couldn't travel freely

What did Free African Americans do for jobs?

-paid laborers on plantations or farms -skilled artisans in the city

Southern Social Hierarchy

-wealthy plantation owners at the top - small slaveholders/ farmers - yeoman farmers and hill people (poor whites) -slaves

"Jumping the Broom"

A common part of the slave wedding ceremony where newly-wed slaves would jump across a broom.

Slave Religion

A distinctive version of Christianity adopted by slaves in the face of hardship. A blend of African traditions and Christian belief, slave religion was practiced in secret nighttime meetings on plantations and in ''praise meetings.''

Peculiar Institution

A euphemism for slavery and the economic ramifications of it in the American South. The term aimed to explain away the seeming contradiction of legalized slavery in a country whose Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal". It was one of the key causes of the Civil War.

David Walker

A free African American who urged blacks to take their freedom by force

Walker's Appeal... to the Colored Citizens

A harsh pamplet declaring that "America is more [the blacks'] country than it is the whites'." This pamplet, written by a free black man from Boston, showed violent anti-slavery motives, declaring that slaves should cut their master's throats, and "kill, or be killed."

Tredegar Iron Works

A large factory, the most productive iron works in the nation. It was started by Joseph R. Anderson and it was one of the only factories in the south to produce cannons, steam engines, and bridge materials.

Cotton Gin

A machine made by Eli Whitney to make cotton more profitable.

"Cotton is King!"

A phrase referring to the social, economic, and cultural importance of cotton the South, first stated by South Carolina politician James Henry Hammond in a speech to the U.S. Senate in 1858.

The Nat Turner Slave Rebellion

A slave rebellion led by Nat Turner, a dedicated christian, in Virginia in 1831 that killed about 60 white people. It scared whites in the South and new laws were created to limit the rights of blacks.

Cotton Boom

A time period where cotton replaces tobacco as the main cash crop of the south.

Overseer

A worker hired by a planter to watch over and direct the work of slaves.

Long-Staple Cotton

Also known as black seed cotton, the seeds were easy to remove, but it could only grow well in a few places in the south.

Short-Staple Cotton

Also known as green seed cotton, the seeds are very difficult to remove, and it was easier to grow and more common in the south.

Invisible Institution

An adaptation of Christianity by the slaves that incorporated their African Culture. Called 'invisible' because cermonies took place in secret, late at night in the woods.

Small Acts of Rebellion Against Slavery

Breaking machinery, working slowly, running away for a few days to escape an angry slave owner, or escaping to the North.

The Common Culture of Slaves

Close personal bonds, strong religious conviction, and music.

The south's most reliable cash crop

Cotton

Factors

Crop brokers, they manages the cotton trade and advised farmers on how to invest profits.

Fredrick Douglass and his Act of Rebellion

Fredrick Douglass was a slave who later became an abolitionist after being freed, and as a slave he resisted slavery by visiting his mother, who had been sold, during the night.

Gabriel Prosser

In 1800 this slave planned a slave uprising that was betrayed by other slaves. Prosser and his followers were executed.

Planters

Large-scale farmers who owned more than 20 slaves.

Slave Codes

Laws that controlled the lives of enslaved African Americans and denied them basic rights.

Slave Codes

No groups of more than three at a time No leaving the owners land without a pass Not allowed to use guns Not allowed to learn tor read and write Not allowed to testify in court

Yeomen

Owners of small farms that owned few slaves or none at all.

Folktales

Part of oral tradition that usually used animals with human characteristics to convey a deeper message.

Male Planters

People that monitored the raising of crops and supervising the slaves.

Oral tradition

Poems, songs, and stories that passes by word of mouth from one generation to the next.

The cornerstone of African American culture in the south

Religion

Spirituals

Religious folk songs that blended biblical themes with the realities of slavery and combined religion and music, two of the main parts of slave culture.

Religion used to justify slavery

Slave owners would use bible verses that justified slavery to force enslaved people to accept mistreatment

What did wealthy southerners prefer to invest their money in?

Slaves and land

The Living Condition of Slaves

Terrible, as they lived in a tiny, dirt-floored cabin with a leaky roof.

Tobacco, Hemp, Flax, Corn, Sweet Potatoes, Wheat, Sugarcane

The cash crops grown over fear of over relying on cotton.

Church

The center of most African Americans' lives.

Tobacco

The first cash crop of the south improved by a slave heating it up by burning charcoal.

The South's Industry

The first factories were used to process sugarcane. Most mills were small scale and few used the Lowell system.

The Removal of Seeds from Cotton

The function of the cotton gin to make cotton more profitable.

How poor Southerners survived.

The hunted, fished, raised small gardens, and did odd jobs.

The Cotton Gin's Effect on the Slave Trade.

The increased amount of land and the speed of removing cotton seeds led to slaves going into higher demand.

The Southeast

The location of the cotton belt.

Corn

The main food crop of the south.

Tobacco, rice, and sugarcane

The three cash crops grown by the south before the American Revolution.

How Southern-Church Goers Justified Slavery.

They believed God created some people to rule over others.

Limitations on Free African Americans

They couldn't vote, travel freely, hold certain jobs, and white people had to represent them for certain things.

Female Planters (Wives of planters)

They ran the plantation, oversaw the raising of the children, an supervised the slaves in the house.

The South's Economy

They relied on agriculture, with the main crop being cotton. Because of the competition to the north, few factories were built. There were large plantations to grow food with the help of slaves.

"Positive Good"

This was a argument that pro-slavery activists used against the abolitionists, saying that the institution of slavery is overall, a positive system, while recognizing that it isn't pleasant/good for the slaves themselves.

Slave marriages

Though slave marriage was illegal, slaves did get married in their own sense. The law of slave marriages wasn't enforced very often by slave owners because it meant potential for the family to have children, meaning more workers to have on the plantation. The marriages also adopted a "till death or distance do us part" policy regarding marriage, which would be the spouses being separated by being sold off or dying.

Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin

an American inventor best known for inventing the cotton gin. This was one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution and shaped the economy of the antebellum South. Whitney's invention made short staple cotton into a profitable crop, which strengthened the economic foundation of slavery

Sectionalism: The South

has cash crops like tobacco and cotton. They bought a lot of goods from other countries so they didn't like tariffs. Relied on slave labor.

Cottonocracy

name for wealthy planters who made their money from cotton in the mid-1800s

Southern Defense of Slavery

southerners held a widespread belief that blacks were inferior to whites and that the slavery was good for blacks - also understood that the southern cotton economy was dependent on slave labor

Working conditions for slaves

sun up until sun down; most worked in field, some in the house; began work at 6 years old, worked when sick and in bad weather

How did slave owners keep slaves in line

the threat of being sold or separated from their family

"Sold down the River"

to be betrayed or misled, especially by someone trusted This expression, dating from the mid-1800s, alludes to slaves being sold down the Mississippi River to work as laborers on cotton plantations. Its figurative use dates from the late 1800s.

Punishments for enslaved people

to insure obedience, included beatings, withholding food and threatening family members

Enslaved people in the cities

worked as domestic servants, factory hands, day laborers, still had no rights and were considered property