THE SOUTHERN ECONOMY

AND THE SLAVE SYSTEM

The Cotton Boom

Cotton belt formed when farmers switched from less profitable crops to cotton

Stretched from South Carolina to Texas 1791: US produced 2 million lbs/year of cotton 1860: 1,650 million lbs/year of cotton

Crop prices fell after the Revolution, so did the demand for slaves

Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin reenergized southern agriculture

Impact: Slavery had been on the decline, but once again increased

Reasons for the Cotton Boom

Advantages of Cotton

Easy to grow Easy to transport Did not spoil

easily Stronger types of

cotton produced by crossbreeding

…This is why cotton became King

Scientific Agriculture

Use of scientific methods to improve crop production

Problem: cotton pulled so many nutrients from the soil, the soil became useless for years

Solution: crop rotation, more research to understand soil chemistry

Cotton Exports

Cotton sent to ports via rivers Major port cities: Charleston, Savanna, New

Orleans Sold cotton to Great Britain and other foreign

countries- Great Britain needed cotton for their booming textile industry

Planters vs Yeomen

Planter: large scale farmer with more than 20 slaves- there were very few planters

Held political and economic power despite small numbers

Yeomen: owned small farms, some held a few slaves, worked in the field

Role of Slaves

Majority worked in fields sunup to sundown

Some worked as butlers, cooks or nurses in the home

Treated better, but worked longer hours Some were skilled laborers- Blacksmiths,

carpenters

Conditions Poor clothing Shoddy

shelter Not allowed

to be educated. Why?

Punishment: whipped, put in the stocks, hanged, detained, put in different devices

How did slaves endure?

Maintaining a sense of culture Religion- spirituals were songs sung to

express religions beliefs Telling folktales- stories with a moral, taught

slaves how to survive under their conditions

Challenges to Slavery

Passive resistance: breaking tools, working slowly, stealing, carelessness

Active resistance: suicide, running away, revolts

Nat Turner’s Rebellion: slaves in VA rose up in 1831 and killed 60 whites. Turner was arrested and executed