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What Are Your Impressions?
• How prevalent was slave ownership in the South?
• How were slaves treated?
• How did the demand for slaves impact prices?
• How important was cotton to the American economy?
The South
• Cotton was the most important Southern crop and America’s major export
• South not impacted by immigration, urbanization, or industrialization- primarily agricultural
• Older sections of Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina were shifting from tobacco to wheat
Economics of Slavery
• The increased importance of cotton increased the importance of slavery
• Price of slaves rose until by 1850 a slave was worth as much as $1800
• Crop value per slave rose from $15 to $125
• High prices for slaves in the Deep South caused a shift of slaves from older regions to “down the river”
Economics of Slavery
• A great migration of slaves occurred as they were shipped further west from the seaboard states
• Slave trading became big business- but impacted slave families as husbands, wives, and children were separated (mostly in the Old South)
Economics of Slavery
• Because it was so lucrative, the business of slave trading lost its social stigma and men of high social station engaged in it
• Since slaves were so expensive, holders of slaves became smaller in number
• By the Civil War, only 1 in 4 Southern white farmers owned any slaves at all
Economics of Slavery
• Small farmers grew the staple crops- they might have a slave or two toiling alongside
• “Poor white trash” lived in squalor in the mountains eking out what they could from the poor soil
• Large plantations grew commercial crops and usually had profits of %10 or more
Antebellum Plantation Life
• Plantations were like small villages
• Southern homes were centers of manufacturing- turning out clothing and other textiles
• Wives often ran the plantation
• White children were raised by white family and slaves
• Slave children normally did not begin work until age 6-7
Sociology of Slavery
• Treatment of slaves depended on the master- some did not whip while others whipped at least once a month
• Average of 20 lashes for small offences such as shirking work and 39 or more for running away
• Some slaves were whipped to death but by 1821 laws allowed masters to be charged with murder if a slave died from abuse- conviction resulted in a large fine (one woman was fined $214.28)
Sociology of Slavery
• Most owners provided adequate clothing, food, and housing (slaves were valuable)
• Slave infant mortality was twice that of whites and life expectancy about 5 years less than whites
• The US was only place where slavery grew due to natural increase (only %5 of slaves to the New World went to North America- ½ million grew to 4 million by 1860)
Sociology of Slavery
• Masters generally felt responsible for their slaves and slaves were dependent and often imitative of their masters
• From their close proximity arose every type of human relationship
• Slaves adapted to the system while attempting to resist it
Sociology of Slavery
• Because slaves often appeared happy and were not overtly rebellious, whites persuaded themselves slaves were content with the system
• As Northern opposition to slavery mounted, the system hardened towards slaves
• The fear of revolt caused harsh treatment
Sociology of Slavery
• The 1822 Denmark Vesey Conspiracy resulted in the execution of 37 slaves with another 30+ deported
• After a Louisiana revolt, 16 slaves were decapitated
• The 1831 Nat Turner revolt in Virginia killed 57 whites
• After the Turner revolt, the South made it harder for masters to free slaves
Manufacturing in the South
• Small flour and lumber mills flourished
• Iron and coal were mined
• By 1825 textile manufacturing was on the rise due to water power
• Less than %15 of manufactured goods came from the South
• Almost all goods and services came from the North
Northern Industrial Juggernaut
• In the North – rapid industrial growth• 1859 – Northeast produced $1.27 billion out of
$2 billion• Steam power facilitated by rich coal fields in
Pennsylvania• American society open to innovation• Inventions included vulcanization of rubber,
sewing machine, cylinder press, screw-making machine, friction match, and the lead pencil
Northern Industrial Juggernaut
• Machines substitute for shortage of skilled labor
• By 1850, US led world in manufacture of goods by precision instruments
• Expansion westward uncovered new resources
• Workers open to labor-saving devices (Luddites)
• Society more open to corporations
Northern Industrial Juggernaut
• Immigration stimulated manufacturing
• Gold finds added to supply of capital
• European investors financed American businesses
• Improvements in transportation made goods cheaper
• Middle class = expanding national markets
Nation of Immigrants
• Jobs created by industrial growth attracted immigrants
• Attitudes of “native” population
• Social, racial, and economic rivalries
• Immigrants brought about end of hiring young women (Waltham System)
The Irish
How Wage Earners Lived
• Low wages and crowding increased slums in cities• City services virtually non-existent• Factory towns - small gardens possible• Cities – even grass unusual• All members of poor families had to labor to survive• Unions established with varying results – general
unionization did not arrive until after Civil War • Unionization seemed “un-American” – wage labor looked
down upon
Foreign Commerce
• Increase in both imports and exports
• Exported more raw materials and imported more manufactured goods
• Britain remained biggest trading partner
• Sailing packets facilitated movement of people and freight
• NE made good living through whaling
• Advancements in ships- the clipper ship
Foreign Commerce
• Clipper ships provided swift passage to California gold fields
• Cut transit time from 5-6 months to 3 months
• Speed impacted by weight – did not carry bulky goods – carried specialty goods
Clipper Ship
Steam Conquers the Atlantic
• Oceangoing steamships came later than river ships due to fuel and stability constraints
• Soon eclipsed the clipper ships (average speed versus bursts)
• Construction of iron ships spelled end of dominance of American shipbuilders
• Steamships resulted in drastic decrease in cost of freight and passage
Steam Conquers the Atlantic
• Conditions for poorer passengers poor- crowded and foul
• Allowed even the poorest ability to migrate
Canals & Railroads
• Canal building increased internal and external trade
• By 1840- 3,326 miles of canals
• Traffic on Erie Canal 20 times greater in 1851 than 1836
Canals & Railroads
• First railroad built in England• By 1840- US had 3,328 miles
of RR• Most track lay east of
Appalachian Mts.• Engineering problems with
track and locomotives made growth of RR slow process
• By 1860- US had 30,636 miles of RR
• By 1855- RR connected east with St. Louis and Chicago
Financing the Railroads
• Railroad construction required immense amounts of labor and capital
• Private investors supplied about ¾ of the money used in railroads prior to 1860
• Funds were raised periodically through the use of “calls” – sometimes if a railroad made money that money could be used to complete the project
Financing the Railroads
• Railroads in rich regions had no problem attracting capital- other regions demanded “mixed enterprises” (half the capital coming from state and local government)
• Most often Congress blocked federal aid to railroads but that changed with the Illinois Central which was granted land (200 foot right-of-way with strips of land 1 mile wide and 6 miles deep)
Railroads and the Economy
• Agriculture increased as farmers could now transport crops to market at affordable rates
• Farmers moved into formerly inaccessible territories
• Railroads sold farmland at low rates
• Access to markets caused farmers to become more efficient and increase output
Railroads and the Economy
• New tools were invented to make farming easier such as the steel plowshare and the mechanical reaper by McCormick
• Wheat output rose nearly 75% due to the reaper
• Cities such as Buffalo and Cincinnati prospered but Chicago grew the most due to railroads
Railroads and the Economy
• Railroads stimulated more than just agriculture- such as Investment banking and bar and sheet iron production
• The proliferation of trunk lines and canals led to a sharp drop in freight and passenger rates which helped increase commerce
• Food that fed the factories on the east coast came from the west via railroads
• European demand for American foodstuffs made American farms boom
Railroads and Sectional Conflict
• Increased production and cheap transportation boosted the Western farmer’s income and standard of living
• Changes had their costsFarmers became dependent on middlemenBuying a farm required more capital due to
higher land costs and cost of machineryMore farmers became laborers and tenant
farmers
Railroads and Sectional Conflict
• The West and East became more integrated due to railroads and business
• These economic ties became cultural and many regions became anti-slave
• The South failed to forge links with the Northwest as it had no like transportation system- the South relied on the Mississippi River
The Eve of the Civil War
• The mid-1840s to the mid-1850s was a period of remarkable economic growth due to railroads, canals, and the settlement of new land
• This boom took a turn for the worse after the Crimean War and Europe’s lack of demand for American food- the Panic of 1857
• Demand for Southern cotton remained high and the South believed it was immune to downturns and could be better off out of the Union (“King Cotton”)
Quiz
• This was the major American export in the middle of the 1800’s
• During the middle 1800’s, this was the economics of slavery
• This was the approximate number of white planters/farmers with slaves
• Much of the South’s cotton trade was controlled by them
Quiz
• Generalization about the treatment of slaves is difficult because of this
• Nat Turner became notorious for this
• This was the Southern reaction to the Nat Turner Rebellion
• This most accounted for the lack of cities and industry in the South
Quiz
• Manufacturing in the South can be described as this
• By the 1850’s, the US led in type of manufacturing
• Wage laborers survived in the cities because of this
• Clipper ships were popular for this reason
Quiz
• Railroad growth lagged initially due to this
• Before 1860, ¾ of railroad investment came from her
• This was the first railroad to benefit from federal support
• The steel plowshare and his mechanical reaper helped make US farmers more productive
Quiz
• This competed the most with the railroads
• The decreasing importance of this increased conflict between the South and the other sections
• How would the US economy be described in the 1840’s – 1850’s?