Cotton Becomes King LESSON 1 Antebellum Period Antebellum

Cotton Becomes King LESSON 1

Antebellum Period • Antebellum is a Latin term meaning “before the war. ” • Historians refer to the 50 -year period prior to the start of the American Civil War as the Antebellum Period. • A civil war is a war between two or more groups of people in the same country.

Life in Antebellum South Carolina • South Carolina’s white population did not grow as quickly as the rest of the country. • The slave population grew much more quickly. • The economic, social, and political system of South Carolina and other southern states centered on cotton & slavery.

How Cotton Became King A Production Dilemma • Demand for cotton from textile mills in the North and Great Britain soared. • Though the North did not have slavery, the Northern mills greatly benefitted from slavery as slave labor provided the raw materials for the mills. • Southern cotton planters could not meet the demand fast enough • It took one day for one slave to pick and clean one pound of cotton.

How Cotton Became King Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin • American inventor Eli Whitney studied the problem and created a new engine, or “gin” for cleaning cotton. • Whitney’s cotton gin could clean 50 pounds of cotton per day. • Cotton production in the South skyrocketed … cotton exports by > 1, 000% • The cotton gin gave South Carolina a new cash crop, replacing rice and indigo. • Cotton became “king” in the South.

How Cotton Became King Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin How did the cotton gin influence the “planter ideal” and unite upcountry and lowcountry farmers? How did the cotton gin make life more miserable for enslaved people?

The Cotton Kingdom The “Planter Ideal” • Cotton farming quickly spread from the coast inland. • The upcountry was transformed from a region of small farms to one with large cotton plantations with thousands of slaves. • Small farmers achieved wealth and status by investing in cotton and slaves. • Achieving this “planter ideal” helped ease tensions within the state.

The Cotton Kingdom South Carolina’s Cotton Production Ø 1790 … 69, 000 pounds Ø 1800 … 20 million pounds Ø 1810 … 50 million pounds By what percentage did cotton production increase between 1790 and 1800? By what percentage did it grow from 1800 to 1810? By what percentage did cotton production increase overall in that 20 -year period?

The Compromise of 1808 • Amendment to the state constitution that resulted in a reapportionment of seats in the General Assembly. • It created a balance of power between the upcountry and the Lowcountry and united the two regions politically. • Raising cotton in the Upcountry made people more likely to support slavery so the Lowcountry finally granted equal political rights to the men of the Upcountry.

The Cotton Kingdom Planter Society • Although most farmers in South Carolina were subsistence farmers, the state had more slaveholders than any other state. • The majority of slaveowners in South Carolina had fewer than 10 slaves and often worked beside them in the fields. • Only the very wealthy lived on large plantations with hundreds of slaves. • The spread of slavery also impacted the political rights of South Carolinians. The law was changed so all white men over 21 were given the right to vote.

Cotton and Slavery Slaveowners in South Carolina

Cotton and Slavery in the Upcountry—Explosive Growth An example… • Greenville County o 606 slaves in 1790 o More than 7, 000 by 1860 o 1, 000% increase

Cotton and Slavery Antebellum Economic Growth • King Cotton not only contributed to economic growth in South Carolina and other southern states, but to the entire US economy. • Eventually cotton spreads west as farmers created a problem in growing too much cotton in the same field again and again. • The soil wore out so they moved west to new land. How did Northerners and the British benefit from the plantation economy of the South? Why is “King Cotton” an accurate reference to the economy during this time?

Cotton and Slavery

The Plantation System “A Cotton Plantation on the Mississippi—The Harvest” was painted by artist William A. Walker of Charleston. How does Walker’s painting idealize the southern plantation?

The Plantation System Paternalism • Slaves were not viewed by their owners as human beings, but as property. • Blacks in the south lacked the basic rights held by whites • Even owners who treated their slaves relatively well practiced paternalism. • They believed slaves were incapable of caring for themselves or making their own decisions.

The Slave Community • Despite tremendous hardships, slaves developed a community and a sense of dignity. • Religion was very important to them. – Spirituals often provided slaves with a way to convey messages about freedom A Slave Marriage Ceremony, called a “Broomstick Wedding. ” – Preachers also often voiced a desire for freedom in sermons they delivered in secret

The Denmark Vesey “Plot” • Denmark Vesey was a freed slave who was accused of planning one of the biggest slave uprisings in American history. • With money he’d earned as a hired hand, Vesey purchased a lottery ticket in 1800. He won $1, 500 and bought his freedom. • He opened a carpentry shop and became a respected artisan. • He soon began to speak out against slavery. • Secretly, he began to organize a slave rebellion.

The Denmark Vesey “Plot” • The plan was leaked to authorities and Vesey was arrested along with many of his followers. o Vesey and 22 other men were found guilty and hanged. • South Carolina’s General Assembly responded to the event with tough measures making it much harder to free slaves. They also passed strict new slave codes.

Plantations Over Industry Why didn’t South Carolina have more textile mills and factories during this time?

The Expansion of Industry • Some Carolinians believed the state should make its own textiles, instead of selling cotton to Europe or New England. • William Gregg opened a large New England style mill in South Carolina. To house his workers Gregg built a mill village complete with store and school. • Industry did grow within the state during this period, but South Carolina remained primarily an agricultural state and cotton would remain king.