Politics Slavery Antebellum Society Vocabulary Antebellum Literally it
Politics, Slavery, & Antebellum Society
Vocabulary Antebellum Literally, it means “before the war. ” In America, especially the South, it means “before the Civil War. ” Board of Police After 1832, the Board of Police governed each county in Mississippi. They levied taxes for the operation of county affairs and imposed special taxes to construct court houses and jails and to support the poor. They also appointed supervisors to build and maintain roads and bridges. It approved those people who could operate hotels, run ferries, or sell alcohol; the board also set prices for these services. They often paid the school tuition for poor children and operated public schools that were open to all white children
Assimilation A policy pursued by federal government that theorized that if Native Americans relied on farming rather than on hunting, they would need less land could then co-exist with the settlers Trail of Tears The trail followed by Native Americans to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) Black Code Law passed in 1724 that applied to blacks, granted them only a few basic rights, limited marriage, owning land, traveling, and gathering in groups; and made attempts to escape or resisting whites authority able to be cruelly punished
Plantation Relatively large farms where most cotton was grown with slave labor Specie Gold and silver used as money Panic of 1837 An economic downturn that occurred when state-chartered banks could not back up with specie the paper money that they had issued; led to the depression of 1837 -1841
Fought and negotiated treaties with Native Americans in Mississippi Territory People Had no inherited wealth and little formal education Upheld the authority of the federal government in the dispute about nullification Andrew Jackson Democratic Party organized around him & Whig party formed by his opponents Ended the Bank of the United States Won elections for President in 1824 & 1828
One of the chief’s of the Choctaw. People Died in Washington while trying to renegotiate the Treaty of Doak’s Stand. Pushmataha Persuaded his people not to join Tecumseh and his brother in the Native American rebellion. Fought with Andrew Jackson.
People Pushmataha’s nephew Greenwood Le. Flore Helped negotiate the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek.
The most prominent free black in MS. People Helped negotiate the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. William Johnson Barber in Natchez who owned town lots, a farm, and slaves. Following his murder, his alleged killer was not prosecuted because the only witnesses were blacks who could not testify in the case.
Timeline
Politics Elections determine which candidates are voted into particular offices or jobs Politics Make people take sides, causing divisions within society Raises the issues that most concern people
The State Capital In The 1821, small a committee farmers and was townspeople formed to locate did a capitol not like in the thatmiddle the capitol of the was state. in They Washington, decided on Le. Fleur’s because they Bluffwanted on the Pearl the Where to where put the. Louis state River, capitol closer to them, Le. Fleur and traded they wanted with the In 1798, Natchez was the In 1802, political rivalry capital was one ofbe the firstwas the Choctaw. capitol to The town away from named the influence Jackson 1817, the capitol state capital. In. No official issues to reveal social cased the relocation ofbattle theandofplanters after of the elite hero merchants of the New Orleans. of constitutional convention building was built, and divisions capitolcaused to Washington. bythere politics Nothe first time in They met Natchez. for officials decided just to met meetwherever in Natchez, capitol in Mississippi building was builtof 1822. December they butcould met infind Washington; space. here, either. however, meetings after that were in Natchez. Where, oh, where shall we put it? Who needs an official No…no…that’s not where we Why can’t we ignore our own Why do the elite always get the space…Let’s just meet wherever! want to meet… Eureka! I’ve found the capitol! decisions? capitol?
The Constitution of 1832 Property ownership was no longer required to vote, so all adult, adult me could vote and hold office. Because of this, the time period is called the “Era of the Common Man. ” Mississippi Constitution of 1832 reflected Jacksonian Democracy. Constitution of 1832 Judges were elected instead of appointed and for terms instead of life. One provision banned slaves being imported into MS, but it was never applied. Representation of both houses determined only by population.
Local Governments County government met most of the needs of the citizens in the state. After 1832, an elected board of police governed the counties. County Government Board of Police built and maintained roads & bridges. Board of Police supported the poor and helped children pay for school. Decided who could operate ferries & hotels and who could sell alcohol. Board levied taxes for the operation of county affairs.
Native American Land Tension in MS started rising By. Land the War ofbetween 1812, The most Creek Indians in speculators, settlers, the Native whites given up on joined the Alabama Shawnee andhad squatters wanted allwhites Americans and idea. Native of assimilation. They chief Tecumseh and his Americans moved because whites were thought that the Native brother Tenskwatawa west of the Mississippi River and (also moving westward Americans might side with known as be the Prophet) so that there would expanding. Atmore first, the when the British or the Spanish. they tried to unite the land available. whites supported You should be just like us! Aw…never mind. Don’t be like You can’t have our land! Why don’t you go away…I us…Just go away! mean, go to this better place… various tribes to resist assimilation, which is the white Pushmataha, belief thatsettlers. Native Americans one of the chiefs on of the should concentrate Choctaw, persuaded his farming, not hunting, so that people notneed to join Tecumseh. they would less land. When Tecumseh was killed, However, the Native united did Native Americans not. American want to resistance in the United change. States ended.
Federal Treaties with Native Americans The trek of the Native Americans to Oklahoma, then called Indian Territory, is known as the Trail of Tears, because of how many 1832, the Chickasaw The Treaty of Mount Dexter, Inthe 1801, the Treaty of Fort people In died along way. The Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, In 1820, After Andrew Jackson signedand the Seminole Treaty of Pontotoc in 1805, gave the US Adams was the first in a west Cherokee, all made their way as over best 4 they became President, the US and Thomas Hinds Creek. They their million acres help. of land. The series ofof treaties in which could, ceded oftenall without government federal negotiated government the. Native Treaty decided of land in north the Mississippi Americans got Choctawtoceded their Doak’s that Native Stand, Americans which gave were the federal government and cancellation land. The US got almost 3 on their debts the subject US 5 to million statetraders acres laws and ofand the annual agreed to move West. with million acres of land the courts. In 1830, theywere signed land. The Choctaw for various Native right to buildpensions the Natchez the promised Treaty land of. American Dancing west ofleaders Rabbit the including Trace. The Choctaw got a Mississippi, Creek, ceding however, the. Pushmataha. rest they of few thousand dollars in rejected their land that (over land. Pushmata 10 million merchandise and a promise acres) went toand Washington agreeing to move rethat was not kept. This negotiate, but. One diedprovision there. to Oklahoma. promise was that all non. New allowed agreements them to were stay made, and Native Americans would be butregister the Choctaw to obtain stillland, refused but removed from Indian lands. the process to leave. proved to be too difficult. You going with the Choctaw Whoare cares if a few Indians die? us We need more land! Give You give us land, and we’ll arethis moving West – –Wehaha! Does seem fair? got land! more land! break our whether youpromises. like it or not!
The Black Code In 1724, Governor Bienville issued a They set ofprovided laws called theprotection Black Code. some for They applied to blacks and slaves. Whenonly owners sold slaves, granted slaves a fewhusbands rights. they could not only separate Marriage, ownership of property, from wives or children under 14 travel, andparents. gathering in groups from their Owners could were all severely restricted. not mistreat slaves, or free them when they were old or sick, leaving them helpless. Slaves could not be made to work on Sundays or religious holidays, and a freed slave received all the privileges of any free citizen. Rights for people, and inslaves There’saresome good stuff this aren’t awfulpeople. law…
Cotton & Slavery Cotton was a cash crop that was not hard on the soil – so they could keep growing without losing quality and quantity. Mississippi was well suited to the production of cotton. Cotton & Slavery Mississippi was also subject to erosion and exhaustion. Most cotton was grown with slave labor on relatively large farms or plantations. The most productive strain of cotton was Petit Gulf cotton, developed by Rush Nutt of Rodney and Henry Vick of Warren County.
Conditions for Slaves The owner usually oversaw Slave owners punished and cotton, Other than grow The owner provided meals. slave labor. inwas An overseer wasbegan at Housing usually simple rewarded Work different generally ways. slaves also cooked, cleaned Pork and corn were the more hired if the owner did not live log cabins without doors or sunrise and ended A slave could be whipped at at sunset, house, tended livestock, important parts of slave onowner’s the farm. A slave driver floors. Usually the only the although discretion, days but could acared be even made clothes, and for diets. Sometimes they got usually oversaw the work of a furniture was bunks and whipped slave longer couldn’t at harvest work. Skilled time. small children. fruits, vegetables, game, and group of slaves. chairs. Sometimes, there until he or. Sunday she recovered. was normally slaves worked as a day fish. The amount of food was wereof cottages with at some Slave owners rest, oftenalthough offered blacksmiths, adequate, butwindows, the basiccarpenters, diet chimneys, and incentives farms, for good the work, week ended and brick masons. These wasn’t always nutritious wooden floors. Cabins were such as slaves extra at noon clothes, on Saturday. were often “hired enough to maintain goodand used mainly for sleeping pocket knives, Christmas timecould off was from usually a out” and sometimes health. were aoften shared by many days. work, party, or that money. holiday lasted earn enough moneyfor to buy slaves. their freedom. If Only you’re a good boy, I’ll give wimps need floors and You think you have a long You. Who do whatever I tell you to do. needs good nutrition? Who’s in charge here? youwindows! a treat! workday!
Slave Community Slaves were property with no rights. The protections in the Black Code no longer existed. Slaves struggled to create a community – the fact that there were many on each farm helped. Slave Community Slave marriage wasn’t recognized legally, but the love bonded spouses and children. Slaves adopted Christianity. Whites saw it as a way to control slaves, but slaves saw it as a path to freedom. They preferred to have their own religious gatherings. Despite slave laws, slaves learned to read and write.
Sometimes, resistance was open. Owners sometimes died trying to discipline slaves. Sometimes slaves killed owners and their families. Nat Turner, a slave preacher in Virginia, led a revolt that killed at least 60 whites and 100 blacks. Slave Resistance Slave Community Whites feared revolts so much that even rumors of one led to beatings and executions. Most of the time rebellion was more subtle – such as telling the owner what he wanted to hear and the barn “accidentally” burning down. In 1835, blacks and whites in Madison County were killed because there were fears of a revolt. A rebellion was planned in Adams County in 1861, but it was revealed before it happened.
Many blacks were free and lived in towns such as Natchez and Vicksburg and worked at many different types of jobs. Most prominent was William Johnson of Natchez, a barber who owned slaves. His murder was not prosecuted because the only witnesses were blacks who could not testify. Free Blacks Could not be freed unless their owner provided funds for them to leave the state. Free blacks in MS reached a peak in 1840 and then steadily declined in number. Freed slaves had to leave unless the County Board of Police allowed them to stay. This was because they were afraid freed slaves would help organize a revolt.
Antebellum Mississippi Society The economic boom ended abruptly, Prosperity was everywhere. followed by the most severe economic Land was cheap and the depression faced by the US up to that In the 1830’s, newly acquired price of cotton was high. time. This depression was caused Native American land by Banks extended credit and President Jackson’s Jackson sparked a policies. land boom and issued paper money far in destroyed the second Bank of the US, population explosion. excess of the specie (gold and used state banks calledsettlers “pet Between 1833 -1837, and silver) in their vaults. banks. ” These banks issued more bought 7 million acres of paper money than they had MS. in specie. land in northern The This stimulated economy, and state’sthe population grew people used the than bad money to buy faster the nation’s federal land. population. What to do with all of this Look atdid all of this money!!!! Where all of the Indian land? money go?
The Panic of 1837 The Specie Circular was issued in 1836. Required that government land be paid for with specie rather than with paper money. The Distribution Act required that the surplus money in the federal treasury be paid to the state as specie. Panic of 1837 When the “pet banks” could not provide the gold and silver, they collapsed. The Panic of 1837 led to the depression of 1837 -1841. The depression hit MS hard. Banks closed, cotton prices fell, bank notes were deemed useless, property owners lost land, & paychecks had to be cashed for less than face value.
Antebellum Mississippi Society Public education developed slowly. Steamboats Railroads carried made cotton landauthorized After 1836, the state transportation and other to goods on the counties fundeasier, schools. Parents Mississippi however River they and were on thecould. By had to pay tuition, if they Transportation was slow and expensive smaller and rivers. hard to build. 1860, over 30, 000 white children difficult. The roads were Once they were built, There was were attending school. dusty andthey rutted lanes or though, ran year-round no school for black children. muddy paths. A wagon and were terms rarely were affected by(about 3 School short pulled by oxen traveled only weather. months) and 20 miles perreally day. only taught the basics (reading, writing, arithmetic). Higher education was usually the responsibility of private and religious organizations. The University of MS was established in 1840, but did not open its doors until 1848. How they get around before How. I did do we transport all of this wish I didn’t have to go to Look, Mommy, a Choo-choo! the car? cotton? school!
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