THE ANTEBELLUM SOUTH Culture from the Early Republic

THE ANTEBELLUM SOUTH Culture from the Early Republic to the Civil War

THE COTTON SOUTH AND NATIVE AMERICA Jefferson’s Civilization Project Government agent Benjamin Hawkins (17541816) lived and worked among the Creek and Cherokee

RED STICK WAR William Weatherford 1813 -1814, Fort Mims Massacre March 27, 1814, Battle of Horseshoe Bend Treaty of Fort Jackson- 22 Million Acres

INDIAN REMOVAL 1834 Indian Intercourse Act Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 1831 Worcester v. Georgia, 1832 1835 Minority Faction of Cherokee sign Seminole Wars

THEMES OF THE PLANTATION SOUTH v. Agricultural Economy v. White Supremacy v. Masculine Honor

SOUTHERN SOCIETY 1. Large-scale slaveowners/planters (12%) 2. Small-scale slaveowners/planters (88%) 3. Yeoman farmers 4. Poor Whites 5. Freed Blacks 6. Slaves

CULTURES OF HONOR AND VIOLENCE One of the striking characteristics of southern society noted by northerners was its violence, a violence that took the form of ferocious brawling among the lower classes and dueling among the upper. Where northerners stressed constancy and character, southerners stressed honor and its defense with a dueling code of elaborate ritual. The concept of honor was rarely challenged, even by southern evangelical religious denominations, which stressed humility and self-restraint.

THE PECULIAR INSTITUTION

THE WORLD OF THE MASTER Paternalism (1873) : The policy or practice of restricting the freedoms and responsibilities of subordinates or dependants in what is considered or claimed to be their best interests. Etymology: < paternal adj. + -ism suffix. Paternal (1450): Of or relating to a father or fathers; characteristic of a father in his care for, bearing towards, or authority over offspring; fatherly; (of government) paternalistic. Etymology: < French paternel (late 12 th cent. ) and its etymon postclassical Latin paternalis of or relating to a father (4 th cent. ; frequently from c 1250 in British sources) < classical Latin paternus of or relating to a father, fatherly, on the father's side

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF PATERNALISM AND/OR PATRIARCHY IN THE PLANTATION SOUTH? Patriarchy: a system of society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is traced through the male line. Etymology: Mid 17 th century: via medieval Latin from Greek patriarkhia, from patriarkhēs 'ruling father‘ Definitions courtesy of the Oxford English Dictionary

MYTHS ABOUT THE PLANTATION SOUTH The Plantation During the three decades before the Civil War, popular writers created a stereotype, now known as the plantation legend, that described the South as a land of aristocratic planters, beautiful southern belles, poor white trash, faithful household slaves, and superstitious fieldhands. This image of the South as "a land of cotton where old times are not forgotten" received its most popular expression in 1859 in a song called "Dixie, " written by a Northerner named Dan D. Emmett to enliven shows given by a troupe of black-faced minstrels on the New York stage. Source: Digital History, University of Houston What about the Cavalier Myth, what does Cash have to say about that?

THE LABOR WORLD OF THE SLAVES Images courtesy of the WPA Slave Narratives Project

THE WORLD OF THE SLAVES Though uprooted from their African culture, slaves managed to retain much of their native religion by incorporating it with Christianity-particularly evangelicalism The slaves and their overseer typically dwelled within separated and designated quarters from the plantation household. These quarters consisted of a large grouping of rudely made cabins.

WOMEN Te

WHITE WOMEN What was the position of the plantation mistress? High Mortality rates Childbirth Child Mortality Epitaph on Ann Ginn’s Tombstone, c. 1800 Behold amidst the youthful bloom of life The tender mother, the beloved wife To death’s unalterable call attends And dies lamented by her numerous friends Her infant child had just received its breath When to the parent mother sinks in death Survivors, all this solemn lesson read Prepare this life to rest among the dead

THE IMPACT OF SLAVERY ON FAMILY FORMATION FOR THE ENSLAV The following paragraph is from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, written by Harriet Jacobs, a former slave, in 1861. My father, by his nature, as well as by the habit of transacting business as a skilful mechanic, had more of the feelings of a freeman than is common among slaves. My brother was a spirited boy; and being brought up under such influences, he early detested the name of master and mistress. One day, when his father and his mistress had happened to call him at the same time, he hesitated between the two; being perplexed to know which had the strongest claim upon his obedience. He finally concluded to go to his mistress. When my father reproved him for it, he said, “You both called me, and I didn’t know which I ought to go to first. ” “You are my child, ” replied our father, “and when I call you, you should come immediately, if you have to pass through fire and water. ” Poor Willie! He was now to learn his first lesson of obedience to a master.