Antebellum Slavery

Chapter 6Life in the Cotton Kingdom

What does Antebellum mean?

A period of time before a war, usually refers to the American Civil War.

1820 – 1861 (start of Civil War) for reference purposes only

Section 1: The Expansion of Slavery

Invention of cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793– Led to rapid expansion of slavery – need

land!– Slave population increased tremendously,

1790-1860• Grew fastest in Alabama and Mississippi

U.S. Slave Population,

1820 and 1860

Slave Population, 1820–1860

• Map 6–2. Slavery spread southwestward from the upper South and the eastern seaboard following the spread of cotton cultivation.

Source: Sam Bowers Hilliard, Atlas of Antebellum Southern Agriculture (Louisiana State University Press, 1984), pp. 29–34.

Cotton Production in the South, 1820–1860

• Map 6–1. Cotton production expanded westward between 1820 and 1860 into Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and western Tennessee.

Source: Sam Bowers Hilliard, Atlas of Antebellum Southern Agriculture (Louisiana State University Press, 1984) pp. 67–71.

Ownership: Slaves in the Old South

Slavery unevenly distributed – think about the statistics from yesterday!

• 25% of white families owned slaves by 1860• Nearly half of slaveholders owned fewer than

five• 1% owned more than fifty slaves

Slave-Owning Populati

on (1860)

Black Slaveholders

There were Black Slaveholders, because . . .

- They did it to protect families from sale and disruption.

- Not very popular. In 1830, only 2% of free blacks owned slaves.

Section 2: Slave Labor in Agriculture

Slaves in the South– 55% cultivated cotton (field slaves)– 20% grew tobacco or produced sugar, rice,

hemp (field slaves)– 15% domestic servants– 10% trades and industries

An engraving dating from about 1860, slaves harvest cotton under white supervision on a southern plantation.

Source: The Granger Collection, NY

Section 3: Other Types of Slave Labor 25% of all slaves did non-agricultural

duties House slaves ~ “elite” slaves (cooks,

maids, nurses, butlers, gardeners

+ Less physically demanding+ Better food and clothing

- Grueling to work in 19th century kitchens (Belle)- Constantly under white supervision

Photograph by L.D. Andrew, 1936, from a vintage photograph taken ca. 1880 - Georgia)http://www.gwu.edu/~folklife/bighouse/panel9.html

Domestic Slave with Planter's Family," Virginia, ca. 1859-64

http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/slavery/details.php?categorynum=9&categoryName=Domestic%20Servants%20and%20Free%20People%20of%20Color&theRecord=10&recordCount=56; 

Section 3: Other Types of Slave Labor Skilled craftsmen ~ more “elite” than

house slaves and included carpenters, blacksmiths, and millwrights

+ Could travel for supplies and gave a taste of freedom

+ Could be hired out (work for $$)

Urban Slavery

Were the “immigrants” of the South Jobs include: domestics, washwomen,

stevedores, general laborers + Interacted with free black community

+ Had opportunities to hire out ($$)

Young African-American Stevedore Loading Cotton onto a Steamboat at New Orleans, 1800shttp://www.art.com/products/p14385227-sa-i3032613/young-african-american-stevedore-loading-cotton-onto-a-steamboat-at-new-orleans-1800s.htm?sorig=0

Industrial Slavery

Jobs included textile mills, iron working, lumber industry

Most industrialist in the South hired slaves

+ Greater autonomy

+ Could provide path to freedom

– Why did slavery expand in the cotton kingdom?

– How was the slave population distributed across the South?

– Why did a small number of free blacks purchase slaves?

– What types of crops did slaves cultivate in the South?

– What type of jobs/labor was performed by the slaves in the South?

Punishment

Physical (Corporal) Punishment• Supported in the Bible• Essential to keep the paternalistic character of

slavery– Kept individual slaves under control– Used as an example to other slaves to keep control

• Caused other slaves to work together and protect one another

Louisiana Slave Displays Scars

In this 1863 photograph a former Louisiana slave displays the scars that resulted from repeated whippings. Although this degree of scarring is exceptional, few slaves were able to avoid being whipped at least once in their lives.

Source: National Archives and Records Administration

The Domestic Slave Trade

The Cotton Kingdom expands to the South and West

Upper South sells excess slaves to Lower South– 50% of Upper South slaves traded during

Antebellum Period– Many feared being “sold down river”

• many slaves in Chesapeake Region escaped

A Black Father Being Sold Away from His Family

This woodcut of a black father being sold away from his family appeared in The Child’s Anti-Slavery Book in 1860. Family ruptures, like the one shown, were among the more common and tragic aspects of slavery, especially in the upper South, where masters claimed slavery was “mild.”

Source: Courtesy of the Library of Congress

The Domestic Slave Trade

Traders operated slave prisons or slave pens– Washington DC (one of the largest and near

the US Capitol)!!! Slaves were chained or roped together

and then walked on foot in coffles

Slave Pen in Alexandria, VA (1860-1861)

Slave Pen in Alexandria, VA (1860-1861)

A Slave Coffle Before 1850

Washington, D.C. was a major depot in the domestic (or interstate) slave trade. This woodcut portrays a slave coffle—a group of slaves bound together—passing the Capitol Building in about 1815.

Source: Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Slave Block Where Auctioned Off, New Orleans (18)

The Domestic Slave Trade

This business was opposite of the claim that slavery was a benign institution– Description often used by slaveholders

Section 3 Essential Questions

– Why was physical punishment so widely used by slaveholders?

– What was the domestic slave trade?

Section 5: The Socialization of Slaves

Surviving Slavery– Used folk tales (Brer Rabbit) to teach

children how to conduct themselves– Learned to watch what they said around

whites– Learned not to talk back– Learned to camouflage their feelings– Turned toward religion

Religion

Helped in coping Mid-19th century most slaves Protestant

– Biracial Baptist and Methodist churches• Racially segregated seating• Shared cemeteries and joined together in communion

Plantation churches told slaves “Servants obey your masters”– Preferred semi-secret black church

• Moses and deliverance• Emotional

Plantation Burial

British artist John Antrobus completed this painting in about 1860. It is named Plantation Burial and suggests the importance of religion among enslaved African Americans.

Source: John Antrobus, Plantation Burial, oil painting, The Historical New Orleans Collection. 1960.46

Section 5 Essential Questions

– How did African Americans adapt to life under slavery?