THE SOUTH, SLAVERY & ABOLITION, 1793-1860

Cotton is King

• In 1787 many in both south and the north thought that slavery was on its way out.

• Impact of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin.

• Short-staple cotton• Seeds no longer removed by

hand

King Cotton• Cotton becomes dominant cash crop in south,

especially in the gulf bottom lands.• Southern planters buy new land and slaves

aggressively• Northern shippers make big profits shipping.• Britain highly dependent on American cotton. – Britain’s most important product in the 1850s was cotton

cloth. – About 75% of its cotton came from US. – 1/5th of Britain’s workers directly or indirectly got

livelihood from cotton processing.

Changes in Cotton ProductionChanges in Cotton Production

1820

1860

Southern Cotton Production, 1860

The Planter “Aristocracy”

• Before the Civil War planter aristocracy controls government in the South.

• Planter Aristocracy at the top. – 1850, only 1733 families owned more than 100

slaves. – Cream of the political and social leadership.

• Owned the lion’s share of the wealth. • System retarded economic development.

– Why?

Slaves Of The Slave System • Problems with plantation system:– Raped the land – Economy was monopolistic – System was economically unstable – Led to a dangerous dependence on one crop – South lacked diversity

Whites Without Slaves

• Majority• Mostly subsistence farmers on poorer land• Bottom of group: “Poor white trash”, “rednecks”,

“crackers”• Had no stake in the slave economy, but were some of

the strongest supporters of the system – Aspire to move “up” in society by owning slaves– Economic: feared competition with free blacks

• Mountain whites: very poor, resented slavery, “Hillbillies”

Free Blacks: Slaves Without Masters

• By 1860 there were about 250,000 free blacks • Societies’ attitude toward them.• Risk of being high-jacked back into slavery.• Attitude in the North

Plantation Slavery

• 4 Mill. black slaves • Basement of southern society.• Numbers had quadrupled since 1800. • Important source of wealth• Stagnated the southern economy. • Slave population moved south as prime cotton

land shifted to the Deep South. • Slave population in states.

Southern Population (1860)

Southern Population (1860)

Slave Life

• Not much fun• Hard work, ignorance and

oppression• No political or legal rights.

– Floggings common – Many places illegal to teach

them to read.– Slave-breakers.

• By 1860 most slaves concentrated in the Deep South.

Slave-Owning Population (1850)

Slave-Owning Population (1850)

• Below the 1733 leading families were the less wealthy slave owners. 345,000 families representing 1.7 Mill people in 1850.

• Over 2/3 owned fewer than 10 slaves.

• Maj. of whites didn’t own slaves (but supported the “peculiar institution”)– Aspire to move up by owning

slaves– Feared economic competition

with free blacks

Slaves in the North

THE ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT

• 1820s: Abolitionist movement to free African Americans from slavery arose

• Leader was a white radical named William Lloyd Garrison

• Abolitionists called for immediate emancipation of all slaves

Antislavery Movement

• Wide range of opponents of slavery– Moderates who proposed the gradual abolition– Radicals who urged immediate abolition and

freeing slaves without compensating owners• The Second Great Awakening encouraged

many northerners to view slavery as a sin.– This view limited the possibilities for compromise– Promoted the radical view

A. Expectations of Slavery’s Demise: The Declaration of Independence, Gradual

Emancipation, No More Slave Imports (1807)

1780 Pennsylvania Law: “That all Persons, as well Negroes, and Mulattos, as others, who shall be born within this State, from and after the Passing of this Act, shall not be deemed and considered as Servants for Life or Slaves;”

“Every Negroe and Mulatto Child born within this State who have been born a Servant for Years or life or a Slave, shall be deemed to be and shall be the Servant of such person until such Child shall attain unto the Age of twenty eight Years.”

Early Abolition

• Early abolitionism. Quakers.

• American Colonization Society (1817)

• Liberia. 15000 freed blacks transported to Africa

• Appealed to moderates & politicians– Large numbers of whites

with racist attitudes hoped to remove blacks from society altogether (more on this later)

The Growth of the Anti-Slavery Movement (1830s)

A. The 2nd Great Awakening & Slavery as Sin

Growth of Abolition

• In the 1830s abolitionist turned into a crusade.

• Theodore Dwight Weld—early Abolitionist preacher.

• Lyman Beecher, head of Lane Theological Seminary, hotbed of early abolitionism. Very influential and father of– Harriet Beecher Stowe– Henry Ward Beecher– Catherine Beecher

B. Organizing Against Slavery:

1. With Words: William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS)

Radical Abolition

• 1831 William Lloyd Garrison burst onto the scene.

• Antislavery = moral crusade. • Published militant abolitionist

magazine: The Liberator.• Founded the American Anti-Slavery

Society in 1833.

Black Abolitionists

• Sojourner Truth • David Walker—Militant.• Frederick Douglas– Greatest of the Black

abolitionists– Protégé of Garrison

Frederick Douglas

FREDERICK DOUGLASS: AFRICAN AMERICAN LEADER

• Freed slave, Frederick Douglass escaped from bondage and became an eloquent abolitionist (critic of slavery) leader

• He began an anti-slavery newspaper called, Northstar – named after the star that guided runaway slaves to freedom

Antislavery Movement

• Black Abolitionists– Escaped slaves and free blacks– Frederick Douglas– Others organized the “underground railway” (safe

houses) to guide fugitive slaves to free territory in the North or to Canada, where slavery was prohibited.

• Violent Abolitionists– Urged slaves to revolt against their “masters”– Nat Turner’s Rebellion– Ended any antislavery discussion in the South

2. With Violence: Nat Turner’s Revolt

Slave Rebellions

• Were slave rebellions, but never successful. Often informed upon by other slaves.

• 1800 Gabriel in Richmond • Denmark Vesey, Charleston in

1822.• Most famous was rebellion by

Nat Turner in Va. in 1831. – Significance

TURNER’S REBELLION

• The vast majority of African-Americans were enslaved in the South and were subjected to constant degradation

• Some rebelled against their condition

• Most famous revolt was led by Virginia slave Nat Turner

• Turner led 50 followers in a revolt killing 60 whites – he was caught and executed

Turner plans his rebellion

Antislavery Movement

• Liberty Party– Moderates– Attempt to use political action to end slavery

1840Presidential candidate Party

Popular vote ElectoralvoteCount Pct

William H. Harrison Whig 1,275,390 52.9% 234

Martin Van Buren Democrat 1,128,854 46.8% 60

James Birney Liberty 6,797 0.3% 0

The South Lashes Back • Before 1830:– More anti-slavery societies in south than north – Southerners openly debated merits of slavery.

• After 1830 debate in South ends and many southerners defend as positive good. What changed?– Nat Turners rebellion in 1831 – Nullification Crisis– Reaction to Northern criticism– Southern preachers arguing that slavery supported by

Bible

IV. Slaveowners Defend Slavery

A. With Words:

-- The bible

--Ancient tradition

-- Race/racism

-- “Wage Slavery” in the north

A Defense of Slavery

B. With Laws

• The Post Office Prohibits Anti-Slavery Propaganda

• Congress “Tables” Anti-Slavery Petitions (Gag Rule)

Not all northerners were against slavery

With Violence: The Case of Elijah Lovejoy

The Abolitionist Impact In The North

• Abolitionists were not particularly popular in the North for some time. Why?– North had heavy stake in the cotton of the south.– Textile mills relied on southern cotton.– Many northerners feared political controversy.

• Many northern politicians carefully distanced themselves from the abolitionists.

• Abolitionists harrassed• Yet, by 1850 abolitionism had gained strength and

taken root as a popular cause.

Attitudes Towards Blacks

In The North

Charles Mackay, late 1850s

• “We shall not make the black man a slave … buy him or sell him; but we shall not associate with him. He shall be free to live and to thrive, if he can … pay taxes … but … not … to dine and drink at our board – to share with us … the jury box … to plead in our courts – to represent us in the legislature – to attend us at the bed of sickness and pain – to mingle with us in the concert-room, the lecture-room, the theatre, or the church, or to marry with our daughters. We are of another race, and he is inferior. Let him know his place – and keep it.”

LINCOLN VS. DOUGLASUS SENATE, 1858