Southern Slavery

Currier & Ives, Cotton Plantation Southern Slavery

Growing Black Population • 600% increase in black population, 1790-1860 • Less than 700,000 in 1790; 4 million by 1860 • 1 out of every 3 Southerners – majority in Mississippi & South Carolina • Mostly due to natural increase - only 50,000 smuggled in after 1808 • 260,000 free blacks by 1860 (6% of black population) • Over 10% of all blacks free by 1810, but many states forbade manumission in 1820s-1830s • Required to carry papers & very limited in rights • Could own slaves – 3,200 did so • Many were mulattoes

Population of the Southern States

Blacks in the North • Northern states phased out slavery • Penn. (1780), N.Y. (1799), Conn. & N.J. (1804) provided for gradual abolition – almost all free by 1840 • Mass. Supreme Court ruled slavery violated state constitution in 1781 • Slavery barred from Northwest Territory (1787) • Over 3/5 of Northern blacks lived in cities • Most were unskilled laborers • Only 5 states allowed black men to vote

The Rise of King Cotton • Eli Whitney’s cotton ‘gin made it possible to profitably grow short-staple cotton. • Annual production soared: • 1790 – 3,000 bales • 1810 – 178,000 bales • 1860 – 4 million bales • By 1860, South grew 75% of world’s cotton. Eli Whitney’s Cotton ‘Gin

The Cotton Kingdom • Over ½ grown in Ala., Miss. & La. • ¾ grown by slaves • 1 million slaves moved to new western plantations, 1790-1860 • Mostly young adults • 60-70% sold • Equal sex ratio, except for sugar plantations

Plantation Profits • Capitalist agriculture • 8% annual return on investment, 1820-60 • Demand rose 5% annually • Benefited rest of U.S. • Cotton = 60% of U.S. exports by 1840 • South became prime market for Northern manufactured goods • Hampered economic development of South • Few factories • No public education Main Plantation Crops

Slaveowning Concentrated in Wealthy Hands • Only 26% of Southern white families owned slaves by 1860 • Majority of slaveowners had 5 or fewer • 2.7% owned 50 or more • 0.1% owned 200 or more • Average wealth of slaveowners was 13.9 times that of non-slaveowners • Majority of slaves lived on middling or large holdings • 25% on small holdings (1-9 slaves) • 50% on middling holdings (10-49 slaves) • 25% on large holdings (50 or more)

Plantation Life • Supervision varied by size: • Resident masters supervised smaller plantations (under 30 slaves) • Hired overseers ran larger ones • Foremen (drivers) often slaves • Lenient treatment mixed with harsh punishment • Typical rations = 1 peck of cornmeal & 2.5-4 lb.s of bacon per week; 4 suits of clothing per year • Each family had small wooden cabin, cleaned regularly to protect health • Sundays & Saturday afternoons off

Slave Quarters, Carter’s Grove Plantation, Virginia

Life as a Slave • Nuclear families with 7 children on average • Masters encouraged monogamy to maintain order • most escapees were young, unmarried men • Economic imperatives took precedence, however • 1/3 of all slave marriages broken up by sale of spouses in Upper South • almost ½ of all children separated from at least 1 parent • Distinction between field slaves & house slaves real, but exaggerated • Field slaves (75%) had more freedom but worse conditions • House slaves (25%) had better conditions but less freedom Picking cotton

The Paradox of Black - White Relations • Dialectical relationship • Each shaped the other • Blacks contributed to broader American culture while creating separate subculture • Whites could never resolve inherent contradictions of slavery • Philosophical contradiction: rests on assumption that one man completely surrenders his will and becomes an extension of another man’s will • Legal contradiction: slaves simultaneously people & property Plantation near Richmond, VA

Justifications for Slavery • Racism – blacks seen as lazy & childlike • Argued slavery civilized & Christianized them • Argued only whipping would make slaves work • Christian Religion • Believed Bible condoned slavery • Thought “Curse of Ham” (Gen. 9:20-27) justified it • Feudal Myth • claimed reciprocal relationship – provided for slaves’ needs in exchange for devoted service • Paternalistic care contrasted with “inhumane” treatment of Northern factory workers

Woodcuts from Josiah Priest, In Defense of Slavery

Blacks’ View of Slavery • Rejected racism, but learned to conform to whites’ expectations to avoid punishment • Saw Christianity as affirming their equality & offering promise of earthly freedom as well as heavenly redemption • Blacks neither grateful for care, nor considered it payment – viewed it as fundamental right • Used whites’ rhetoric of feudalism to demand better treatment • Appreciated “good” masters & accepted punishment when deserved Slave manacles

Extremely Unfavorable Conditions for Rebellion • High ratio of whites to blacks, unlike rest of the Americas • Small size & dispersed nature of most slaveholdings • Well-armed resident masters who kept close watch on their property • Political stability (except during the Revolutionary & Civil Wars)

Running Away • 50,000 slaves ran away each year • 75% of escaped slaves were in teens or 20s • Most returned to families or tried to pass as free blacks in cities • Some went “on strike” to negotiate better conditions Underground Railroad map

Effects of Slavery on White Relationships • All whites got benefits of being part of the “master race” • Racism used to keep nonslaveholding white majority in favor of system • All white men expected to ride slave patrols • Concept of chivalry defined women as weak & in need of protection from rapacious black men • Women had to endure husbands’ raping of female slaves • Women often biggest critics of slavery as a result – e.g. Sarah & Angelina Grimke

Southern Slavery