6.

Life in the Cotton Kingdom The Expansion of Slavery o Invention of cotton gin made cultivation of cotton profitable Made cotton profitable Rapid territorial expansion o Cotton more versatile and can be grown in abundance Ownership of slaves in the old south o Slavery unevenly distributed o More than half of slaves belonged to masters who had 20+ slaves o 2% of free blacks owned slaves Many became slaveholders to protect families from sale and disruption Slave Labor in Agriculture o Tobacco Remained important in Chesapeake Hard crop to grow, requires long growing season and cultivation o Rice Production confined to low country of S. Carolina and Georgia Those who missed work forfeited a weekly allowance of food Labor intensive, requiring large labor forces o Sugar Cultivated along the Mississippi River in southern Louisiana Required a warm climate, long growing season, and lots of rain African Americans feared being sent to labor on sugar plantations o Cotton Souths and countrys most important staple crop Cultivation wasnt as intensive as needed for tobacco, rice, or sugar Cotton planters as a group employed the most slave labor New England textile mills had demand for cotton During harvest season, adult slaves picked 200 lbs of cotton per day o Cotton and Technology Southern slaves used simple plows, harrows, handheld shovels, rakes, and heavy hoes Masters did not trust slaves with expensive machinery Preferred to invest in slaves and land rather than machines Railroads opened Old Southwest to cotton production Encouraged growth of the domestic slave trade and disruption of families House Servants and Skilled Slaves o 25% of slaves did nonagricultural duties o House slaves worked as cooks, maids, butlers, nurses, and gardeners Often received better food and clothing Less physical demanding, but maids/butlers on call at all hours Servants were under closer white supervision o Skilled slaves were more elite than house servants Had a more cosmopolitan outlook than field hands/servants

Can leave masters estate, some worked as independent contractors Urban and Industrial Slavery o Slaves had a more complicated life in city than on plantation o Urban slaves could earn money for themselves Masters had a harder time controlling their lives Urban slaves worked as domestics, waiters, artisans, and general laborers Work was similar to what foreign immigrants took up in northern cities Relied on free black neighbors and sympathetic whites to escape north o Term slavery slaves purchased their freedom over a term of years to keep them from leaving o Industrial slaves worked in textile mills, southern iron works, salt works Many produced chewing tobacco, manufactured tar, turpentine, industrial chemicals, pigments, and medicines Industrialists hired slaves from their masters Slaves preferred industrial jobs to plantation labor More opportunities to advance themselves, more autonomy, and cash incentives Punishment o Masters offered incentives to induce slaves to perform well o White southerners believed that blacks wouldnt work unless threatened with beatings Fear of the lash drove slaves to work and cooperate for mutual protection o Parents taught slave children how to avoid punishment and resist masters They worked slowly and feigned illness to maintain strength Broke tools and injured work animals to protest their condition o Pattern of resistance and punishment caused anxiety between slaves and masters Resistance forced masters to reduce work hours and improve conditions The Domestic Slave Trade o Expanding Cotton Kingdom and declining Chesapeake slavery fueled domestic slave trade o Upper south sold excess slaves to lower South o Masters also sold slaves as punishment Fear of being sold down river led Chesapeake slaves to escape Masters sold slaves south to prevent escape o Traders operated slave prisons in D.C., Virginia, Kentucky, S. Carolina o Most victims moved in groups called coffles o Trade disrupted slave families, separating husbands, wives, and children Slave families o Had no legal standing o Female/male pairings encouraged Husbands and fathers were less rebellious than single men Masters would benefit if human chattel reproduced o Some couples engaged in courting rituals (jumping the broom) o More equality existed in slave marriages than in masters o Women had to do field labor up to the time they had to deliver Diets lacked necessary nutrients

Babies birth weights were less than normal Masters gave mothers a month to recuperate after childbirth Several months thereafter off to nurse babies o Children Parents instructed children in family history, religion, and survival skills 50% never made it past 5 Extended family helps to avoid subjugation to masters Care of children varied with size of estate and with mothers work House servants carried child with them while they worked On small farms, babies were strapped to their backs or left at the edge of fields, so they could nurse them On large farms, mothers left a child with another adult Children spent much time in unsupervised play as they grew older Sexual exploitation o Long-term relationships between masters and slaves were common o Slave women were often forced to have sex against will o White southerners justified sexual abuse in several ways Maintained that black women were naturally promiscuous Some argued sexual exploitation reduced prostitution and promoted purity among white women o Emphasized the inability of black men to protect their wives and daughters Diet o Diet was deficient in calcium, vitamin C, protein, iron and other minerals Slaves frequently suffered from chronic illnesses because of deficiency o Cooks developed cuisine on African culinary traditions Seasoned foods with salt, onions, pepper, and other spices Fried meat and fish, served sauce over rice, and flavored vegetables o Cooking also gave black women to control part of their lives and demonstrate their creativity Clothing o Slaves went barefoot during warm months and cheap shoes in the winter o Clothing allotments were given twice per year Slave men received two outfits for the winter and two in the spring o Masters gave priority to clothing adults so children often went naked during warm months Boys wore shirts and girls wore shifts o Black women sought to individualize their clothes Changed colors with dyes they extracted from roots, berries, etc. Health o Low birth weight, diet, and clothing all affected slave health o Ill health resulted from overwork in the heat, humid summers, exposure to cold, and poor hygiene o Souths warm climate encouraged mosquito diseases (yellow fever, malaria) o African Americans suffered from lactose intolerance, limiting calcium intake o Slave health improved when their economic value increased

Masters improved quarters, provided warmer clothes, reduced overwork, and hired physicians o Slaves used traditional remedies to treat sick, using herbs, berries, etc. Socialization of Slaves o Folktales helped pass survival skills from generation to generation o Tales taught survival, mental agility, and self-confidence o Slaves learned to watch what to say around whites, withhold information, and dissemble o Camouflage their feelings o Such subtlety went over masters heads Masters saw slaves ignorance as black stupidity rather than resistance Religion o Helped blacks cope with slavery o Most slaves practice Protestantism o Many masters/missionaries sponsored plantation churches for slaves o White ministers told blacks that slaves must obey masters like God Slaves walked out on ministers who preached obedience o Slaves learned to read to read the Bible Character of Slavery and Slaves o Philips portrayed slavery as a paternalistic institution in which slaveholders cared for largely content slaves Reckoned slaveholders rescued blacks from African barbarism and brought them toward civilization Argued that blacks were genetically predisposed to being slaves and were content that way o Others contend that slaveholders exploited bond people in a selfish quest for profits o Scholars compared South slavery with Latin American slavery Latin America enjoyed more protection from abuse than in U.S. More routes to freedom through self-purchase and manumission Less racism in Latin American than in U.S. because of diversity