Antebellum Slave Society 1820s to 1860s MON Nov 17 KEY TERMS Eli Whitney Chattel Task System Pro Slavery Argument Phrenology Free Labor Ideology A Dying Institution Rhode Island was the first to pass anti slave laws in 1774 Vermont 1777 Pennsylvania 1708 Massachusetts New Hampshire Connecticut New York New Jersey Some states never allowed slavery Maine Michigan Wisconsin Ohio Indiana Kansas Oregon California Illinois Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin Going to change in 1795 when he perfects the cotton gin When this happens The impact on cotton is that it is going to clean cotton faster Faster production Cleans cotton faster Farmers going to plant more cotton The cotton gin is going to prevent slavery from dying out With this jumpstart The Second Middle Passage The cotton gin is going to motivate people to find new places to grow cotton More people are going to move to the interior of the south Tennessee portions of Louisiana Alabama Going to need more slaves A Second Middle Passage develops An interior slave trade in the U S The journey from Africa across the Atlantic to the Americas High demand for labor is going to encourage slave owners to sell their slaves to the interior Referred to the Second Passage because exposure to elements lack of food lack of supplies Equally awful to that of the First Middle Passage Cotton boom and cleaning cotton more people want to find more land because more cotton want to move west increased demand for more slaves Slavery Southern Society Planter Class slave owners Planter aristocracy Middling planters Small planters largest group people who owned 10 slaves or less Poor Landless whites Going to make up the largest chunk of Southern population So most did not own slaves Could not afford it Non slave owners support slavery Psychologically still know that there is someone else on the bottom of the ladder There is still someone else worse off Non slave Owners and Slavery Access to cotton gins Access to markets for crops and livestock Access to credit All three of the first things you can t have if you make the slave owners mad Part of the slave system Kinship Hope of social mobility Possibility of moving up the social ladder Maybe the richer slave owners can help you raise You want the opportunity to have the marker that shows you have wealth Psychologically they believed that they were entirely superior and inferior owning slaves Racial supremacy based on skin color Everyday Slave Life Slaves were considered chattel property Antebellum slavery was also hereditary passed down from generation to generation If you were a slave your children will be slaves Slaves didn t have the legal rights to get married EX Property items can t get married Slave owners would often encourage their slaves to get married If they have kids more slaves for the slave owners Family often prevented running away More invested in sticking around if you have a wife and child Happy slaves made more productive slaves It wasn t uncommon for marriages to be temporary Wasn t always a permanent thing Husbands and wives get sold elsewhere Often suffered from a lack of gender identity Weren t viewed as female Regardless of gender they worked the same Just a slave Not great Simply had four walls and a roof Could have had only dirt floors Not a comfortable living condition Sanitary conditions were also not great Oftentimes slave children were made to work at age 12 Female Slaves Slave Quarters Slave Lifestyle Slave owners also fed the slaves enough to keep them alive but not enough to where it ll cost them too much A typical slave meal cornmeal and pork fat ALL MEALS Almost all slaves were malnourished Considering all of the work they had to do and little food to eat Why didn t the slaves just revolt Fear Where are they going to go A group of slaves without supervision is going to stick out like a sore thumb There is always a threat of being punished Slave and Religion Another way for slaves to try and resist By creating a common faith Builds unity and community Symbol because their owners didn t want them to have religion The only place they can all meet together and be unified Slave revolt was the least common Task Systems A form of labor A labor system Most frequently seen in Deep South states Under this system slave owners organized work around specific assignments Like trying to meet a daily quota Often once you finished with your task you were given a certain level of free time to do personal things Small incentive In the task system slave owners who use this system give the slaves a small incentive to work efficiently and do a good job Can be beneficial for the slave owners Could get the work done quicker Slaves would use their free time to help their diet Still the task system doesn t make slavery bearable It was still awful Plant in their garden Find some small game Spend time with their family and friends You can t leave Not freedom Still don t have certain rights Abolition Movement Grew out of the Second Great Awakening True False Religion is oftentimes tied to morality The Bible says that all men are created free and equal Frederick Douglass famous Abolitionist Former slave Well known because of the book diary he wrote David Walker and his Appeal William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator Conclusion Questions period 1 How was the institution of slavery related to social standing in the South Why did so many non slave owners still support the institution of slavery 2 Describe the different characteristics of the slave lifestyle during the Antebellum 3 What was the Pro Slavery Argument What was the Free Labor Ideology