Antebellum South Carolina was a time in United States history that is known for its major economic booms by the use of slave labor for harvesting cotton and other cash crops. The 50 years after the revolution was called the Antebellum Era and this was the time prior to the civil war. Whitney’s invention of the Cotton Gin allowed for faster processing of cotton, and was a major cause for the economic booms that emerged from South Carolina in the early 1800’s. This time period in United States history is and will always be a pivotal cause for why America is what it is today, in modern times. In the early years of Antebellum South Carolina, the harvesting and processing cotton was very high in demand for the textile industries of the northern …show more content…
The Task System and the Gang System. The Task system was common for rice and coastal cotton plantations. Once the assigned work was finished, workers/slaves were given the opportunity to do their own thing such as rest, help others, or manage their own small plot of land for their personal use. The Gang System however, was more ruthless, slaves worked from morning to nightfall. All slaves were constantly under the surveillance of an overseer and almost no slave negotiation for their own good. Some slaves even became very experienced in some fields of expertise such as carpentry, boatmen, and mechanics. These masteries gave certain degrees of freedom to their lives: for example, if a slave worked as a cotton hauler on a boat, little supervision would be used as they freighted cotton and other various exports up the Savannah River. If a slave’s skills were noted, then that slave might be rewarded some money issued by the plantation owner. They mostly saved up this money to buy themselves and loved ones out of slavery (South Carolina Journey pg: 123). Although, slaves created communities in their quarters. Slaves often sang songs and played music to restore their morality after a long a harsh day of work, they also practiced this to ease one’s sorrow. Slave families were often divided amongst plantations, therefore slaves had no choice but to bond with extended family members. Broomstick weddings were held because African slave matrimony was prohibited. The couple would simply jump over a broomstick, ultimately demonstrating their union to one another. These drives for some sort of dignity were seen as forms of resistance or rebellion (South Carolina Journey pg: 124). The looming fear of slave rebellion was serious because it could significantly cripple the planter division. Slaveowners were on high alert for any sign of rebellious activity or suspicion of revolt. A slave named George Wilson told his overseer of a
Plantation owners and farmers who owned slaves, this was a status symbol in this time. To society, slavery was a way to control a race which meant that African Americans would not be able to rebel because they would be too busy giving service to their higher beings or “masters”. Despite this control, slaves were still allowed their own churches and schools but were guarded by armed guards to make
I find it very interesting that the southern colonies distinguished themselves from the New England colonies so early on. I never realized that the slave trade and the plantation class developed so early in American history and it’s fascinating that these differences eventually became large factors in the outbreak of the Civil War. The South’s cash crops required vast amounts of human labor and slavery was essential for the economic health of the southern colonies. Furthermore, this gives insight to the reason pre-Civil War era southern elites were so adamant that the South remain a slave society.
1690 to 1740 in South Carolina was a period of major growth and development for the colony. It was during this time that rice was determined to be an important crop for the economy, negroes began being imported in large numbers, society was developed through anglicanization and creolization, the economy began to thrive, and slave rebellions and runaways increased in number and intensity. Issues and ways of life that were implemented during this period that allowed the colony to develop as a major producer of rice, a black majority in population, yet a white majority in social and economic power. In the 1690s, rice was introduced to the area.
Most of the individuals in this society followed the group system. The Group system was a group of slaves would work together on one task. The group would work together on one common goal until that task was completed. The second deeply entrenched slave system, was the task system. The task system was each slave would be given a different task.
During the years that led up to the Civil War, the economic system between the North and the South were completely incompatible. The South’s economy was based on agriculture, whereas, the North was depended on manufacturing. The difference between the economic systems significantly created a conflict between the North and the South such as Anti-slavery, pro-slavery, and political demand. The plantation system in the South had rapidly grown, especially with the invention of the cotton gin.
Labor was the mechanism through which many people resisted their status as slaves, pivoted into lives of freedom, and earned their means to survive. Although enslaved people eventually obtained freedom, many continued into free life working jobs with which they had become familiar during their time in bondage. However, for many former slaves, labor could only be found through working available tasks under poor conditions. For men and women, these tasks were widely separate, with men often providing labor as public manual laborers, and women restricted to more private, domestic affairs. Therefore, occupations of freed people were often a continuation of similar duties performed while enslaved.
Masters at the time also used to punish slaves (primarily by selling them) if they expressed discontent with their current circumstances. Douglass notes of a slave belonging to Colonel Lloyd, who unknowingly expressed discontent to him and was consequently separated from his family and sold. Because slave owners would occasionally send in spies to see what their slaves thought of them, and consequently, slaves could never express their true feelings for fear of retribution. Slaves could also never fully trust others in the same condition and had to live with a constant feeling of paranoia, which took an emotional toll on them. Not having anyone to truly talk to and constantly having to stay alert to stay alive can be a taxing experience, and very emotionally draining.
Cotton had become so useful that it had advanced some awful misperceptions in the late 1850s. The profit of having cotton made the southerners overconfident and aggressive. The heyday of the
The Portrayal of Slavery in Antebellum Louisiana in Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years a Slave In his memoire Twelve Years a Slave, illegitimately enslaved Solomon Northup does not only depict his own deprivations in bondage, but also provides a deep insight into the slave trade, slaves’ working and living conditions, as well as religious beliefs of both enslaved people and their white masters in antebellum Louisiana. Northup’s narrative is a distinguished literary piece that exposes the injustice of the whole slaveholding system and its dehumanizing effect. It is not a secret that the agriculture dominated the economy of antebellum Louisiana (Louisiana: A History 183). Therefore the Southern planters needed relatively cheap workforce to cultivate
Sugar production was a form of slavery that demanded an enormous amount of toil from slaves. The densely planted acres and severely labor-intensive cultivation ensured that slaves were left with little free time, if any at all. Gang systems were almost exclusively used on these plantations because
slave trade to work in the tobacco fields. Tobacco was a lucrative crop at the time and the need for tobacco grew and so did the need for people (slaves) to work in the tobacco fields. However, this was not the only need for slaves, as slaves were bought for different reason and performed different jobs. The first group of slaves eventually earned their freedom and became slave owners themselves, but that did not last very long before slavery became race-based slavery system. Still, slavery was not as harsh as it would become years into the future and more particularly in the south and as it worsen in response to several attempted rebellion by slaves or runaway slaves.
Geography's effect on the early North American colonies is undeniable, but the way location affected the people of the early colonies is much more significant. Primarily, the economy was the biggest aspect of life affected by geography. From the Atlantic Ocean acting as a barrier from the New World to the Old World, and to the climate difference between the cold winters of the New England colonies to the hot summers in the Southern colonies, each played a central role in the development of the colonies. Good or bad, geography was always an essential factor economically for those who lived in the early southern, middle, and northern colonies. Geography has continually influenced the way people live and the early colonies were no different.
Have you ever wondered how life was for the slaves in the South? Slaves in the South suffered through many consequences. For example, they suffered through many whippings with cow skin if they didn't obey their master, they also got separated from their family mostly the fathers, so, they can be sold to a very mean slave owner. Even if they were living a miserable life on the farms, they had their own culture and they managed to even get married in the farmland or where they worked. Not only did the slaves live on the farm.
In the south they have to work in the fields and in the house if they did not do what the master said they would be whip. The slaves would be treated like animal. The slaves of the north were more like maids, and the slaves’ owners many time freed their slaves in the north. The practice of slavery is when they selling and buying slaves.
Between 1800 and 1860 two major things changed within the country. The cash crops changed from tobacco and rice to the new money maker cotton. Along with the crops changing the slave trade grew to replace the economic short fall in the Chesapeake area. These changed occurred due to the supply and demand of commonly bought goods. Another contributing factor for the crops changing was the invention of the cotton gin in 1793 and the use of cotton in textile facilities.