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What Was The Southern Planter Elite And Its Impact On American Society And Politics

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1. The southern planter elite played an important role in southern society and politics. These slave owners had made substantial profits from rice, cotton, sugar and other agricultural commodities that allowed them to expand their workforce and purchase more land and luxury items. With these privileges also came great responsibilities. Men largely dealt with directing the slaves who worked on the plantation and other business affairs. Women, on the other hand, directed slaves who worked in the home and took care of all the slaves, while also being in charge of hosting social events. As for the political aspect, these people were white landowners, and as a result, had significant political control. 2. The dominance of slave-based plantation agriculture had many impacts on society. On impact of this that the people with money were plantation owners and invested their money on agriculture rather than industrialization. As a result, the South was less urbanized than the North. Additionally, lack of trust for slave workers lead plantation owners to rely on older agricultural methods than using new technologies. These developments lead to a society in which classes were greatly divided and an increasingly small percentage of the population owned a large percentage of slaves. 3. While working for white, enslaved Africans created ties of family, …show more content…

The Whig Party won a victory in the election of 1840 with the aid of strategic changes to their party and the condition of the country. One advantage that the Whigs started out with was that Jackson and the Democrats had gained a bad reputation as a result of the Panic of 1837 and the depression that followed. The Whigs selected a single representative who was a war hero, helping concentrate their votes. They appointed a vice presidential candidate who supported nullification in order to gain Southern votes. Other techniques to gain votes included taking advantage of Jackson’s campaign techniques and reaching out to

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