The Evolution of Slavery
Chris Dey
1st Period AP US History
November 18th, 2014
The Evolution of Slavery After the development of the cotton gin in 1793, the South produced over half of the world’s supply of cotton and accounted for half of all American exports after 1840. Cotton quickly became a vital economic factor in the United States as well as on an international level. Britain, the leading industrial power at the time, depended on southern cotton to manufacture cotton cloth which was Britain’s most important single manufactured item. This newly acquired international dependency on cotton dramatically altered the social and political history of the South. The south pre-Civil War was heavily influenced by a plantation aristocracy. In 1850, only 1,733 southern plantation owners had more than 100 slaves. However, even though this select group of people was quite small, they provided the most influence in social and political matters on a national level. Because they had most of the wealth in the South, these elect few could grant their children an excellent education abroad while having the leisure time to properly educate themselves. It was widely due to their high level of education that they were able to biasedly represent the South socially and politically. This contrasts with the social position of the majority of southerners. The majority of southerners were small farmers and slave holders who worked just as hard as their slaves did and consequently had little time or money to properly educate themselves and their children. Because these small farmers were unable to receive an education, they were largely unheard of or cared for in the political and social matters of the South and the nation. White Southern women held a critical role in determining the social status of herself and her husband by embodying the idea of an ideal southern mistress. White women could achieve this epitome of Southern domesticity through the purchase of slaves. By purchasing slaves
1st Period AP US History
November 18th, 2014
The Evolution of Slavery After the development of the cotton gin in 1793, the South produced over half of the world’s supply of cotton and accounted for half of all American exports after 1840. Cotton quickly became a vital economic factor in the United States as well as on an international level. Britain, the leading industrial power at the time, depended on southern cotton to manufacture cotton cloth which was Britain’s most important single manufactured item. This newly acquired international dependency on cotton dramatically altered the social and political history of the South. The south pre-Civil War was heavily influenced by a plantation aristocracy. In 1850, only 1,733 southern plantation owners had more than 100 slaves. However, even though this select group of people was quite small, they provided the most influence in social and political matters on a national level. Because they had most of the wealth in the South, these elect few could grant their children an excellent education abroad while having the leisure time to properly educate themselves. It was widely due to their high level of education that they were able to biasedly represent the South socially and politically. This contrasts with the social position of the majority of southerners. The majority of southerners were small farmers and slave holders who worked just as hard as their slaves did and consequently had little time or money to properly educate themselves and their children. Because these small farmers were unable to receive an education, they were largely unheard of or cared for in the political and social matters of the South and the nation. White Southern women held a critical role in determining the social status of herself and her husband by embodying the idea of an ideal southern mistress. White women could achieve this epitome of Southern domesticity through the purchase of slaves. By purchasing slaves