CLASS NOTES #2: SOUTHERN SOCIETY IN THE ANTEBELLUM PERIOD
--As we have already seen, slavery in the Antebellum South was far more diverse and complex than most people believe.
--Nevertheless, there are critical areas that bear further investigation, most particularly the social structure of white society, the nature of "paternalism," and the major developments of the age.
--Today, then, we will consider each of those areas, finishing with an overview of the major cycles of the Amercan cotton economy....
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I: THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF SOUTHERN SOCIETY:
--Antebellum southern society was very hierarchical (divided into levels), with economic divisions based on
slave holding and land ownership.
--It is instructive to examine first the numbers of slave ownership:
Only 25% of southern whites owned or lived in a slave-holding household.
49% of slaveholders owned five slaves or less.
Only 12% of slaveholders owned more than twenty slaves, and a mere 1% held more than 100 slaves.
There were only 4000 "planter" families (a planter was one who owned more than 50 slaves).
--The southern social classes were divided into three groups:
Large Slaveholders (20+) / Planters: Though few in number, the planters dominated the economy and politics of the South. Some 2000 families owned more than 100 slaves, controlling more than 90% of the region's wealth. The 'elite' farmer's average plantation had some 20-50 slaves and more than 800-1000 acres, taking more than an hour to walk from side to side. Their average net worth was approximately $8000-$15,000 (the equivalent of $400,000 to $750,000 today), though some, of course, held more.
Yeoman Farmers: Constituting well over 60% of all southern whites, such farmers may or may not have owned slaves. 80% owned their own land (a few worked as managers for others), with a typical homestead of 80-160 acres. Often cash poor and in competition for better lands, they were frequently at odds with the planters, though they generally sided with them on critical issues.
Poor Whites: Known as "buckra'," "white trash," and even "dirt eaters" (some had hookworm, which makes one eat dirt), these poor whites were certainly no more than 10% of the population. Frequently nomadic, they often lived in the pine forests of the South, grazing wild hogs in the underbrush. Most, however, were tenant farmers, working for planters or even yeoman.
--Clearly, then, southern society of far more than wealthy slaveholders, despite the "Gone with the Wind" stereotypes of the "Cotton Kingdom."
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II: CRITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN ANTEBELLUM SLAVERY:
While slavery was an extremely heterogeneous institution—especially when comparing large plantations with smaller farms—there are still some patterns that one can discern (see). Among the most important are the following:
Slaves and Masters had Extremely Close Contact: Unlike other slave systems and the "absenteeism" of slavery in South Carolina and the Sea Islands, most slaves had close, daily contact with their masters. This was due in no small part to racial concentrations: slave percentages ranged from an average of 50% in the Deep South to between 20% and 33% in the Upper South. Therefore, close contact was inevitable. As we shall see, this helped lead to both abuses and the development of what historian Eugene Genovese first termed "paternalism" (See below).
Slave Holdings were Small: Unlike sugar, rice, or (to some extent) tobacco, one did not need a large number of slaves to harvest cotton profitably. The result was that most masters owned fewer than five slaves, and only ¼ of all slaves lived on holdings of more than 50 workers. The majority of slaves worked tracts that had between 20 and 30 slaves, which was large enough for a community but were far less than the massive plantations of myth.
3/4s of Slaves were Field Hands and ¼ were "Other": Though this changed considerably, the general proportion of field hands to other slaves was approximately 3:1. This ratio was higher in the Deep South and lower in the Upper South.
An Internal Slave Trade Existed, but was Seen as Disreputable: "Traders" earned a profit of some 15-30% on sales, but were generally shunned by more respectable southerners. Importantly, the flow of slaves was from the Upper South into the Deep South, with Virginia, Maryland, and the Carolinas providing a majority of the domestic trade. This helps explain the different ideas and emotions regarding slavery among the South in the antebellum period.
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III: PATERNALISM & CONTROL IN THE OLD SOUTH:
--One of the most important developments of the antebellum period was what historian Eugene Genovese has termed "paternalism."
--This concept, which should not be misunderstood to mean that slavery was good, benign, or painless, has come to characterize the period. It is defined below:
Paternalism: The notion that, despite the brutality of slavery, owners' power over their slaves was checked by a responsibility to their "peoples'" (a term often used by owners) well-being. This system of "mutual obligations" caused many problems and tensions in the master-slave relationship.
--Two basic developments came to characterize this "paternalism":
Masters had a growing concern for the well-being of their slaves: Speaking of them as their "people," the daily material conditions of slaves improved from the colonial period. Diets improved, with a ‘peck’ (8 quarts) of cornmeal and 2.5-4 lbs of bacon being issued weekly to adult slaves. Moreover, the living conditions of slaves improved as well, with the average family living in a cabin some 16’ x 18’. Though the diets and living conditions of the slaves were still far worse than whites, their medical care was actually better on average, for obvious reasons.
Efforts to promote docility and dependence grew as well: Put simply, masters attempted to control more of slaves’ lives and to make them dependent on their "father." This "design for mastery" led to less religious independence, greater interference in familial relations and child naming, and a greater number of restrictions.
--As one planter noted of the scheme: "The key is to make him as comfortable and at home as possible, affording him what is essentially necessary for his happiness—you must provide for him yourself and by
that means create in him a perfect dependence on you."
--Nevertheless, as most historians have shown, "paternalism" never mitigated the brutuality of slavery, nor did it ever fully reduce the slaves to docile servility
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IV: THE EBB AND FLOW OF THE COTTON ECONOMY:
--Like any region in the era of "boom and bust," the South underwent a series of expansions and contractions,
all of which had significant social, economic, and political consequences.
--Though we will not discuss them now, it is nevertheless worthwhile to lay out the various cycles of the
southern Cotton Economy:
1800-1812: Impressive Economic Growth: Led by cotton production in the Carolinas and
Georgia. Tobacco also made a recovery in Virginia and Maryland.
1812-1819: An enormous boom period: Available credit and new lands opening in the West.
Cotton prices rise as high as 33 cents a pound.
1819-1837: A Period of Significant gyrations: Severe depression from 1819-1822 followed by
a steady climb until the Panic of 1837. However, the Old Seaboard States (especially SC and
VA) reevaluate their role in the South as they lose population to the newer states.
1837-1848: A Period of Severe Depression: Cotton prices plunge, leading many southerners to
call for agricultural reforms and increased manufacturing. Prices go as low as five cents a pound,
leading to a huge number of farm foreclosures.
1848-1860: The Heyday of Cotton Kingdom: Cotton regains its profitability, even as the North
suffers under a number of busts. Southern confidence (and arrogance) swells as a result.
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