Transcript state

• Not only did Eli Whitney’s cotton gin effect the
industry of slavery in the south, but it had an effect
on the culture of the south.
– A class structure was created within the south.
• At the top of this southern class system, was the
wealthiest – the planters.
– People who owned the region’s larger plantations.
Plantation: An established farm or estate where crops
are grown for sale; usually to distant or commercial
markets
Most popular type of plantation in Southern America
in the 1800’s  Cotton
– A census poll taken in 1850, showed that 347,725
Southern families owned slaves (about 6 million people).
• Of this number, 37,000 were planters
• “Planters”  those who owned more than 20 slaves
• A very small percentage of the Southern slaveholders lived
in the grand, plantation mansions.
– Majority lived in small, cottage-like farmhouses
– Ordinary farmers, who were often referred to as
yeomen farmers, made up the vast majority of the
southern white population.
• They may have held up to four slaves – most did not
own slaves.
• Near the bottom of the social ladder were the rural poor.
– This group was made up of mostly families who lived on
land that was too dry for successful farming.
• Were barley able to make it off of hunting, fishing,
and little vegetable gardening.
• Made up less than 10% of the population.
• At the bottom of the society were the African Americans
– 93% were enslaved
• In 1850, nearly 3.6 million African Americans lived in the
south.
– 37% lived on southern plantations.
• The rice and cotton plantations in the south
depended on the 93% of enslaved African
Americans.
• Enslaved Africans were organized using two basic
labor systems.
– Task System
– Gang System
Task System
• Under this system, workers were given a specific set of
jobs to accomplish every day and worked until these were
complete.
– After completing the tasks, individuals were allowed
to spend the remainder of the day on their own.
– Some enslaved people earned money through their
skills as artisans.
– Others cultivated their own gardens while others
hunted.
Gang System
• Under this system, enslaved persons were
organized into work gangs that labored from
sunup to sundown.
– Plowing, planting, cultivating, or picking
– More popular labor system on plantations.
A driver acted as the director or work leader in the work
gang
Often, the driver was an enslaved person who was chosen for
loyalty or willingness to cooperate.
– Supervised the progress of the work gangs.
– Ensured that the workers were productive throughout the
day.
The Slave Codes
In addition to enduring a lifetime of enslavement, slaves
were given very few legal rights.
Each state had their own set of laws that were applied to
slaves.
– These set or laws and rules were known as Slave Codes.
Examples of Slave Code laws
Enslaved men or women were not allowed to…
– Own land
– Leave slaveholder’s lands without permission
– Own or possess firearms
– Testify in court against a white
person
– Learn how to read or write
Each individual state had their own
set of slave codes.
– All were aimed to make sure
enslaved people remained property
• Given None of the natural rights described in the U.S.
Constitution
Although most African Americans of the time lived in
slavery, some did not.
– By 1850, some 225,000 free African Americans resided
in the south.
• Most lived in the towns and
cities of the upper Southern
states
• Esp. Maryland and Virginia
• A few free African Americans descended from Africans
that were brought to the United States as indentured
servants in the 1700’s
– Some earned their freedom fighting in the American
Revolution
– Others were the half-white children of slave holders, who
had granted them freedoms
– There were also some former slaves who purchased
their freedom.
• Another 196,000 free African Americans lived in
the North where slavery was illegal.
African American
Culture
African Americans dealt with the
horrors of slavery in a variety of ways.
– From language, to music to religion
African Americans developed a culture that provided them
with a sense of unity, pride, and mutual support
Songs were very important to many enslaved people.
– Workers in the field often used songs to pass the
long workday and to help their rare leisure time in
the evening.
Some of these songs were more expressive than the slave
owner’s knew.
– Some featured secret meanings and codes.
– Some used descriptive lyrics that explained the horrors
of slavery.
• Songs also played a key role in one of the most important
parts of African American culture  Religion
• By the early 1800’s, large numbers of African Americans
were Christians.
– The religious services enslaved persons held often
centered around praying about their particular concern
• Dreams of freedom or a better life in the next
world.
The Presidential Election of 1824
• Four Presidential Candidates…
– No more Federalist Party… it had dissolved
• All four candidates were members of the
Democratic-Republican Party
– Even though all four presidential candidates were from
the same party, they were supporting different ideas
and movements.
• Each of the presidential candidates were pushing
the agenda or the beliefs from their geographic
sections and their states.
• Two candidates out of the western United States:
– Henry Clay of Kentucky
– Andrew Jackson of Tennessee
• One candidate out of New England
– John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts
• One candidate from the southern United States
– William Crawford of Georgia
Election Day Results…
• Andrew Jackson
– 99 Electoral Votes
– 12 states carried
– 151,271 Popular votes
– 41.3%
• John Quincy Adams
– 84 Electoral Votes
– 7 states carried
– 113,122 Popular Votes
– 30.9%
Election Day Results (cont.)
• William Crawford
– 41 Electoral Votes
– 2 States Carried
– 40,856 Popular Votes
– 11.2%
• Henry Clay
– 37 Electoral votes
– 3 States Carried
– 47, 531 Popular Votes
– 13.%
On Election Day, Andrew Jackson won the most popular
votes, but none of the four candidates won a majority in the
Electoral College…
– A Presidential Candidate needs to win the majority of the
131 electoral college votes (270 in present day)in order
to secure the presidency of the United States.
– Jackson did not do this
Constitutional procedures state that if no candidate wins
the majority of the Electoral College, then the House of
Representatives must vote in order to name a president.
– Andrew Jackson
– John Quincy Adams
– William Crawford
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John Quincy Adams received 13 votes
Andrew Jackson won 7 votes
William Crawford received 4 votes
John Quincy Adams was elected as the United
States’ sixth president.
John Quincy Adams
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Son of second president John Adams
In office 1825 - 1829
Lived 1767 - 1848
Born in Massachusetts
Former Senator
Former Member of the House
Former Secretary of the State
Former ambassador to five countries
Survived a train wreck in 1883
– After he was President
• “Hightstown Rail Accident”
• During his campaign, John Q. Adams promised to
limit foreign actions and spend some time
strengthening or improving the United States
internally.
• Adams wanted to…
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Build a National University
Astronomical Observatories
Fund scientific research
Improve rivers (success of Erie Canal)
Build better roads
• Congress approved the improvement of roads and rivers,
but denied Adams’ requests for national academic
improvements.
• Many representatives in Congress felt that a lot of Adams’
requests were very familiar to Federalist Party ideas
– His father’s political party
Splits within the Party
• The Democratic-Republican party was the only
political party in the country at the time of the
Election of 1824
– Lots of internal conflicts and arguments began to
emerge
• Slavery
• Tariffs
• ***Sectional Differences
• Those who supported presidential candidate
Andrew Jackson and opposed President John Q.
Adams became known as the Democratic Party
– Southern and Western States
• Those who supported John Q. Adams named their
party the National-Republican Party
– Ex-Federalists
– Northeastern States
– Will later evolve into the Whig Party