South's Cotton Kingdom
Who was Eli Whitney?
Eli Whitney was a school teacher who invented the cotton machine.
Name one state that was suitable for farming cotton.
Answers vary.
Ex: South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Texas
Were the Northern or Southern Whites richer?
The Northern Whites
By 1860, what fraction of the South’s population was enslaved African Americans?
One-third (1/3)
To prepare and work the soil for planting and growing crops.
How much cotton was farmed in the 1850s?
Over 2 million
Name three types of livestock raised in the south.
Answers can Vary.
Hogs, oxen, horses, mules, or beef cattle.
What did the small family farmers value the most?
Helping each other
What religion did many enslaved people turn to?
Christianity
A crop sold for money at a market.
Cash Crop
Why did Slavery spread with the growth of cotton?
Slavery spread because plantation owners needed people to plant and farm the cotton
What was one thing that helped farming rice and sugarcane?
Answers vary.
An Irrigation System or a Warm Climate
What percentage of southern whites lived on small family farms?
75%
In what period of time were most of the descendants of free African Americans liberated?
The American Revolution
A family group that includes grandparents, parents, children, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Extended Family
Why did planters make massive plantations?
Plantation owners made big plantations because of the huge demand for cotton
When did small tobacco farms start popping up in the South?
The 1800s
What people rented land and didn't own enslaved people?
Poor Whites
Although they were technically free, what were free African Americans at risk of in the South?
Getting kidnapped and enslaved
Laws that controlled the lives of enslaved Africans and African Americans and denied them basic rights.
Slave Codes
Why did plantation owners keep enslaved people, even with the cotton machine?
Plantation owners kept their slaves because they still needed people to plant the cotton
Rice was farmed in what parts of Georgia and South Carolina?
The Coast
What people were often business owners and investors?
Northern Whites
How did enslaved children help on the plantations when they were too young to work with the crops?
They collected firewood or picked weeds.
A name for wealthy planters who made their money from cotton in the mid-1800s.
Cottonocracy