Terms
What was the cotton gin?
a machine invented by Eli Whitney to remove seeds from cotton
Name 2 advantages of cotton as a cash crop:
-inexpensive to market
-easy to store
-easy to transport
What are African American spirituals?
-religious songs
-sung by slaves
-many contained a hidden message/message of hope
Who was the South's most valued foreign trading partner?
Britain
Who worked on yeoman's farms?
Define the term "planter":
large-scale farmer who held more than 20 slaves
What was the major disadvantage of cotton as a cash crop?
It used up the nutrients in the soil
What was the role of religion in slave culture?
-united them
-gave them hope
(most were Christians)
What was the primary food crop in the South in the early 1800s?
corn
What effect did religion have on slavery in the south?
-white people used religion to justify slavery
-God's plan
What was the "cotton belt"?
-region that stretched as far west as Texas where cotton was produced
How did the invention of the cotton gin change the economy in the south?
-turned it into a 1 crop economy
-cotton was the main crop
Why did slaves tell folktales?
-contained messages of how to survive
-passed down history
-passed down religion
Where were most large cities in the South located? How did this impact their economy?
-Atlantic Coast
-shipping centers
Many state governments in the South passed laws that limited the rights of African Americans. Name 3 things they were unable to do:
-vote
-travel freely
-work certain jobs
What were "factors"?
crop brokers who managed the cotton trade
What effect did the cotton gin have on slavery in the south?
-demand for cotton increased -->
-demand for slave labor increased
How were some slaves able to earn enough money to buy their freedom?
some slaveholders allowed their slaves to work for other people for money
What did most free African Americans in the south do for work?
-paid laborers on farms
-variety of jobs in cities
Name 5 buildings found on a southern plantation
-plantation house
-cotton ginning shed
-slave cabins
-overseer's house
-barn
-smokehouse
-stable
What is an arranged marriage? Why did planters have arranged marriages?
-parents choose who their children will marry
-want to keep the family wealthy
Name 3 port cities that grew because of increased cotton trade:
-Charleston
-Savannah
-New Orleans
Many slaves worked on farms, but others worked in other roles. Name 4 of them:
-butlers
-nurses
-cooks
-blacksmiths
What were the 4 main groups of people in southern society in the early 1800s?
-planters
-small farmers
-slaves
-free African Americans
Describe what happened during Nat Turner's Rebellion:
-most violent slave revolt
-slave named Nat Turner led a group of slaves in a plan to kill all slaveholders in the county
-60 white people were killed
-Nat Turner was captured and over 100 slaves were killed