1. Chapter 11:
Life of the People
in Antebellum Society
TRINITY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
MRS. STEPHANIE HOLLAND
2. Antebellum: Before the [Civil W]ar
1790: Georgia was one of the
poorest states
(a)
(b)
(c)
Cotton
Slavery
Other reasons: railroad-building
system, textile mills, lumber yards,
leather good factories, metal works,
stone quarries
1850s: âEmpire State of the Southâ
1860: Savannah is the largest &
most important city!
3. King Cotton Comes to Georgia
ī1786: Sea Island Cotton from the Bahamas was
introduced into Georgia
īĄ
īĄ
Grew only on the coastal Sea Islands
Long fiber cotton; made a soft, high quality cloth
4. īShort Staple Cotton
īĄ Hardy inland plant
īĄ Seeds highly entangled with cotton fiber & difficult to remove
ī1793: Invention of the Cotton Gin
5. King Cotton: Whitneyâs Cotton Gin
īEnabled the growth of cotton throughout the
Piedmont and Coastal Plain:
īĄ
well-drained top soil, 200 day (non-frost) growing season, 2545 inches of rainfall/season, dry harvest season
īPiedmont Region: favorable to industry
īĄ Fast-flowing rivers powered cotton gins, textile mills, and
factories
īImproved means of transportation of goods to the
Port in Savannah
īĄ
īĄ
1820s: Steamboat Transportation
1840s: Railroad Transportation
6. King Cotton
īLabor Intensive
īRequired many hours hard work
īField Hands: planted, hoed & picked
the crop
īĄ
By HAND â NO machines
īPlanters needed a ready supply of
cheap labor : Slavery
īCotton Production Steadily
Increased
īĄ
īĄ
īĄ
1790:
1,000 bales
(mostly Sea-Island variety)
1840: 400,000+ bales (Short Staple)
1860: 700,000+ bales (Short Staple)
7. Antebellum Life
Occupation
# of White Georgians
in 1860
Farmers
67,718
īKEEP IN MIND:
Farm Laborers
19,567
Laborers
11,272
Servants
5,337
Overseers
4,909
Clerks
3,626
Carpenters
3,219
For most people,
life was far
different than
Gone with
the Wind!
Merchants
3,195
Planters
2,858
Factory Hands
2,454
Seamstresses
2,411
Teachers
2,123
Physicians
2,004
8. Planters: 2,858
īLandowners who owned 20 or more field slaves
īeducated, dominant in state govât
īWealthy - but short on cash
īĄ
īĄ
īĄ
$$ tied up in land and slaves â Not bank accounts
Many unable to afford antebellum mansions
Typical house: plain, unpainted, modestly furnished ; Separate
smokehouse, barn, grain storeroom & outhouse, slaves quarters and
overseersâ house
9. Planters (contâd)
īPlantation Management:
īĄ
īĄ
īĄ
Planters managed plantations & many became active in state
and federal government
Overseers directed work in the fields
Planterâs wife directed the household & work involving food,
clothing and health needs of the slaves
10. Planters
īPlantation Life: Comfortable
īĄ Home: barbeques, political gatherings
īĄ Church activities
īĄ Travel Abroad
īĄ Frequent Visitors
īĄ Riding, Hunting,
īĄ Private Libraries
īChildren Educated in Private Schools & Academies
īĄ
īĄ
Sons attended school in the North
Daughters attended seminaries in GA
11. Yeoman Farmers: 67,718
īOwned land, usually less than 100 acres; strong
sense of independence & self-respect
īAs much land as possible was dedicated to cotton
cultivation
īĄ
Cotton could be readily sold for cash for the purchase of items
not grown at home (cotton and coffee) and payment for debts
& taxes.
īGrew what they ate: corn, wheat, oats, sweet
potatoes, peas, beans; chickens, cows
12. Yeoman Farmers (contâd)
īDwellings:
īĄ
Dogtrot cabin: 2 connected one-room log structures, covered by a
roof, with a floor
īˇ
īĄ
Open breezeway enjoyed by farmerâs dogs
Frame cottage
īHomemade furniture, clothes, mattresses, quilts
īFireplace: cooking & heating
īWomen: domestic chores â cooking, canning, gardening,
making clothes, raising children
īMen: farmed, supplied family with meat, maintained
farm building
15. Poor Whites â 1 in 10
īOwned no land and got by the best they could
īConcentrated in the pine barrens of S. GA &
mountains of N. GA
īCrude dwellings
īKept chickens and a few cattle or hogs
īMen: hunted and fished for food to eat or sell
īWomen: raised small amounts of cotton & corn for
cash
16. Poor Whites (contâd)
īLooked down upon by everyone (including slaves)
īIdle troublemakers with little ambition (Low energy)
īĄ
īĄ
Poor Diet
Diseases: malaria & hookworm
īOften Illiterate
17. Black Georgians (contâd)
īDeprivation of fundamental human rights:
īUnder GA law, slaves had NO political or civil
liberties
īSlaves were protected by law from excessive
discipline or murder
īSlave marriages were not recognized in GA
īĄ
īĄ
Some owners allowed informal marriages between slaves
Still, slave families were often sold apart
18. Black Georgians (contâd)
ī3,500 free blacks in Antebellum Georgia
īĄ
Purchased their own freedom or granted freedom by their owners
īUsually located in cities
īDifficult situation:
īĄ
īĄ
Employed blacks were criticized for taking white jobs / Those
unemployed were considered lazy
Whites were suspicious that they were helping enslaved blacks
escape to freedom
ī1819 Report of Richmond County
īĄ
194 Free colored men, women & children
īˇ
īˇ
Women: sewing and washing
Men: steamboat pilot, barber, saddle maker, carpenter, laborer
19. Black Georgians (contâd)
īWest African Traditions + Southern Lifestyles =
African American Contributions
īĄ
īĄ
īĄ
īĄ
īĄ
Gullah: language spoken in Coastal Georgia (English words,
African Structure)
Woodcarving, basket-making, quilting
Okra, black-eyed peas, & other dishes
Animal Trickster Tales used to teach wit & cleverness
Spirituals, Rhythm songs, development of the banjo
20. Black Georgians
īLowest level of society
ī99% enslaved â lives varied according to owner and
work assignments
īSlaves in the Cotton Fields:
īĄ
īĄ
Worked sun-rise ī sun-down with a mid-day lunch
Exceptions: rainy weather, winter months & holiday seasons;
most owners allowed Sundays off
21. Black Georgians (contâd)
īJobs of other slaves: easier life than field hands
īĄ
īĄ
Household servants, nursemaids, cooks
Artisans & Factory workers
ī Treatment by Slave-Owners:
īĄ
īĄ
īĄ
Some were cruel (frequent whippings)
Some treated slaves as family members
Most were a combination of the 2 extremes:
īˇ
Slaves were an economic investment â their health was important
to their productivity
22. Education
īGeorgiaâs 1st Constitution called for schools in each
county; however, the Legislature did not provide the
funding to establish a true state-wide public school
system.
īAntebellum Georgians felt education was the
responsibility of individuals
īĄ
īĄ
īĄ
Children were needed to work in the fields
Children lived/worked far apart on different farms
Roads were in too poor of a condition to allow daily travel to
schools
23. 8
ī1817: GA Legislature creates a âPoor School Fundâ to
educate needy children
īParents too proud to send their children
īâOld Field Schoolsâ: rural areas; one-room
schoolhouses with hired school teacher; paid by local
farmers; teachers often under qualified â students
received rudimentary education
ī1850: 1/5 adults was illiterate
īBest education went to student who were sent to
private schools & academies
24. Education (contâd)
īHigher Education in Georgia
īUniversity of Georgia:
īĄ
īĄ
1785: General Assembly chartered UGA
1801: Classes began at UGA
īˇ
īĄ
īĄ
Graduates soon become leaders in state business and politics
1859: School of Law added to UGA
1918: Women are allowed into UGA
25. Education (contâd)
ī1828: Medical College of Georgia est. in Augusta
īĄ
īĄ
Cholera & malaria still uncontrolled
Common diseases, infections & pregnancy constant threats
ī1835: Oglethorpe University est. by Presbyterians
ī1836: Emory College est. by Methodists
ī1837: Mercer University est. by Baptists
ī1839: Georgia Female College (Wesleyan) est.
26. Religion
īMany denominations were represented:
īĄ
Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Moravian, Baptist,
Jewish & Catholics
ī1796: Great Revival sweeps the South
īĄ
īĄ
īĄ
ī
Camp meetings & revivals
Blacks & whites attended
Church membership increased and new churches est.
27. Religion
īReligion & Slavery
īĄ
īĄ
īĄ
īĄ
īĄ
Early 1800s: Slavery denounced from pulpit
1830s: Slavery defended from the pulpit â eventually leads to a
N-S schism
If slaves attended church, they did so with their masters
Slave-only religious meetings were forbidden by masters
(delivery from bondage)
Secret meetings were still held
28. Religion
īSeparate Black Churches were founded during the
Antebellum Period:
īĄ
īĄ
īĄ
īĄ
African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME)
African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AME Zion)
1st founded in the North; opposed slavery
Real growth in the South didnât occur until after the War
29. Southern Reforms
īPenal Reform
īĄ
īĄ
1816: New law code abolishing cruel punishments
1817: GA opens a state penitentiary
īˇ
īĄ
īĄ
ī
Criminals were to repent (be penitent) of their drimes)
1818: GA furnished county jails with clothing, blankets, heat
and medical attention
1823: Law passed making it difficult to imprison people for not
paying their debts
30. Southern Reforms (contâd)
īReforms for the Needy
īĄ
1842: asylum for the insane was opened in Milledgeville
īĄ
1847: School for the deaf opened at Cave Springs
īĄ
1852: State takes responsibility for the Georgia Academy for
the Blind in Macon