1. Cotton and Slavery
1815-1848

2. Objectives
 By the end of the lesson, you will be able to:
– Understand why cotton was essential to the
Southern economy
– Identify key abolitionists
– Describe experience of rural vs. urban slaves
– Summarize slavery debate in the South
Vocabulary: abolition, William Lloyd Garrison,
emancipation, David Walker, Frederick
Douglass, Nat Turner, antebellum, gag rule

3. Copy vocabulary
terms/definitions in notes!
 Use pgs. 248- 253 or 8-2 guided reading/HW paper
Term Definition Significance or use
in a/Sentence
Gag rule A rule limiting debate
on an issue
Allowed slavery to
continue to be legal in
the US
abolitionist Someone who
wanted to outlaw
(end) slavery
Emancipation
William Lloyd
Garrison
David Walker
Frederick Douglass A slave who learned
to read and write
Nat Turner Slave who led a revolt
and was later killed

5. The Cotton Gin
 Eli Whitney’s invention cotton gin in 1793 made short-
staple cotton profitable.
 Cotton and slavery began to expand - from the Atlantic
Coast to Texas.

6. Cotton Production in the South, 1820–1860
Cotton production expanded westward between 1820 and 1860 into
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and western
Tennessee.

7. Cotton Production
• In 1800- U.S. produced
73,000 bales of cotton.
• By 1820, cotton
accounted for 39% of
all American exports.
• By 1840, cotton
accounted for 52% of
U.S. exports.
• By 1860, cotton
accounted for 58% of
all American exports
and 75% of the world’s
entire supply of cotton.

8. Because slave
labor
produced the
cotton,
increasing
exports
strengthened
the slave
system

9. Slave Population, 1820–1860
Slavery spread southwestward from the upper South and the eastern
seaboard following the spread of cotton cultivation.

10. As slavery grew in the South, so did what many
Northerners called “The Slave Power.
1. The planter aristocracy - a very small percent of
southern society - controlled the social, political,
and economic power of the south.
2. From the first presidential election to the election of
Lincoln, Southerners controlled the national
government most of the time.
3. The South held disproportionate political power
under the Constitution.
4. From 1800-1860 -Democrats were the predominate
political party - the party of states rights - used
power to pass federal laws designed to strengthen
slavery as a national institution.

11. The planter aristocracy - a small percent of
southern society - controlled the social, political,
and economic power of the south
• In 1860, 25% of all Southerners owned
slaves.
• Of that 25%
• 52% owned 1-5 slaves
• 35% owned 6-9 slaves
• 11% owned 20-99 slaves
• 1 % owned 100 or more slaves
• Those who owned 20 or more slaves -
about 3% of the entire white population -
controlled the social, political, and
economic power of the South.

12. White southern slave owners had a
huge hold over the white, non-slave
owning population.
How, then, were they able to convince
the vast majority of white southerners to
fight for a system - slavery and the
power of slaveholding aristocrats - in
which they had no stake?
White Supremacy!

13. This woodcut of a black father being sold
away from his family appeared in The
Child’s Anti-Slavery Book in 1860.
In summary, the
expansion of
cotton -
encouraged by the
new technology of
the cotton gin -
stimulated the
growth of slavery.
This economic
reality, in turn,
was made possible
by the “Slave
Power.”

14. In summary, the invention of the cotton gin made cotton
production and exportation a vital force for the entire
American economy. Further, the expansion of cotton
stimulated the growth of slavery and made slavery a
national institution. These social and economic realities,
in turn, were made possible by the “Slave Power.”

15. Why Slavery prospered
Cotton gin Slavery cotton production  $$
 more exports and more production, $$$
Slavery justified:
- White supremacy (belief that Africans were
an inferior race)
- Slaves were “taken care of”
- Cotton production helped Southern
economy
- Small percentage of Southern slave-owners
controlled the Senate and laws
- Fugitive Slave Act passed

16. Stop and Write! On notebook paper and
hand in! Use p. 215- 216, 248 to help
1. How was the cotton production
improved and increased?
2. Why did slavery increase in the South?
3. How did many people allow slavery
even if it did not directly benefit them?

17. Ch. 8, Section 2 pp. 248- 253
 Belief that African Americans were
inferior

18. Abolitionists speak out
pp. 248- 249
 Abolition- call to outlaw slavery
 Abolitionist- someone who wants to
outlaw slavery
 William Lloyd Garrison- editor of
newspaper The Liberator, wanted
emancipation of slaves

19. William Lloyd Garrison
 Founded American Anti-Slavery
Society- other whites joined
 Some whites hated him for attacking
churches and government

20. Free Blacks, David Walker
 David Walker- free black, encouraged
blacks to fight for freedom
 Free blacks realized (esp. in South)
only lowest-paying jobs were available
to them

21. Stop and Write! Exit slip- Answer
any 2 questions (6 points total)
1. How were Walker and Garrison’s views
similar?
2. How were their views different?
3. What was unusual about Frederick
Dogulass?

22. Yes, you have a QUIZ TODAY!
1. You MUST hand in your phone in
order to take the test. You will get it back
after you hand in the test.
2. Answer all questions on the scan-tron
using a #2 pencil.
3.Hand in the scan-tron in period 6 bin;
make a pile of the tests outside the bin.
4.Take a Ch. 8 HW packet and finish by
Friday (30 points)

23. Frederick Douglass
http://www.history.com/topics/black-
history/frederick-douglass
 Born into slavery, learned to read
and write
 Why weren’t slaves able to read and
write??
 Knowledge was “his pathway from
slavery to freedom”…
 http://www.biography.com/people/frederick-
douglass-9278324

24. Frederick Douglass
 Earned wages but not allowed to keep
them
 Escaped to freedom, settled in MA
 Met Garrison, abolitionist movement-
gave speeches for American Anti-Slavery
society
 Wrote narrative, Life of Frederick
Douglass
 Began anti-slavery newspaper The North
Star

25. Written response:
1. What do you think Douglass meant
when he said that knowledge could be his
“pathway from slavery to freedom”?

26. Life Under Slavery: Rural
 By 1830, many American-born
 Shift from slaves in the Caribbean to
plantation-slaves in South

27. Urban Slavery
 Whites flee to South for promise of
wealth from cotton  shortage of white
laborers for industry
 Some slaves in skilled trades-
shipbuilding, blacksmiths
 Easier to find jobs in South, less
discrimination than in North

28. Urban Slavery
 Slave owners hired out slaves for
factory work
 No supervision from master
 Who had it better….rural or urban
slaves??

29. Nat Turner Rebellion
 Led a slave rebellion against white
owners, killing 60 whites in a violent
revolt
 Believed he was divinely inspired
 Eventually captured, tried, and hanged
 http://www.history.com/topics/black-
history/nat-turner

30. Slave codes
 Backlash to revolts, passed in fear of
further rebellion
 Tightened control on slaves
 Legally considered property
 Slaves not allowed to own property, no
assembly without white supervision
 Could be a crime to teach slaves to read
and write
 No testimony could be made by a slave

32. Slave Owners Defend Slavery
 Antebellum- Pre-civil War
 Debate for abolition of slavery in VA did
not pass
 Gag rule- rule preventing debate on an
issue; adopted by Southern
representatives in slavery debate

33. Pro-slavery
 Slavery was in the Bible and dates back
to biblical times
 Benefited blacks by making them
Christian and “taking care of them”

34. Quick Review
Pro-Slavery- ideas/goals/
tactics (what did they do)
Anti-slavery (abolitionists)-
ideas/goals/tactics

35. Vocab. Review
1. Make flashcards with the terms below.
2. Write the term on the front, and the
definition AND IMPORTANCE of each
on the back
- Abolition - emancipation
- Frederick Douglass - David Walker
- Nat Turner - gag rule
- - William L. Garrison

36. Un-wheel of Fortune
 Correctly answer the question, get a
point AND guess a letter (each correct
letter gets one additional point)
 Guess the phrase and get an additional
5 points for your team

37. Quiz a