Slavery in the Upper And Lower South

Yes, I believe the North and the South had good reasons to fear each other’s influence on the course of national affairs. If a president was elected, and he supported slavery, then the South’s power, or influence, would affect federal decisions such as new states becoming slave states. The North did support slavery, but did not want slavery to expand, thus the North was at unease if the South gained more influence. Vice-versa, if a president was elected, that did not support slavery, the North would have more influence, and the new states admitted to the Union would be free states, and

In a time where research was not a primary source of knowledge, most physicians and slave owners were forced to create their own their own practices based on observations. Throughout the Antebellum South, many slaveowners learned of the immunities and adaptations to the environment that their slaves possessed. However, due to the poor living conditions in the slave homes, many families were susceptible to parasites and other diseases. Often, these diseases were treated by other slaves in their family, but in other cases their owners called a white doctor to care for them (Black Health on the Plantation: Owners, the Enslaved, and Physicians). Before a doctor was called, the slaves would often use herbal remedies or religious prayers

Defending racial inequality and slavery as laws of nature, attested by all history, the eastern delegates superimposed a still nebulous ideology of white supremacy upon the older conservative ideology of property. The slaves, they said, were happy with their lot, and the whites were more equal and more republican because of this labor system. Increasingly, throughout the South, racial inequalities would be substituted for economic ones, color would become the badge of aristocracy, and class issues would be smothered by the blanket appeal to racial solidarity. Pro-slavery ideology divided society not between the rich and the poor but between the whites and the black.

The south losing economic profit was not the only worrisome thing on the rich southern aristocrat’s mind, they also feared their political, and social influences being ripped away from them. The manifest destiny of the 19th century allowed European settlers the ability to expand their territory across North America believing it was their destiny to conquest all things on the north America continent. The liberation of African American from slavery went against the manifest destiny since the destiny focused on European settlers enforcing their political and social authority over others. Comparatively, the south dreaded the rise of free African Americans since the rise would shatter the racial hierarchy put in place by white supremacist of America.

People went from having ten slaves in a farm to having 500 in a plantation. Slave brutality worsened because of this transition, abolitionist and free-soilers in the north did not like this drastic expansion. They opposed the Mexican War because it was a way for the United States to gain territory, and make them slave states thus increasing the expansion of slavery (Doc.4). Therefore compromises like the Compromise of 1850 were created, this compromise proposed that, “slavery does not exist by law, and it is not likely to be introduced into any territory acquired by the United States from the Republic of Mexico…” (Doc.5). Northerners also started showing opposition to slavery by not adhering to the Fugitive Slave Act. They believed that slavery is, "opposition to the first principles of principles of religion, morals, and humanity." and that its inconsistent with "our aims, as a free, humane, and enlightened people" (Doc.2a). On the other hand southerners believe that "slavery was one of the most dynamic economic and social processes..." and that without slavery "you could not have civilization... slavery freed upper class from manual labor"

In the article “The Central Theme of Southern Slavery” Ulrich B. Phillips asserts that among several other motives that served as a drive for white Southerners to support slavery, the predominant one was their desire to preserve white supremacy in the South. He claims that all of the states in the US are similar except for the opinion about slavery. Phillips emphasizes that the idea of slavery in the South was important and perceived by southerners as heritage and a tradition. He also claims that the institution wasn’t merely economic, but also a system of social order. In addition, the white southerners saw abolition as a major threat to their economic freedom. According to Phillips, some Southerners saw deportation of african-american citizens as another solution to the slavery crisis in the United States. However,

All territory north of the line would forever be free, all territory south of the line would receive federal protection for slavery. South Carolina threatened the separation to begin with because the Continental Congress sought to tax all the colonies on the basis of a total population count that would include slaves. The south was a profitable land where efficient plantations were worked by slave labor producing cotton for the world market. Majority of the white population was made up of subsistence farmers who lived isolated lives away from poverty and whose literacy rates were low compared to those in the North. The South began to industrialize which added to the social tensions. The issue of slavery provided togetherness for the white bloc and contributed to a patriarchal system where the masses of the whites still looked to a planter professional elite for political and social guidance. The northern masses have different opinions of the powerful and living conditions among the urban poor were precarious, educational levels were far higher than in the

Both free and enslaved Africans were discriminated against in this time period but responded differently towards their challenges. African Americans found ways to cope with their situation one being religious gatherings (Doc D). They sang old traditional African songs and danced. By doing so, they can forget about life troubles for a moment and give themselves a sense of hope that someday they would by free. Some slaves where more violent than other and began rebellions against their white owners. The use of rebellion was inspired to them by the Bible and that God was pleading for their cause with earnestness and zeal (Doc G). Slaves who caused mischief was relocated deeper south where the treatment and condition was even worse. The Fugitive Slave Law forced the North to send back any slaves who escaped to the North in return for a reward. Slaves who tried to escape to the North were also relocated. By relocating them, the chances of escape decreased for them. Even

Between 1820 and 1840 growing numbers of white mostly in the North began to express their concern. Abolitionist insisted in freeing slaves because they believed it was morally wrong. Colonization’s on the other hand believed that slaves should be relocated to Liberia. They did not believe that an interracial free society could survive. The South viewed all anti-slavery ideas as a threat to their society and the stability of their economy. They argued that slavery was protected in the constitution and any interference was a matter of

The North, on the other hand, continued to rally up groups that held the belief that slavery was morally wrong, and this started to worry the south of their political power. Many events of the mid- nineteenth century led to the secession of the

One effect on the issue was that the economy in the south was fueled by cultivation of staple crops that required slaves for labor. In the South slavery wasn’t thought as an evil as in the North because to the Southerners defense the slaves in their opinion were treaty in contrast to workers in England and peasants that were Irish, also the end of slave trade brought higher value to the slaves causing their owners to be less harsh because they were more valuable. Although slavery fueled the economy in the South it was not the same in the North therefore there was no complete dire need for slavery, and although the slaves probably weren’t treated as bad as the north had thought they still saw it as

Southern slavery was based on paternalism to justify the brutal reality of slavery, in which slaveholding gentlemen took personal responsibility for the physical and moral well being of their dependents – women, children, and slaves. The slave owner demanded unquestioning obedience from their dependents and intended to make them perfectly dependent to the white man. Most planters lived on their plantation with compelling strict order. Without the owner’s permission, slaves

In contrast to the other three colonies discussed, the institution of slavery in South Carolina was initiated, legalized, and maintained for distinct reasons; the founders of the colony felt that slavery was absolutely necessary for economic prosperity and their unwavering urge to protect the institution at all costs contributed towards the severity of the slave-enforcement acts and codes. By looking at the legislation passed in South Carolina, one can grasp the extent to which slaves were legally stripped of every right imaginable, suffered barbarous treatment, and were attempted to be rendered psychologically and physically powerless--all because of the deep-seated fear of the enslaved population that was instilled within white slave owners and law-makers. In South Carolina, slavery was a horrendous business that was never questioned ethically or legally. The white settlers coming from Barbados--who had already been involved in the slave trade for years--migrated to South Carolina equipped with slaves already accustomed to difficult climate conditions (similar to South Carolina), which made them more pleasurable to slave owners expecting a strong work force. Another unique aspect to South Carolina was the overwhelming black majority in the colony for it is true that, “by 1708, less than twenty years after the decision to move from white indentured labor to black slave labor, the number of blacks in the colony exceeded whites,” (Higginbotham, 1978, pg. 152). Due to the

Throughout the 1800s in America, slavery was a controversy between the north and the south. A Slave was one who was the property of another human being under law and was forced to obey them. The North felt that slavery was unfair and inhumane, whereas in the South, they felt as though slavery was crucial to their success. African American slaves were not allowed many rights: they were not allowed to testify in court against a white person, could not receive an education, or even sign contracts. Due to the brutality they faced each day, many slaves escaped with hopes to find freedom. The Underground Railroad, a system utilized by many runaway slaves to help them escape from the South to Canada, played a large role in the downfall of slavery and eventual abolition in the United States following the Civil War.

The South, on the other hand, was highly dependent upon the institution of slavery. It was still primarily an agricultural society that needed as many laborers as possible in order for the plantation owners to make ends meet. According to historian Douglas Harper, “In 1793 came the cotton gin, which brought a 50-fold increase in the average daily output of short-staple cotton, promoted the rapid expansion of a ‘cotton kingdom’ across the Deep South, and made large-scale slavery profitable.” Because of this, the slave became an essential tool to the farmers of the south; more money became invested in slavery rather than in industrial improvements. Based upon the 1860 U.S. Census, there were almost a whopping total of four million slaves in the South alone. In fact, the more slaves an owner had, the more prestige. “Most slave owners owned fewer than five slaves, and only 12 percent of Southerners had twenty or more slaves. Many whites who had no slaves looked with envy upon the wealthy, and to a degree admired them.” This hierarchy had a clearly defined social structure which created distinctions between rich and poor whites as well as racial segregation. This agricultural society and its strict hierarchy only increased the social and racial disparities found in the southern region of the United States.