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Life in The King Cotton

Slaves lived under a harsh system of forced labor dominated by cotton production. The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 led to explosive growth in the cotton industry and demand for slave labor, driving the expansion of slavery across the South. By 1860, over 4 million slaves lived and worked primarily in cotton-producing states, though some worked in other crops like tobacco, rice, and sugarcane. Slave life was difficult, with forced family separation and poor living conditions, but slaves developed social and cultural practices to cope, finding meaning through religion, family, and community.

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623 views13 pages

Life in The King Cotton

Slaves lived under a harsh system of forced labor dominated by cotton production. The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 led to explosive growth in the cotton industry and demand for slave labor, driving the expansion of slavery across the South. By 1860, over 4 million slaves lived and worked primarily in cotton-producing states, though some worked in other crops like tobacco, rice, and sugarcane. Slave life was difficult, with forced family separation and poor living conditions, but slaves developed social and cultural practices to cope, finding meaning through religion, family, and community.

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api-327653481
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Life in the Cotton

Kingdom
(1793 – 1861)
• Life for most slaves in the
South revolved around
agricultural production.
The Expansion of Slavery
• Eli Whitney invents the Cotton Gin in 1793
• Made it easier and more profitable to
produce cotton
• Cotton was shipped to Textile Mills in Great Britain.

• Created an increase in demand for slave labor


• The key to the expansion of slavery in the south during the
early 19th century
• The slave population increases dramatically between
1790 to 1860, mostly in cotton-producing states.
• Slave population grew by 1840 nearly 2.5 million
• Farmers would move South and West to grow more cotton
Effects of Cotton Gin
1793 (10,000 bales)– Drew white farmers
Exports amounted 1
1820 (500,000 2
into area, causing
more than 50% bales)---- 1860 (4.4 MS & AL to gain
mill bales) a year statehood.

Price of slaves
increased (Domestic 4 1820—male $1,250 5 1850—male $1,800
Slave Trade)
Slave Labor in
Agriculture
• While Cotton was the ‘King’, slaves also
labored in the development of other crops
• Tobacco: long growing season and
required close attention
• Rice: hard work and required a large
labor force
• Sugarcane: difficult and dangerous
crop to work
White Slave Owners Black Slave Owners
Slave Owners
• White Slave Owners • About 2% owned slaves
decreases from 37% in in 1830’s
1820 to 4.7% in 1860.
• Why? Protect families
• Almost half of South and prevent them from
slave holders owned being “sold down the
fewer than 5 slaves, river” or being expelled
12% owned at least from former slaves
20%, & 1% more than owners territory.
50 slaves.
Other Types of Slave Labor
• While about 75% of slave workforce were field
hands, the remaining 25% were house slaves,
skilled slaves, and industrial slaves.
• House: cooks, maids, butlers, nurses,
gardeners
• Skilled: carpenters, blacksmiths,
millwrights build and maintain plantation
houses, slave quarters, and machinery.
• Industrial: worked in factories (hired)
Other Types of Slave Labor
• While slaves lived under the threat of physical punishment,
skilled slaves living in towns and cities generally faired
better
than field hands.
• They enjoyed a little more freedom and were able to
earn money on their own after work hours.
• Urban masters often allowed their slaves to purchase
their own freedom after a period of years to prevent
them from running away.
Domestic Slave Trade
Domestic Slave Trade:
Caused by King Cotton and
decline of slavery in the
During the Chesapeake led to the sale
Antebellum Period, and transportation of slaves
January 1,1808 ban on
time before the Civil within the U.S. continued
Atlantic Slave trade
War, slaves were in and flourished.
went into effect,
high demand and *Changing work force– they
smuggling slaves and
many slaves were are sold to prevent them
lack of enforcement of
imported from from escaping or as
law made it weak.
Africa and the punishment
Caribbean. *150,000 sold per decade
*Breeding slaves for sale
was a business.
Slave Life

• Masters encouraged slave men and


women to pair up for economic reasons
• However, their marriages and the
families they produced had no legal
standing.
• This meant that families could (and
often were) be broken up and sold to
different locations.
• 2 Families usually shared cabin
Slave Life
• Despite the hardships of life as a slave, the
family was at the core of their community
and parents did the best they could to
raise their children and teach them how to
survive.
• Examples of Hardships
• Women faced the danger
of sexual exploitation
• Health Suffered due to…
• Poor diets
• Inadequate clothing
• Hard work
The Socialization of Slaves
• African-Americans developed ways of
coping with slavery.
• Family: love and encouragement from
loved ones
• Religion: looking to God for strength
and having the hope of a better day to
come
• Socialization: learning survival skills
• Watch what you say to white
people
• Withhold information about other
blacks
• Don’t allow slave owners to know
the
real you
Slave Culture
• Spirituals: emotional
songs often express
religious beliefs; used
to express joys and
sorrows or keep steady
rhythm working in the
fields
• Religious Gatherings
• Services often were
celebrations,
opportunities to
socialize, singing
dancing, and story
telling.

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