Life in Antebellum America

Unit 4, Lesson 3

Essential Idea

• The North, West, and South had different cultures during the Antebellum Period.

Antebellum Period • Time Period: • Antebellum Period• Meaning:• Time in American

history BEFORE the Civil War (“antebellum” is Latin for “before war”)

• The North, West, and South were very different during the Antebellum Period

Life in the North• Northern Farming Declines:• Climate in the North was colder• Soil was rockier and less fertile• Farms were small due to high population• Small farms struggled to compete with large farms in the West• Results:• Result #1- Some farmers moved west to start bigger farms on fertile soil• Result #2- Some abandoned farming and moved to cities to work in factories

Urbanization

• Urbanization:• Many farmers in the North

moved into cities• Many immigrants moved

into cities • Both groups moved to

cities to work in FACTORIES • Urbanization- growth of

cities, which happened mainly in the North

Life in Northern Cities• Problems with Urbanization:• 1. Overcrowding:• Cities struggled to adjust to

the population boom• Tension grew between

Americans and immigrants• 2. Crime:• Rise in crime led to creation

of police departments• 3. Fire: • Crowded wooden buildings

were a fire danger, so fire departments developed

Life in Northern Cities • 4. Sanitation: • No sewers and horses

were used for transportation

• Human/animal waste and trash rotted in streets

• 5. Families:• Less close since men

left home to work in factories

• Poor working conditions led to alcohol abuse, hurting families

Northern Factories• Factory Conditions:• Bosses had a negative relationship with workers • Workers worked long hours for low wages• Conditions were unsafe and unsanitary

Working Conditions

• Lowell Mill System:• Textile mills employed

single women and children• Workers lived in dorms

built around the mill, creating a “company town”

• They were strictly controlled, worked long hours, and were paid even less than men

Early Unions• Unions: • Some workers formed unions to push for better conditions• Unions had little success, seen as bad or illegal • Commonwealth v. Hunt- Supreme Court ruled that unions were

legal

Life in the West• Farming:• Farming was common, where large pieces of fertile land existed• Psychological impact:• Isolated, lonely, fearful of conflict with Indians• Connection with Cities:• Farmers relied on internal improvements to trade with cities in the North

Life in the South

• The Cotton Gin and Slavery:

• The cotton gin caused slavery to expand throughout the South

• There were 4 MILLION slaves in America when the Civil War began

• The Growth of Slavery

The “Cotton Kingdom”

• “Cotton Kingdom:”• The South was called the

“Cotton Kingdom” because its economy was based on cotton and slavery

• Expansion and Sectionalism: • Southerners wanted slavery

to expand to the West, where more land was available

• This caused tension with northerners who did not want slavery to expand

Life in the South• Lack of industrialization:• Wealthy planters held the most political and economic power• Planters had little interest in industrialization since they made money from

plantations• Southern society remained based on cotton production

Society in the South• White Society:• MOST whites did NOT own slaves, but did

support it• Wealthy planters:• Smallest group, but had the most money,

power, land, and slaves• Yeoman Farmers:• Largest group, owned few if any slaves,

lived modestly, had little power• Poor Whites:• Owned little land and no slaves, but

supported slavery due to racism?• Freemen:• Some blacks were free, many had saved

money to buy their own freedom

Slavery• Slave codes:• Slave codes were laws that helped control slaves• Slaves could not own property, own guns, testify against whites, or become literate• Purpose:• Keep slaves at the bottom of society • Keep slaves too ignorant to be able to rebel• Slavery

Plantation Conditions

• Plantation conditions:

• Slaves were viewed and treated as property

• Most slaves worked hard from dawn till dusk

• Life for Slaves

Plantation Conditions• Slaves were motivated to work by the threat of

physical punishment• Slave auctions sold slaves and often

permanently separated families• Plantation Slavery

Slave Culture

• Slave culture: • Slave families were

strong despite oppression

• Songs were important and often contained hidden meanings

• Christianity was important to many slaves and gave them hope

Resistance and Rebellion• Resistance:• Passive resistance—slaves often sabotaged equipment and engaged in work

slow downs • Running away—slaves often ran away, often using the Underground Railroad

Resistance and Rebellion

• Rebellions:• Occasionally

slaves rebelled with violence

• Slave rebellions led to tighter slave codes