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Agriculture and King Cotton
Foundation: Agriculture was the South's economic foundation.
Key Crops: Tobacco, rice, and sugarcane were important, but cotton was the dominant cash crop.
Cotton Gin: Eli Whitney’s invention increased cotton production and profitability.
Exports: By the 1850s, cotton made up two-thirds of U.S. exports, linking the South and Great Britain economically.
Westward Expansion: Planters moved westward to states like Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas due to soil depletion.
Slavery, the “Peculiar Institution”
Wealth Measurement: Land and enslaved people were primary wealth indicators.
Justifications: Originally economic, later defended with historical and religious arguments.
Population Increase: Enslaved population grew from 1 million in 1800 to nearly 4 million in 1860, mainly through natural growth and illegal smuggling.
Restrictions: Fear of revolts led to stricter slave codes.
Economics of Slavery
Labor: Enslaved people worked in fields, skilled trades, domestic roles, factories, and construction.
Economic Impact: High investment in slavery limited capital for industrialization.
Southern Cities
Urbanization: Limited compared to the North.
Major Cities: New Orleans (largest, 170,000 people), St. Louis, Louisville, Charleston (each over 40,000).
Southern Culture and Thought
Code of Chivalry: Aristocratic conduct, personal honor, defense of womanhood, and paternalism toward inferiors.
Education: Upper class valued college; lower classes had limited schooling; education for enslaved people prohibited.
Religion: Methodists and Baptists grew due to pro-slavery stance; Unitarians and neutral churches saw declines.
Social Reform
Reform Movements: Limited impact in the South; focused on tradition over modernization.
Anti Slavery: Viewed as a northern threat to southern life, causing resistance to reform.
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