Antebellum Slavery Was Primarily Economic in Nature
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ANTEBELLUM SLAVERY WAS PRIMARILY ECONOMIC IN NATURE Slavery formed the backbone of the South economically. It was just as much the political and social basis of Southern identity, too. With the invention of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, southern plantation owners had to buy more slaves to keep up with the demand for cotton. There was an ever-present demand, particularly by Northern states, for cotton. There became a growing economic dependence on slavery. James Henry Hammond’s manual, Instructions to His Overseer (c. 1840-1850), was designed for use on his large South Carolina estate. He was a strong supporter of slavery and the originator of the famous line, “Cotton is king.” Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born into slavery in February 1818, in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough about twelve miles from Easton, in Talbot County, Maryland. Frederick would later change his name to Frederick Douglass after his escape from slavery in September 1838, and settle in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He did this to protect his identity, as he was a fugitive. He never saw his mother, Harriet Bailey, no more than four or five times in his life. Frequently, before a child reached his twelfth month, its mother is taken from it. She is hired out on a farm a considerable distance off to hinder the natural affection of the mother for her child. His father was white. He never knew him; but, it was whispered that it was his master. His mother died when Frederick was about seven years old. He was not allowed to be present during her illness, at her death, or burial. Later in life, he came to realize that slaveholders had ordained, and by law established, that the children of slave women would follow the condition of their mothers. In his opinion, this was done to administer to their own lusts to make a gratification of their wicked and evil desires profitable as well as pleasurable. Such slaves would suffer greater hardships and cruel punishment because
ANTEBELLUM SLAVERY WAS PRIMARILY ECONOMIC IN NATURE Slavery formed the backbone of the South economically. It was just as much the political and social basis of Southern identity, too. With the invention of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, southern plantation owners had to buy more slaves to keep up with the demand for cotton. There was an ever-present demand, particularly by Northern states, for cotton. There became a growing economic dependence on slavery. James Henry Hammond’s manual, Instructions to His Overseer (c. 1840-1850), was designed for use on his large South Carolina estate. He was a strong supporter of slavery and the originator of the famous line, “Cotton is king.” Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born into slavery in February 1818, in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough about twelve miles from Easton, in Talbot County, Maryland. Frederick would later change his name to Frederick Douglass after his escape from slavery in September 1838, and settle in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He did this to protect his identity, as he was a fugitive. He never saw his mother, Harriet Bailey, no more than four or five times in his life. Frequently, before a child reached his twelfth month, its mother is taken from it. She is hired out on a farm a considerable distance off to hinder the natural affection of the mother for her child. His father was white. He never knew him; but, it was whispered that it was his master. His mother died when Frederick was about seven years old. He was not allowed to be present during her illness, at her death, or burial. Later in life, he came to realize that slaveholders had ordained, and by law established, that the children of slave women would follow the condition of their mothers. In his opinion, this was done to administer to their own lusts to make a gratification of their wicked and evil desires profitable as well as pleasurable. Such slaves would suffer greater hardships and cruel punishment because