What Was The Role Of Slavery In The 1800's

When you think about your family and who your great-grandparents are, do you ever think about what they did or what their great-grandparents did? Think about what your family was doing in the 1800’s. Were they wealthy? Did they live in the North or South? In 1850, the plantations were becoming a big controversy that everyone talked about. What if you had family that was a wealthy plantation owner of the South? Slavery in the United States was the biggest conflict in the 1800’s. However, the people who owned these slaves put them through horrific conditions lived their own lavish lives. These slave owners lived on acres of gorgeous land and created the culture of the South. Plantations in the 18th and 19th century shaped the culture in the South
and this also affected the Southern politics. Plantation owners varied from state to state and, very rarely, by race. Many people don’t know what things took place in order to have the lifestyle that the Southerners lived everyday during that time period. Once they acquired their wealth, Southern plantation owners became iconic social figures as well as political and economic powerhouses. This all changed with the consequences of the Civil War. The war toppled the powerful aristocratic lifestyle that the plantation owners had built over decades. What lied ahead for the plantation owners was a brutal and difficult road paved with segregation and discrimination. The Civil War ruined the political, social and economic platform of the Southern aristocrats. The plantation owners of the South had their own families and they chose their career to support their family and to become economic powerhouses. Dr. Stephen Duncan was a plantation owner during the mid 1800’s. He invested around 1,060,000 dollars in his plantation in today's money. He had a wife and several children to support. He was the most successful planter in the South prior to the Civil War. He was a man who “had it all.”(Martha Jane Brazy) Not only did he own his own plantation, but he was working on the side as a banker. Dr. Duncan was successful and continued to expand his education. William April Ellison, a former slave, was able to conquer the racial slurs and stereotypes.Whites respected him as a person once he became successful as a plantation owner. April Ellison was a dedicated slave to his original master William Ellison (whom he was named after) and helped fix his owner's cotton gin and helped with other things that he needed done. April, as he was called by everyone who knew him, was an extremely dedicated slave that respected everyone and worked extremely hard. When William Ellison got too old, he allowed April to become “a free man” and gave him a small amount of cash to start a cotton gin company where he built and fixed cotton gins. Once April’s business started booming, he became wealthy enough to buy his own land. In 1860, April had a cotton plantation, a business, and 60 slaves.(Hoffler, Carry B.) The struggle of slavery that he faced didn’t stop him from creating his own plantation and he continued to have Southern Democratic dreams. The Southern democratic dreams drives people to want to be successful and be one of the wealthiest. Most plantation owners struggled with having a relationship with their slaves. Dr. Duncan never spoke to his slaves individually due to his constant working. However, William April Ellison knew how he was treated while he was a slave; he wanted to give his slaves the same respect he had when he was still a slave. These two plantation owners were able to gain respect by others, expand their brand and earn great amounts of money, and were able to change things in society that not many people could do at the time. This is how Dr. Duncan and April Ellison are successful in having political, social and economic powers. Many plantations started as simple money makers with crops such as tobacco or indigo. The idea of having plantations started when Jamestown almost completely collapsed and created lost hope for all the fellow colonists. Thankfully for the Southerners of the 1800’s, the economic game-changing ideals of having plantations never changed. Plantation owners normally came from wealthy families that decided to settle in the South. These families wanted to grow their wealth and continue being a first class family. The crops originally started with tobacco, indigo, sugar and etc. These crops were money makers, but when cotton was introduced to the table, the plantation crops started changing. The power that plantation owners had during the 1800’s was tremendous. Their economic power changed the United States forever. The United States were still separated from the North and South; the North was industrializing and creating new technology, while the Southern States were trading cotton and other goods around the world.(civilwar.org) The wealth was in the South. Mississippi was the richest state during this time period. (Dr. Duncan being one of the main reasons for this) The plantations were booming and consistently grew to be more successful. The millions of dollars that were being thrown around towards the slaves and overseers grew during the 1850’s. If these plantation owners couldn’t be in the government, they would use their wealth to influence those working in the government. The wealthy plantation owners were always able to get their point across within the political realm. Laws such as the fugitive slave act were enforced due to the slaves running away. The South wanted control over their property, therefore, their slaves needed to be returned by either another Southerner, or a Northerner. This allowed for the plantation owners to have control over the political powers. When slaves were being sold, there usually was arguments as well major conflicts with the plantation owners.
Fights that would occur dealt with who deserves the slave and how much wealth they have. These fights often started during the bidding of slaves.(civilwar.org) Tensions were usual during this time due to the fight to get to the top of the economic pyramid they designed themselves. There were separated groups of plantations based on how many slaves you have worked. Obviously, the more slaves you had, the more money you had. In 1860, if you had 500-999 slaves, you would have the equivalent of at least 386 million dollars today. Small plantations or farms with 5 slaves at most would have the equivalent of around 4 million dollars (in today’s money) a year.(civilwar.org) The South's economy received 3,930 million dollars from slavery. While these power-houses controlled everything within the South, they also controlled the middle class and lower class citizens.”Power-Houses” is used to describe how these wealthy people wanted to have every little thing under their control. The middle class people practically worshiped the wealthy because of how successful they were. This allowed the wealthy Southerners to control all things such as the
economy. When the wealthy came into town every middle class citizen would do anything to impress their fellow neighbors. They were treated as royalty, and were admired by those who dreamed of the success that these iconic social figures had. The tone that was established allows for us to understand how the southern culture was designed. Plantation owners would have social get togethers where all the “popular” and “first class” people were invited. These social events had expensive drinks, food, and music that they could listen to while discussing their everyday lives and or dancing. This was a set expectation that everyone strove towards. Get togethers and the expectations of the Southern Belles were a result of these extravagant get togethers. (Angelpig.org) Southern Belles created a culture that is still known and practiced today. Women were extremely polite and were on a routine designed by the wealthy wives of the South. Southern Belles left a historical mark that allowed for the Southern Culture to stay the same decades after they were originally established. Money was never the issue for the plantation owners, however, the farmers who made the crops that everyone needed for food were being closed and shut down due to the small amount of money they had back then.
The farmers admired the plantation owners and how they had slaves. Everyone who didn’t have slaves worked hard to try and get the money able to afford those slaves. Some farmers forced their children to get a better education in order to get enough money for slaves. Within the 15 states that created such a strong and prominent culture, there were some major similarities and some differences. Some being on how some people would do anything to climb the social ladder. The further you go south, the stronger the argument of having slaves was enforced. There weren’t always supporters of slavery in the more Northern-Southern states. This lead to many conflicts for elections and with following the laws established to help plantation owners.(Independence Hall Association) However most middle class citizens strived for the acceptance from the elite. Since everyone strived to impress the “god like” figures, they allowed for this design of their culture. After all, the wealthy have “the best lives ever.” (Kahn, Eve M.0) Since the wealthy created the culture of the south, the expectations were set extremely high. This created a push for most middle class citizens to want to become a plantation owner once they have enough of their own
wealth.