1. Agriculture in
Antebellum SC
Standard 8-4.1 Explain the importance
of agriculture in antebellum South
Carolina, including the plantation
system and the impact of the cotton gin
on all social classes.

2. Quick Review
During Colonial times,
agriculture was the basis for
society in SC
Headright System + slave labor = large SC plantations
By 1860, SC had the highest percentage of slave
holders in the nation… why?
NOTE: Most SC
families lived on
sustenance
farms and
owned NO
slaves
Those who did
save up enough
for 1 or 2 slaves
work along side
them in their
own fields

3. The Cotton Boom
Eli Whitney- Cotton Gin
Planted lots of cotton
Need to increase
profits
Dependency on
slave labor to
make it all work
The use of slavery in both the
Upcountry and Lowcountry eased the
tensions between the two areas……
as well as the Constitutional
Amendment that gave one vote where
one lived to
“every free white man of 21”

4. The Cotton Boom Cont…
 SC political rights changed
 International slave trade
ended in 1808
 SC slave population
continued to grow
 Over growth of cotton
stripped the land
 Little focus on finding a new
cash crop
 Need for new land led to
southern arguments over
western expansion

5. Planter Life of the Elite
 Planter Life in Antebellum South (4:43)

6. Plantation Life for Slaves
 Was self-sustaining & depended on the
institution on slavery
 Slave Duties/Jobs (men, women,
children)
 Provided minimum food, clothing, &
Shelter
 Slave marriages were not recognized
 Slave families often split up
 Against the law to teach slaves how to
read or write

7. Plantation Life for Slaves
 Lived in small cabins with dirt floors
 Overseen by the Masters under a
watchful eye
 Slaves who went of the plantation has to
carry a pass
 Run-aways were harshly beaten
 Slave protests happened by way of slow
down of work, destruction of owner
property, and faking sickness
 Converted to Christianity

8. Class System
 Planter elite had wealth, prosperity, &
political pull due to slave labor
 Master & Mistress had the hard job of
making the plantation run smoothly to be
profitable
 Overseers were hired to help with the
business (but the master oversaw the slave
population)
 Mistress oversaw the running of the house
& cared of the sick slaves

9. Leading to Sectionalism
 Such actions led
southern to justify
slavery as a “positive
good” & claim that
southern slaves
were better cared for
than factory workers
in the north.
 These arguments
led to the growing
sectionalism that
divided the nation