1. Chapter 11:
Life of the People
in Antebellum Society
TRINITY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
MRS. CHRISTIE SOLES

2. Antebellum: Before the [Civil W]ar
1790: Georgia was one of the
poorest states
(a)
(b)
(c)
Cotton
Slavery
Other reasons: railroad-building
system, textile mills, lumber yards,
leather good factories, metal works,
stone quarries
1850s: “Empire State of the South”
1860: Savannah is the largest &
most important city!

3. King Cotton Comes to Georgia
1786: Sea Island Cotton from the Bahamas was
introduced into Georgia


Grew only on the coastal Sea Islands
Long fiber cotton; made a soft, high quality cloth

4. Short Staple Cotton
 Hardy inland plant
 Seeds highly entangled with cotton fiber & difficult to remove
1793: Invention of the Cotton Gin

5. King Cotton: Whitney’s Cotton Gin
Enabled the growth of cotton throughout the
Piedmont and Coastal Plain:

well-drained top soil, 200 day (non-frost) growing season, 2545 inches of rainfall/season, dry harvest season
Piedmont Region: favorable to industry
 Fast-flowing rivers powered cotton gins, textile mills, and
factories
Improved means of transportation of goods to the
Port in Savannah


1820s: Steamboat Transportation
1840s: Railroad Transportation

6. King Cotton
Labor Intensive
Required many hours hard work
Field Hands: planted, hoed & picked
the crop

By HAND – NO machines
Planters needed a ready supply of
cheap labor : Slavery
Cotton Production Steadily
Increased



1790:
1,000 bales
(mostly Sea-Island variety)
1840: 400,000+ bales (Short Staple)
1860: 700,000+ bales (Short Staple)

7. Antebellum Life
Occupation
# of White Georgians
in 1860
Farmers
67,718
KEEP IN MIND:
Farm Laborers
19,567
Laborers
11,272
Servants
5,337
Overseers
4,909
Clerks
3,626
Carpenters
3,219
For most people,
life was far
different than
Gone with
the Wind!
Merchants
3,195
Planters
2,858
Factory Hands
2,454
Seamstresses
2,411
Teachers
2,123
Physicians
2,004

8. Planters: 2,858
Landowners who owned 20 or more field slaves
educated, dominant in state gov’t
Wealthy - but short on cash



$$ tied up in land and slaves – Not bank accounts
Many unable to afford antebellum mansions
Typical house: plain, unpainted, modestly furnished ; Separate
smokehouse, barn, grain storeroom & outhouse, slaves quarters and
overseers’ house

9. Planters (cont’d)
Plantation Management:



Planters managed plantations & many became active in state
and federal government
Overseers directed work in the fields
Planter’s wife directed the household & work involving food,
clothing and health needs of the slaves

10. Planters
Plantation Life: Comfortable
 Home: barbeques, political gatherings
 Church activities
 Travel Abroad
 Frequent Visitors
 Riding, Hunting,
 Private Libraries
Children Educated in Private Schools & Academies


Sons attended school in the North
Daughters attended seminaries in GA

11. Yeoman Farmers: 67,718
Owned land, usually less than 100 acres; strong
sense of independence & self-respect
As much land as possible was dedicated to cotton
cultivation

Cotton could be readily sold for cash for the purchase of items
not grown at home (cotton and coffee) and payment for debts
& taxes.
Grew what they ate: corn, wheat, oats, sweet
potatoes, peas, beans; chickens, cows

12. Yeoman Farmers (cont’d)
Dwellings:

Dogtrot cabin: 2 connected one-room log structures, covered by a
roof, with a floor


Open breezeway enjoyed by farmer’s dogs
Frame cottage
Homemade furniture, clothes, mattresses, quilts
Fireplace: cooking & heating
Women: domestic chores – cooking, canning, gardening,
making clothes, raising children
Men: farmed, supplied family with meat, maintained
farm building

14. Yeoman Farmers (cont’d)
Recreation:








Shooting matches
Barbecues
Dancing
Wrestling & fighting
Hunting & fishing
Quilting bees
Corn shuckings
County Courthouse – place to socialize

15. Poor Whites – 1 in 10
Owned no land and got by the best they could
Concentrated in the pine barrens of S. GA &
mountains of N. GA
Crude dwellings
Kept chickens and a few cattle or hogs
Men: hunted and fished for food to eat or sell
Women: raised small amounts of cotton & corn for
cash

16. Poor Whites (cont’d)
Looked down upon by everyone (including slaves)
Idle troublemakers with little ambition (Low energy)


Poor Diet
Diseases: malaria & hookworm
Often Illiterate

17. Black Georgians (cont’d)
Deprivation of fundamental human rights:
Under GA law, slaves had NO political or civil
liberties
Slaves were protected by law from excessive
discipline or murder
Slave marriages were not recognized in GA


Some owners allowed informal marriages between slaves
Still, slave families were often sold apart

18. Black Georgians (cont’d)
3,500 free blacks in Antebellum Georgia

Purchased their own freedom or granted freedom by their owners
Usually located in cities
Difficult situation:


Employed blacks were criticized for taking white jobs / Those
unemployed were considered lazy
Whites were suspicious that they were helping enslaved blacks
escape to freedom
1819 Report of Richmond County

194 Free colored men, women & children


Women: sewing and washing
Men: steamboat pilot, barber, saddle maker, carpenter, laborer

19. Black Georgians (cont’d)
West African Traditions + Southern Lifestyles =
African American Contributions





Gullah: language spoken in Coastal Georgia (English words,
African Structure)
Woodcarving, basket-making, quilting
Okra, black-eyed peas, & other dishes
Animal Trickster Tales used to teach wit & cleverness
Spirituals, Rhythm songs, development of the banjo

20. Black Georgians
Lowest level of society
99% enslaved – lives varied according to owner and
work assignments
Slaves in the Cotton Fields:


Worked sun-rise  sun-down with a mid-day lunch
Exceptions: rainy weather, winter months & holiday seasons;
most owners allowed Sundays off

21. Black Georgians (cont’d)
Jobs of other slaves: easier life than field hands


Household servants, nursemaids, cooks
Artisans & Factory workers
 Treatment by Slave-Owners:



Some were cruel (frequent whippings)
Some treated slaves as family members
Most were a combination of the 2 extremes:

Slaves were an economic investment – their health was important
to their productivity

22. Education
Georgia’s 1st Constitution called for schools in each
county; however, the Legislature did not provide the
funding to establish a true state-wide public school
system.
Antebellum Georgians felt education was the
responsibility of individuals



Children were needed to work in the fields
Children lived/worked far apart on different farms
Roads were in too poor of a condition to allow daily travel to
schools

23. 8
1817: GA Legislature creates a “Poor School Fund” to
educate needy children
Parents too proud to send their children
“Old Field Schools”: rural areas; one-room
schoolhouses with hired school teacher; paid by local
farmers; teachers often under qualified – students
received rudimentary education
1850: 1/5 adults was illiterate
Best education went to student who were sent to
private schools & academies

24. Education (cont’d)
Higher Education in Georgia
University of Georgia:


1785: General Assembly chartered UGA
1801: Classes began at UGA



Graduates soon become leaders in state business and politics
1859: School of Law added to UGA
1918: Women are allowed into UGA

25. Education (cont’d)
1828: Medical College of Georgia est. in Augusta


Cholera & malaria still uncontrolled
Common diseases, infections & pregnancy constant threats
1835: Oglethorpe University est. by Presbyterians
1836: Emory College est. by Methodists
1837: Mercer University est. by Baptists
1839: Georgia Female College (Wesleyan) est.

26. Religion
Many denominations were represented:

Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Moravian, Baptist,
Jewish & Catholics
1796: Great Revival sweeps the South




Camp meetings & revivals
Blacks & whites attended
Church membership increased and new churches est.

27. Religion
Religion & Slavery





Early 1800s: Slavery denounced from pulpit
1830s: Slavery defended from the pulpit – eventually leads to a
N-S schism
If slaves attended church, they did so with their masters
Slave-only religious meetings were forbidden by masters
(delivery from bondage)
Secret meetings were still held

28. Religion
Separate Black Churches were founded during the
Antebellum Period:




African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME)
African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AME Zion)
1st founded in the North; opposed slavery
Real growth in the South didn’t occur until after the War

29. Southern Reforms
Penal Reform


1816: New law code abolishing cruel punishments
1817: GA opens a state penitentiary




Criminals were to repent (be penitent) of their drimes)
1818: GA furnished county jails with clothing, blankets, heat
and medical attention
1823: Law passed making it difficult to imprison people for not
paying their debts

30. Southern Reforms (cont’d)
Reforms for the Needy

1842: asylum for the insane was opened in Milledgeville

1847: School for the deaf opened at Cave Springs

1852: State takes responsibility for the Georgia Academy for
the Blind in Macon

31. http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/stories/dr_crawford
http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/story/king_cotton_
http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/stories/wesleyan_fe
http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/story/georgias_afric