...1 .Antebellum Period summary: The Antebellum Period in American history is generally considered to be the period before the civil war and after the War of 1812, although some historians expand it to all the years from the adoption of the Constitution in 1789 to the beginning of the Civil War. It was characterized by the rise of abolition and the gradual polarization of the country between abolitionists and supporters of slavery. During this same time, the country’s economy began shifting in the north to manufacturing as the Industrial Revolution began, while in the south, a cotton boom made plantations the center of the economy. The annexation of new territory and western expansion saw the reinforcement of American individualism and of Manifest...
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...The Antebellum period was the period of time after the revolution until the American Civil war. During this time slavery was at an all time high in the south. Cotton became King and had social and economic repercussions throughout the south and rest of the world. It also had a large impact on the lives of slaves along with the lives of non slaves in the southern states. Cotton was in high demand in the beginning of the 1800’s. This was caused by Britain and the Northern states industrial revolutions need for cotton. Coastal plantations needed a new crop to replace indigo. Long staple sea island cotton was able to replace it. The hand cranked gins were effective at removing the seeds. The back country wanted to get in on the cotton trade. The...
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...During the antebellum period the South claimed that slavery was not only benign but profitable. These claims have led to a large dived in historians with the majority opposing the South’s claims however the majority are not always right. Well known historians still stand on the side of the Southerners claims, historians including Ulrich Phillips and Fogel and Engerman, arguing that the conditions so often used to discredit slavery are the rare cases of extreme nature and should not be used to make the Southerners claims any less accurate. Countless times power has been abused throughout history, obviously not making it right, but in most cases during the antebellum period slaves lived in similar conditions to most Americans. The conditions of slavery stayed benign and the extreme cases remained rare. The fact that slaves were expensive is proof that masters would not waste them if they were to remain profitable. Plantation masters were entrepreneurial business men and not as Eugene Genovese described them ‘paternalistic’. Focused on making capital it is clear that the South was correct to describe slavery as profitable as it remains on the same level as those in the north invested in industry. The idea that the Southerners claims were inaccurate due to extreme cases seems ridiculous and remains why in the majority of cases the Southerners claims that in the antebellum period slavery was benign and profitable. The Southerners claim that slavery was benign and similar of...
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...The experiences that women of the antebellum period were similar because all female were denied of rights that the men had the privilege to. During the antebellum era, women of both colors, black and white, experienced the same segregation from men. All women of color were responsible of domestic work such as taking care of the children, the house, and the whole family in general. “All women were expected to be the guardian of nursery and companion of childhood.” (Doc F) This caused the women of the antebellum period to be confined in their homes and rarely show their faces to the public much less have a part in politics, leaving them with little to no opportunities that are given to the men. Which leads to the next topic about equal opportunities...
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...Southern claims in the antebellum period that slavery was benign and profitable?” ------------------------------------------------- By 1850 the issues surrounding slavery had dominated American politics because it was such a divisive issue in the antebellum period. Slavery was extremely important to Southern economics where ‘plantation’ farming had been established and laws passed which meant that all Negro slaves would be slaves for life. In the North, however, they found it easy to rid themselves of slavery and many states began to oppose slavery. Another important and again divisive question is was slavery benign or malignant and also was it profitable? In the antebellum period there were Southern claims that slavery was both benign and profitable. This claim can be argued to be partly accurate, but there are, however, other claims that slavery was malignant and unprofitable. This essay will weigh up and evaluate the evidence under the terms of punishments, revolts, living conditions and profitability before coming to the conclusion as to whether slavery was benign and profitable or malignant and unprofitable. An important aspect to consider when determining whether or not the Southern claims that slavery was benign in the antebellum period were accurate or not is the punishments faced by slaves. It has been argued that slaves were controlled through rewards rather than physical punishments. Historians Fogel and Engerman backed up the antebellum Southern view in the...
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...In 1794 Eli Whitney invented one of the most significant machines in United States history, the cotton gin. What the cotton gin did was that it allowed cotton to be picked faster and easier. This influx of cotton aided the North in the manufacturing side, which led to a stable and reliable economy, and later a stable U.S. government. Because of the stabilizing U.S., many critics consider the Antebellum Period (1825-1850) as dull, characterless, and constant. However, through social discipline, education, and alcohol temperance, one can adjust to see that the reform movements during the Antebellum Period actually expanded democratic ideals. The Antebellum Period was marked and progressed along a time where no social discipline existed. During...
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...For my antebellum cartoon, I chose Hoff & Bloed’s “Effects of the Fugitive-Slave-Law”. The Fugitive Slave Law (also known as the Fugitive Slave Act) was passed in 1850 as part of the compromise between slave owning states and non-slave owning states. This law granted slave owners permission to go through any means to find their runaway slave, even if the said slave is in a Free State. In this cartoon, the audience can notice four black men running away from a group of heated white men. This cartoon is a perfect representation of how it was like to live as a black individual during this time. The primary issue I believe this cartoon is focussing on is discrimination. According to pbs.org, “Blacks who had been living in freedom for years, were...
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...colonial era working life of women was non-existent. In colonial era women stayed at home taking care of children and managing house. In antebellum period working lives of women changed. Women were now working in factories, mills and women who stayed home gained social significance. In late 19th century women work shifted from farm and household to workplace and business. The working lives of the women changed due to Revolutionary War, Civil War and Industrialization. All the Wars and changes made women realize that they can become independent and they were capable of managing their house and work. In colonial era women’s had no working life....
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...Slavery and American Economic Development. Gavin Wright. LSU Press. 2006. 162 pp. $25 paper. ISBN: 978-0807131831, Gavin Wright’s Slavery and American Economic Development is a read that dwells deep into American slavery and deep south economy. The book recollects the impact of slavery on the American South during the 19th century. Gavin Wright presents his work through an examination of slavery as an economic establishment that help convince the reader that salves were viewed as property. Wright’s central point in the book is what he calls “property rights”, which slaves are property first, and humans second. He believes that this is the reason for the South’s slave economy economy during the antebellum period and how it boomed throughout the time period. Using this as a theme, Wright creates the distinction between slavery as a form of work and slavery as property rights. This allows the southerners to treat their slaves as a form of property that they can control and will not have any consequences if one “breaks down”. This free labor allowed the plantation owners to put the slaves to work for free in such harsh condition. These conditions would never attract free labor and it allowed them to views the slaves as property. Labeling them as property and inferior helped justify their brutal tactics when controlling their plantations. Another point Wright makes in his book is when he compares the economic growth of the workforce in the north with the slaves and...
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...“A Rose for Emily.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, edited by Michael Meyer, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2017, pp. 78.) As HistoryNet claims, the antebellum period is “……characterized by the rise of abolition and the gradual polarization of the country between abolitionists and supporters of slavery;” ("Antebellum Period." HistoryNet. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.”) unquestionably, Faulkner authenticates the great troubles between the North and the South without hesitation as well as the animosity of Miss...
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...ANTEBELLUM TEXAS. In the drama of Texas history the period of early statehood, from 1846 to 1861, appears largely as an interlude between two great adventures-the Republic of Texas and the Civil War.qqv These fifteen years did indeed lack the excitement and romance of the experiment in nationhood and the "Lost Cause" of the Confederacy. Events and developments during the period, however, were critical in shaping the Lone Star State as part of the antebellum South. By 1861 Texas was so like the other Southern states economically, socially, and politically that it joined them in secessionqv and war. Antebellum Texans cast their lot with the Old South and in the process gave their state an indelibly Southern heritage. When President Anson Jonesqv lowered the flag of the republic for the last time in February 1846, the framework for the development of Texas over the next fifteen years was already constructed. The great majority of the new state's approximately 100,000 white inhabitants were natives of the South, who, as they settled in the eastern timberlands and south central plains, had built a life as similar as possible to that experienced in their home states. Their economy, dependent on agriculture, was concentrated first on subsistence farming and herding and then on production of cotton as a cash crop. This meant the introduction of what southerners called their "Peculiar Institution"-slavery.qv In 1846 Texas had more than 30,000 black slaves and produced an even larger number...
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...In any story, one will always find a setting, for it surrounds the very story itself. In further detail, a setting is the environment of a work of art, which includes the location, time period and circumstances of the story. Like all other literature, and works of art in general, The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass includes one, specifically one in the immersed in an antebellum United States of America. In The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, the setting contributes a massive portion to the story. That book takes place in The United States before the American Civil War, and focused on the life of former slave Frederick Douglass. The story chronicles the timeline of his life, including events like him being taught to read...
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...Antebellum Louisiana Assignment Dodie Huval 1. The major societal levels (social order) of Antebellum are as follows: a. Large Planters – Sugar cane, tobacco, rice, indigo, cotton – Labor Intensive Crops i. 10% of Population – top of Socio-Economical Chain ii. Less than 10% Of Louisiana’s Planter Population owned more than 500 slaves iii. Controlled 90% of wealth iv. Most educated because there were no public schools until 1868; educated children abroad v. Plantation owners, very self-sufficient; vi. Didn’t mistreat slaves- slaves = money/investment b. Professional Class vii. 15% of Population viii. Doctors ix. Lawyers x. Store keepers xi. Bankers xii. Insurance Agents 1. Placed below planters because if the planters have economic downturn, so would the professional class 2. Their income was dependent upon planters c. Small Farmers xiii. 75% Of people (majority) xiv. Corn, wheat, potatoes, and livestock – subsistence farming xv. Meager living xvi. If they owned slaves, they worked side by side with them xvii. Education done at home by mom, dad, or elders xviii. Self Sufficient – when not farming, hunting to supplement income with fur trade xix. Weren’t very wealthy, but weren’t hungry either d. Slaves xx. Bottom of...
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...Rape During The Antebellum Period The first African slaves arrived in Virginia, North America in 1619. As the plantations of the antebellum south flourished, the African slave trade gained momentum. Between the 16 and 19th centuries, America had an estimated 12 million African slaves (Slavery in the United States, Junius P. Rodriguez ). Enslavement of the African Americans formally commenced in the 1630s and 1640s. By 1740, colonial America had a fully developed slavery system in place, granting slave owners an absolute and tyrannical life-and-death authority over their slaves or 'chattels' and their children (Slavery in the United States, Junius P. Rodriguez ). Stripped of any identity or rights, enslaved black men and women were considered legal non-persons, except in the event of a crime committed. Documents and research on the slave era in the antebellum south are awash with horror stories of the brutal and inhuman treatment of slaves, particularly women (Slavery in the United States, Junius P. Rodriguez). Considered 'properties' by their masters, enslaved black women endured physical and emotional abuse, torture, and sometimes even death. By the 1800s, slavery had percolated down mainly to the antebellum south. While a majority of enslaved men and women were designated as 'field servants' performing duties outside the house, a smaller percentage, particularly women were employed as domestics or 'house servants', mammies and surrogate mothers. In the absence of any security...
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...Cheryl Brooks Revision Eng 434 November 6, 2013 The Bloomer Costume: Who Else Wears the Pants? The Emerging Woman of the Antebellum Period! Introduction For social activist, Amelia Bloomer, bloomers served as a uniform of women’s liberation in America. Whether it was luck or fate, the trend-setting slacks worn for comfort catapulted change in the arena of fashion and politics. Ridiculed by the public, mocked in cartoons, and denied entrance into political meetings, Amelia was admired and encouraged by her liberal-minded husband to be true to herself and to use her talent of writing to change the world. In this paper, I will argue that the Bloomer Costume provided America with a symbolism for comprehending a new kind of woman emerging on the scene during the Antebellum Period. The Bloomer Costume lithograph is one of the few pictures published by Currier and Ives depicting a female exemplifying beauty, strength, confidence, individualism and power, while striving to have a voice in society. At the time that bloomers were worn by Amelia Bloomer, our country began to witness the rise of the woman. Women in America were beginning to speak out for their right to be heard and considered in society. I will offer an interpretation of how the pants worn by Amelia Bloomer helped to fuel the Women’s Movement of the Antebellum Period. The History of the Bloomer Fashion and Dress Reform Bloomers are a man-like trouser worn underneath a shorter skirt. Although Amelia...
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