HST 202 Lecture Notes - Jury Trial, Utah Territory, Fugitive Slave Laws
Document Summary
Sectionalism: when geographic regions have a common political identity. Idealized southern plantation : slaves working peacefully, men in charge, women as ladylike southern belles, full household staff, acted like a giant famil. Reality in the south : 20 slaves were required to call a farm a plantation, majority of slave owners did not own large numbers of slaves, women had to walk a fine line. King cotton: cotton production rapidly expanded across the deep south, supplied american and european factories with raw materials, used gang system created by plantation owners to harvest. Gang 1: strongest men and women who went first to set the pace. Gang 2: slower hands, women, and adolescents who followed. Trash gang: children, pregnant women, and elderly who cleaned up. Life of slaves : difficult and painful to pick cotton, beating and violence, had no rights and were considered property, women were raped and no one cared.
