پنجشنبه ۲۲ شهریور ۰۳ | ۱۹:۱۳ ۸ بازديد
Whitney’s invention made it possible for Southerners to sell
their cotton cheaply. Factories in the North, and especially in
Great Britain, were now ready to buy all the cotton the South
could grow. Soon, planters started large plantations on rich lands
in the Mississippi and Alabama territories. Cotton quickly became
The cotton gin made cotton a profitable crop in the Southern states and territories.
9
the South’s most important crop. By 1820, the South grew one
hundred times as much cotton as it had raised before Eli Whitney
built his cotton gin.
To grow this cotton, the plantation owners
needed more laborers to plow, plant,
cultivate, and harvest. As a result, slaves
were in greater demand than ever. The
price of buying a slave doubled. Far from freeing their slaves,
Southern planters now sought to buy more slaves.
Vocabulary
cultivate, v. to help
grow
Chapter 2
The Life of the Slave
Slavery in the South What was
life like for slaves in the American
South? Much depended on where
they worked and who owned them.
Slaves on small farms usually worked
in the fields alongside their owners. They did many
other tasks, too. On a small farm, everyone did a little
bit of everything.
On large plantations, however, slaves usually did only one task.
A small number worked and lived in the great house with the
master’s family. These house servants cooked, cleaned, and did
other housework. They also helped raise the master’s children. Some
other slaves became skilled carpenters, blacksmiths, brick makers,
and barrel makers. By far, however, most slaves on a large plantation
worked in the fields.
10
The Big Question
How did slaves in the
South resist?
Enslaved men, women, and children worked in the fields on large plantations.11
12
Whether they lived on a small farm or a great plantation, slaves
worked from dawn until dusk. Hard work, however, is not what
made slavery a terrible thing. After all, many people who were
not slaves also worked hard.
No, what made slavery wrong was that
slaves were not free. They did not have,
as in the words of the Declaration of
Independence, the right to “life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.” Another person owned them
without their consent and was their master. Another person
owned their labor and the fruits of that labor.
An owner could treat his slaves like pieces of property. He could
buy them; he could sell them. He could sell some members of
a slave family and not others, or sell husbands and wives and
children to different buyers. In fact, three in every ten slave
families were broken up by such sales.
Slaves could be whipped for not working hard enough or fast
enough, or for not showing proper respect to members of their
owner’s family, or for many other small reasons—sometimes for
no reason at all. Not all owners were this cruel, but some certainly
were. Violence was essential to the slave system, or the slaves
would stop working for free and walk away.
In addition, slaves could not leave the plantation without their
owner’s permission. Only the kindest and most unusual of
owners allowed their slaves to be educated. In many states, it
was illegal to teach slaves to read and write. A famous slave
Vocabulary
consent, n. approval
or agreement
13
named Frederick Douglass later said he recovered his manhood
and humanity when he learned to read.
Slave Resistance
Slave owners told themselves, and anyone else who would listen,
that their slaves were happy. And probably some of these slave
owners actually believed that. Of course, if the slaves were really
their cotton cheaply. Factories in the North, and especially in
Great Britain, were now ready to buy all the cotton the South
could grow. Soon, planters started large plantations on rich lands
in the Mississippi and Alabama territories. Cotton quickly became
The cotton gin made cotton a profitable crop in the Southern states and territories.
the South’s most important crop. By 1820, the South grew one
hundred times as much cotton as it had raised before Eli Whitney
built his cotton gin.
To grow this cotton, the plantation owners
needed more laborers to plow, plant,
cultivate, and harvest. As a result, slaves
were in greater demand than ever. The
price of buying a slave doubled. Far from freeing their slaves,
Southern planters now sought to buy more slaves.
Vocabulary
cultivate, v. to help
grow
The Life of the Slave
Slavery in the South What was
life like for slaves in the American
South? Much depended on where
they worked and who owned them.
Slaves on small farms usually worked
in the fields alongside their owners. They did many
other tasks, too. On a small farm, everyone did a little
bit of everything.
On large plantations, however, slaves usually did only one task.
A small number worked and lived in the great house with the
master’s family. These house servants cooked, cleaned, and did
other housework. They also helped raise the master’s children. Some
other slaves became skilled carpenters, blacksmiths, brick makers,
and barrel makers. By far, however, most slaves on a large plantation
worked in the fields.
10
The Big Question
How did slaves in the
South resist?
Whether they lived on a small farm or a great plantation, slaves
worked from dawn until dusk. Hard work, however, is not what
made slavery a terrible thing. After all, many people who were
not slaves also worked hard.
No, what made slavery wrong was that
slaves were not free. They did not have,
as in the words of the Declaration of
Independence, the right to “life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.” Another person owned them
without their consent and was their master. Another person
owned their labor and the fruits of that labor.
An owner could treat his slaves like pieces of property. He could
buy them; he could sell them. He could sell some members of
a slave family and not others, or sell husbands and wives and
children to different buyers. In fact, three in every ten slave
families were broken up by such sales.
Slaves could be whipped for not working hard enough or fast
enough, or for not showing proper respect to members of their
owner’s family, or for many other small reasons—sometimes for
no reason at all. Not all owners were this cruel, but some certainly
were. Violence was essential to the slave system, or the slaves
would stop working for free and walk away.
In addition, slaves could not leave the plantation without their
owner’s permission. Only the kindest and most unusual of
owners allowed their slaves to be educated. In many states, it
was illegal to teach slaves to read and write. A famous slave
Vocabulary
consent, n. approval
or agreement
named Frederick Douglass later said he recovered his manhood
and humanity when he learned to read.
Slave Resistance
Slave owners told themselves, and anyone else who would listen,
that their slaves were happy. And probably some of these slave
owners actually believed that. Of course, if the slaves were really
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