Regional+Societies+Group+8

1. Explain the significance of Eli Whitney’s cotton Gin (p. 263). 2. Explain 4 reasons why industrialization developed more slowly in the South than in the North (p. 264). 3. Describe and differentiate between 3 major classes of white southern society: wealthy planters, yeoman farmers, very poor (pp. 265-266). 4. Describe what life was like for free African Americans in the South (p. 270).



The two types of cotton are long-staple and short-staple cotton. Long-staple cotton is much easier to process than short-staple cotton, but unlike short-staple cotton it grows well only in small regions. The cotton gin (short for cotton engine) was created to make it easier to separate the seeds from short-staple cotton bolls.
 * 1. What are the two types of cotton? What are the differences between the two? **
 * 2. Why was the cotton gin created? **



Cotton was not heavily exported prior to the invention of cotton gin because long-staple cotton, the predominant type of cotton, was very hard to process.
 * 3. Why was cotton not heavily exported before the invention of the cotton gin? **

The "Cotton Boom" - a dramatic increase in production of cotton in the South. The number of slaves in the South grew from 500,000 in 1790 to 4 million in 1860
 * 4. What impact did the cotton gin make on the United States? **

Any of the following:
 * 5. List and explain some of the reasons for slow industrialization in the South. **
 * Most southern investors put their money in land and slaves rather than in new factories
 * Planters used their influence to discourage states from imposing taxes to fund improvements that might have promoted manufacturing.
 * Factory workers were in short supply because the region's reliance on slave labor discouraged immigrants from coming to the South.
 * The market for manufactured goods suffered from the fact that slaves and poor whites (the bulk of the rural population) had little or no purchasing power.


 * 6. List some of the chara[[image:http://www.garden-services.com/gallery/garden_clipart/images/farmer%20bob.jpg width="373" height="613" align="left"]]cteristics of //antebellum// (pre-Civil War) wealthy planters in the South. **
 * Only few of them had more than 20 slaves
 * The richest ones lived elegantly in beautiful mansions
 * The plantation owners were kept busy managing the plantation
 * The planters' wives supervised the food preparation, housecleaning, mending, spinning; they kept track of household finances, cared for the sick, supervised the house slaves, and often taught the children
 * The planters' wives did not do any hard physical work


 * 7. List some of the characteristics of //antebellum// (pre-Civil War) small farmers (a.k.a. //yeoman farmers//) in the South. **
 * Made up the majority of southern white society
 * Most lived on fertile lands
 * Often lacked easy access to markets
 * Raised cattle and pigs; sold crops for cash
 * Most had no slaves, but some managed to buy a few


 * 8. List some of the characteristics of //antebellum// (pre-Civil War) poor white southerners. **
 * Farmed the least productive soil
 * Lived in rough cabins, ate poorly, sometimes suffered from medical problems
 * Owned no slaves
 * Survived by hunting, fishing, farming, and raising pigs


 * 9. Describe the life of free African America[[image:http://www.casahistoria.net/USAStitleF.jpg width="205" height="264" align="left"]]ns in the South **


 * By 1860 some 260,000 free African Americans lived in the South


 * Some had never been enslaved, while other worked extra hours to earn their and their relatives' freedom


 * Some worked as skilled craftspeople, domestic cooks and servants


 * A small minority of free African Americans became landowners and some even purchased slave


 * 10. In what ways did white southerners restricted the rights of free African Americans? **
 * The free African Americans to carry identification passes to prove that they were not runaway slaves
 * They were not permitted to vote, hold public meetings, carry weapons, or testify in court against whites
 * In many places, free African Americans could not go into business for themselves or learn how to read and write
 * Unemployed African Americans could be sold into servitude for months or even years