Welcome to a Revolution

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Chapter 4 The Cotton Kingdom Created by Tara
Green Alabama The History, Geography,
Economics, and Civics of an American State by
Dr. Leah Atkins and Dr. Harvey H. Jackson,III
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• The frontier period lasted a long time in
  Alabama. Most Alabama families lived far apart
  (isolated). The majority of families made their
  living through agriculture (farming). They either
  raised their own food or produced lots of cotton
  to sell at market. African Americans made up
  almost ½ of Alabamas population in 1860. Most
  lived on farms and were slaves.

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Colonists react
Chapter 4The Cotton Kingdom
Yeoman Farmers VS. Planters
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Chapter 4The Cotton Kingdom

• Yeoman Farmers
• They lived on small farms and tried to produce
  food for the family to eat.
• Yeoman farmers tried to survive on what they
  could make or grow (self sufficient).
• CORN was their most important crop. They also
  planted many other crops, along with raising
  animals such as pigs, chickens, and cows.
• Everyone in the family had a job. Even children
  fed animals, shelled peas, and combed the seeds
  from cotton.
• They usually planted just enough cotton for the
  women to use for clothing. The women would spin
  the cotton into thread and weave it into cloth
  called homespun.
• Some farmers may have also sold a bale or two to
  buy the things they could not grow.

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Chapter 4The Cotton Kingdom

• Yeoman Farmers
• Yeoman farmers had to buy things like coffee,
  tools, plows, nails, medicines, sewing needles,
  strong thread, scissors, cooking utensils, shoes
  (though most shoes were made on the
  farm-brogans), bolts of fabric, and iron
  skillets. They may by wheat flour, but it was
  very expensive. Most bread was made from
  cornmeal.
• The yeoman farmer was the backbone of Alabama
  during the 19th century. He didnt have much
  money, was not educated, and couldnt afford the
  finer things in lifebut he could vote! There
  were more yeoman farmers than the wealthy
  planters so their voice was heard.
• Planters could influence him but not control him!

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Chapter 4The Cotton Kingdom

• Planters
• Planters lived on plantations. They may have
  raised some food, but they mostly planted cotton.
• They grew enough cotton to sell at market which
  is called commercial agriculture (farming to sell
  for money)
• Most of these plantations were located near
  rivers so boats could come by and pick up the
  cotton.
• The wife of a planter had slaves to help in the
  kitchen and with housework, but they also had to
  make sure everyone on the plantation (black and
  white) were fed, clothed, and cared for when
  sick.
• A planters children may have odd jobs, but
  slaves did most of the work

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The Cotton Kingdom Lesson 1

• Discuss and answer the following question
• How did most Alabamians make their living during
  this time period?
• Who were yeoman farmers?
• What did Alabama farmers grow during this time?
• How did the children of yeoman farmers help?
• Who usually looked after the sick on a
  plantation?

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Alabama Territory and State

• Discuss and answer the following question
• During this time period, most Alabamians made
  their living by farming (agriculture).
• The yeoman farmers lived on small farms where the
  goal was to produce food for the family and be
  self-sufficient.
• Alabama farmers grew corn, along with beans,
  peas, squash, potatoes, melons, and a little
  cotton.
• The children of yeoman farmers helped by feeding
  and caring for the animals, planted, and picked
  and combed cotton.
• The wife of a planter usually looked after the
  sick on a plantation.

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Lesson 1 Activity

• Venn Diagram
• Step 1 On a sheet of chart paper, your group
  should compare and contrast the life of a yeoman
  farmer and that of a plantation owner (planter).
  Use as many details from the textbook as possible
• Step 2 Read page 111 in your textbook with your
  group members and discuss what life would be like
  if you lived during this time period.
• Step 3 Answer the following question on your
  chart paper by using the question as part of your
  answer
• Would you rather be the child of a yeoman
  farmer or a plantation owner? Explain why you
  feel this way.
• Extension On your chart paper, illustrate a day
  on a yeoman farmers farm and a day on a
  plantation.

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Africans in Alabama

• The 1st slaves in America arrived in Virginia in
  1619 aboard a Dutch ship.
• 1721- the French needed workers in Mobile, so
  slaves were brought on the French ship Africane.

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Africans in Alabama

• The trip on a slave ship was terrible! Men and
  women were shackled to the ship in crowded areas
  and given very little to eat (meager rations)
• Once on land, they usually walked to their new
  homes, possibly tied together so they could not
  run away (coffle).

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Africans in Alabama

• Some families were separated when they were
  sold.
• Alabamas law stated that children were not to be
  separated from their mothersbut sometimes they
  were.
• Fathers were often sold and forced to leave their
  families.

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Africans in Alabama

• Africans brought to Alabama were people with
  strong oral traditions. They would often gather
  at night and the elders would tell stories from
  Africa, passed down by their family members.
• African folkways (ways of thinking/ feeling/
  acting) still remained in the slave culture food
  cooked, superstitions, songs, and stories

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Africans in Alabama

• Slaves were made to do most of the physical work
  on a plantation planted, hoed, harvested,
  chopped cotton, built barns, mended fences,
  tended the garden, and took care of animals,
  wagons, and the tools.
• They lived in small 1 room houses (slave
  quarters) grouped together behind the masters
  house (the big house).

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Africans in Alabama

• Their culture helped them get through the
  hardships of slavery. They expressed their
  culture in many ways- made instruments, (drums,
  gourd fiddles, banjos) sang songs, danced,
  created African pottery, and told stories.
• By the 19th century, most slaves had adopted
  Christianity, but often gave it African flavor.

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Africans in Alabama

• To get married, slaves had to ask their master
  for permission, which almost always was granted.
  Most masters wanted slaves to live in families
  and raise children.
• Some were married by a minister, but others were
  married by their master. They were often allowed
  to have a small celebration in their quarters.

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Africans in Alabama

• The slaves that labored in the fields ate and
  left early in the morning.
• They worked ALL day, only stopping for a small
  lunch.
• They would get home just as the sun went down.
• Slaves were also blacksmiths, carpenters, brick
  masons, and architects.

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Africans in Alabama

• Slaves wore simple clothes
• Young boys/girls wore straight dresses (shifts).
• Men wore shirts with no collars and held up their
  pants with a draw cord.
• Women wore blouses and skirts.
• Slaves working in the big house were often
  given hand-me-downs to wear.
• The masters wife sewed all the clothes for the
  family and slaves.

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Africans in Alabama

• Slaves were usually given enough food.
• They were given cornmeal and salt pork.
• Vegetables and fruits were often grown on a small
  garden in the quarters.
• Sweets came from honey and syrup made from cane
  grown on the plantation.

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Africans in Alabama

• The majority of Alabamians did not own slaves.
• In 1860 - 437,271 slaves were owned by 33,730
  (6.4 of the white population)
• Slavery was an expensive, but profitable system
  of labor.
• It forced planters to spend money buying labor
  (workers).
• Slavery was a part of that time, and some feared
  what may happen in the future without it.

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Africans in Alabama

• Some free blacks in Alabama raised cotton to be
  sold at market. Others worked as skilled
  laborers.
• Free blacks typically lived in cities because
  their freedom was protected there by the
  community that knew them.

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The Cotton Kingdom Lesson 2

• Discuss and answer the following question
• When and how did the 1st slaves come to Alabama?
• How did the slave owners keep slaves from running
  away?
• What are some African folkways that continued in
  America?
• Where did the slaves live on the plantation?
• What part did slavery play in Alabamas economic
  development?

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The Cotton Kingdom Lesson 2

• Discuss and answer the following question
• The 1st slaves come to Alabama in 1721 on the
  French ship Africane.
• The slave owners kept slaves from running away by
  tying them together with ropes in a coffle.
• Some African folkways that continued in America
  were superstitions, songs, and stories.
• The slaves lived in small 1 room houses grouped
  together on the plantation (slave quarters).
• 5. Slavery was an expensive, but profitable
  system of labor that forced planters to spend
  money buying labor (workers).

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Lesson 2 Activity

• 1 Pager
• Step 1 In the middle of a sheet of paper, you
  should illustrate an event experienced by a
  slave. Use your textbook pictures to guide you.
  Illustration must be true to the time period.
• Step 2 Any where on the paper, write 5 words
  that you think are important in learning the
  information in this lesson. These words can be
  words used in the textbook.
• Step 3 At the top of the page-write 3 facts
  about slavery you learned in the lesson. Be sure
  these facts are meaningful to this lesson on
  slavery in Alabama.
• Step 3 Answer the following question at the
  bottom of your paper by using the question as
  part of your answer
• What is your opinion of slavery? Validate your
  opinion by using details from the text.

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Chapter 4The Cotton Kingdom Lesson 3

• Towns and Commerce
• Plantation owners usually ordered their goods
  from a broker in a large town (Mobile, New
  Orleans)
• Alabama did have many small towns that also
  provided goods and services for people. In each
  small town there were stores owned by merchants,
  inns for travelers, millinery shop (hats, lace,
  feathers, ribbon), doctors (but no hospitals),
  and a general dry goods store.
• In each county, 1 town was designated county
  seat. This is where the courthouse was located
  and all legal documents were handled.
• Mobile was the largest town, mostly due to its
  busy seaport. Montgomery was the 2nd largest town
  in Alabama.

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Chapter 4The Cotton Kingdom Lesson 3

• Transportation
• Alabama rivers provided the 1st major
  transportation system within the state.
• Steamboats on the Al. rivers were important to
  the growth of Al.s economy. Steam engines could
  push boats upriver against the current. They
  could carry large amounts of cotton.
• Some areas had no navigable rivers, but there
  were a some dirt roads, few brick roads, and
  toll roads (had to pay to use them). Alabama
  citizens began paying taxes to work on the roads
  and build bridges and ferries.
• 1st Alabama railroad was built in 1830 and was
  2 miles long. In 1832 a 2nd railroad was built
  and was connected to other states (Tennessee and
  South Carolina) by 1847. By 1860, railroad
  connections allowed travel between Georgia,
  Alabama, and Florida.

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Chapter 4The Cotton Kingdom Lesson 3

• Industry and Manufacturing
• Alabama was mostly a farming (agricultural)
  state, some industry did develop.
• Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793.
• Daniel Pratt was one of Al.s most famous
  industrialist (owners or managers of factories).
  He learned how to make cotton gins and came to
  Alabama in 1833 to build a small factory north of
  Montgomery. A town grew around the factory and it
  was named Prattville. He went on to build a
  textile mill (windows, doors, and blinds) and
  employed both white and slave labor.
• Alabama was rich in natural resources- iron ore,
  coal, limestone, and some deposits of gold.

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Chapter 4The Cotton Kingdom Lesson 3

• Horace King Bridge Builder
• He was the most celebrated bridge builder in
  Alabama.
• He was a slave that was owned by a well known
  South Carolina bridge builder.
• He fist built many bridges as a slave and then
  as a free man when he was given freedom.
• In 1852, he worked on the new capitol on Dexter
  Avenue in Montgomery. He probably built the
  curving staircases in the west lobby.

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The Cotton Kingdom Lesson 3

• Discuss and answer the following question
• What shops and services did a town in Alabama
  offer at this time?
• What was the largest town in Alabama in 1846?
• What form of transportation was important to the
  economic development in Al.?
• When was the 1st railroad built in Alabama? How
  long was it?
• Who was Alabamas most famous industrialist?

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The Cotton Kingdom Lesson 3

• Discuss and answer the following question
• Towns in Alabama had stores owned by merchants,
  inns for travelers, millinery shop (hats, lace,
  feathers, ribbon), doctors (but no hospitals),
  and a general dry goods store. at this time?
• The largest town in Alabama in 1846 was Mobile?
• Steamboats were the form of transportation
  important to the economic development in Al.?
• The 1st railroad was built in 1830 built in
  Alabama and was 2iles long.
• Daniel Pratt was Alabamas most famous
  industrialist.

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Chapter 4The Cotton Kingdom Lesson 4

• William Rufus King
• Born in 1786 in North Carolina
• Became a lawyer in 1806
• Moved to Alabama in 1818 and built a plantation
  on the Alabama Rivernow called Kings Bend
• Served on Alabamas 1st constitutional
  convention and later became one of the states
  1st U.S. senators
• Was selected in 1852 by Franklin Pierce to run
  for vice president. They won the election.
• 1853- he became infected with tuberculosis and
  was too ill to attend the inauguration. He took
  the oath in Cubs where he had gone to recover.
• He was not recovering, so he returned to Alabama
  and died a day after his arrival.

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Chapter 4The Cotton Kingdom Lesson 4

• Education
• In Alabama there was no state school system.
  Local communities supported schools financed by
  16th section lands (land set aside for school).
• Wealthier children in towns went to academies.
  (one for boys/one for girls)
• It was difficult for children in rural areas to
  go to school. Mothers often taught their children
  to read, write, and figure at home.
• Wealthy families may have hired a tutor (teacher
  paid to teach children at home).
• Several families might hire a teacher. The men
  would build a 1 room log cabin, and children of
  all ages would be taught together.

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Chapter 4The Cotton Kingdom Lesson 4

• Education
• Mobile had the best school system in the state.
• Alexander B. Meek, a Mobile legislator,
  sponsored a law that created an Alabama school
  system in 1854. William Perry was elected to be
  superintendant.
• 1856-Alabama Education Association was organized
  to promote education.
• Teachers were poorly paid and poorly trained.
  School terms were short with very few books.
• Only about half the children in Alabama attended
  any school.

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Chapter 4The Cotton Kingdom Lesson 4

• Alabama in 1860
• Cotton prices were HIGH!
• Life was good for the yeoman farmers and
  planters!
• Slaves yearned for freedom and some heard about
  the abolitionistss (people who wanted to end
  slavery) demands that slavery be limited and
  slaves set free.
• They wanted new states entering the Union to be
  free states.
• There was talk from southern states of secession
  (to break away from or leave a group).
• Secession would come, war would follow, and
  times would get hard for everyone.

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The Cotton Kingdom Lesson 4

• Discuss and answer the following question
• Where did children go to school in Alabama during
  the early and mid-1800s?
• Which city had the best school system?
• When was the Alabama Public School System
  established? By whom?
• What is an abolitionist?

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The Cotton Kingdom Lesson 4

• Discuss and answer the following question
• In Alabama during the early and mid-1800s ,
  children went to school in 1 room log cabins that
  taught children of all ages.
• Mobile had the best school system.
• The Alabama Public School System was established
  in 1854 by William Perry.
• An abolitionist is someone that doesnt support
  slavery and wants it to end.

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Lesson 3 4 Activity

• 4 squares
• Then and Now
• Step 1 Fold a piece so that there are 4
  divided squares when unfolded. Trace the
  dividing lines with a black crayon/colored
  pencil.
• Step 2 Head each section with one each
  Town/Commerce, Transportation, Industry/Manufactur
  ing, Education.
• Step 3 At the top of each section, write a
  statement about the particular heading during the
  1800s. At the bottom of each section, write a
  statement about that particular heading now in
  the present day.
• Step 3 In the center of the square, illustrate
  either then or now

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Lesson 3 4 Activity

• 4 squares
• Then and Now EXAMPLE

Towns/Commerce Transportation
Industry/Manufacturing Education ThenSchools were a 1 room log cabin with all aged children. NowSchools have many rooms with only children of one particular grade.