Why Did Southern Slaves Not Rebel More Often? Discuss.

Why Southern Slaves didn’t rebel often

Name of Writer

Affiliations

The southern cites of the United States are located at the intersection of Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The area is known for its significant water supply and hence was historically a Trading place. The city of New Orleans had one of the most active ports in the area, which means more opportunities for traders to enforce slavery. Like in Caribbean states, the settlers also started enslaving labours in the early 18th century. The main economic income of the southern states was its cotton production. This was a major source of income for French and British colonists in the area. British textile industry depended on this region for its growth and revenue. This was one of the main reasons the colonists opposed and didn't allow to enter the political and economic power of the north. There was also a difference in the lifestyles of the north and the south. The south was more polite and noble, while the north was focused on the accumulation of money.

Reasons for Benefits

Later, the seven year war which began in North America spread to Europe but made no effect on French-occupied Louisiana. During the American Revolution, the north was inspired by the abolitionists, their influenced grew from just little opposition to strong-armed movements against slavery. However, in fear of losing the agricultural hub of America, the white southerners rose against the movements with their logic of institutional behaviours. Bringing economic stability, biblical resources, racial superiority over black and a need for a well-disciplined and well-run society. The white-dominant south continued to insist on the inferiority of blacks and racial superiority of whites. For many years, the economy was based on the agricultural development and outcomes. This resulted in the increased economy of Britain and in turn, they legalized slavery. Slavery was a morally, ethically and socially acceptable institution of the colonial era. They controlled this system through legalized Jim Crow Laws which were the collection of local and state laws that allowed racial segregation. The south was big and wealthy, its cotton production made it the largest cotton producer in the entire world. This was the reason the colonists didn't allow any movement in the south because their real investment were those slaves rather than the land of the south itself. One of the main factors of increase in slavery was the invention of the cotton gin.

The number of slaves living in the United States were almost 700,000 and were worth an estimated $210m in today’s market. Before the American Revolution, tobacco along with cotton was the main crop of Southern USA. Its production was up to 1.5 million pounds by 1639 and by the end of the century, was producing more than 20 million pounds of tobacco per year and similar was the case with cotton as well. These were the reasons; White southerners didn't want any revolt among the slaves. One thing that should be kept in mind while knowing this, is that these were not mere agricultural products, rather whole government system was dependent on it. To carry more material, bigger ships and better navigation system was required. More powerful engines and weaving machines for clothing were required. In short, the economy of Settlers was mostly dependent on southern slaves and their work.

Differences that stood out

One of the reasons, the southern slaves didn't revolt was their familiarity with the plantation environment. They were comfortable with agricultural uses and customs. Although, they would continuously try to be free of the fear of the unknown, they themselves and their families would let them down in their pursuit. The Environment in the north was different as there were more factories than farms, and skills were important to work in these farms. The factories in the north were usually occupied by the people from Europe as they would come to the northern states in America and work on the factories. These immigrants were already skilled, but the locals or African slaves were not skilled enough and they knew that they wouldn’t find many opportunities to work in a factory. The north continued to move towards a factory minded world, the south continued to be a plantation and agriculture-based world. The southern states were created as economic ventures and their job was to create wealth for Britain through intensive labour on the field. While on the other hand, most of the northern colonies were self-sustaining and there was a great variety of economic options. In the north, the economic dependence was diverse which helped in building strong relations among them.

One other reason was that the north was more diverse and educated. With education, there is a will of freedom and self-respect. This gives more courage and channels to convey your voice to others. As compared to that, the south was poorer and communication means were less, that is why there was no cohesion and unity between people even if there were some struggles for freedom. In the south, only children of plantation owners used to get any significant form of education. However, on the other hand, basic schooling was available for everyone which means that even the poorest in the society were able to get some education. The Southern states were farther apart from each other with significant distance between towns and cities. There was interdependence in the north and more of independence in the south. The south also believed in the church of England while the north was Baptist and wider in diversity. Most of the farms in the south were owned by wealthy families that had strong connections with the British government. The northern states have a relatively low number of slaves while the southern states comprised of the majority of slaves present in the United States. While the northern slaves were thinking of the abolition of slavery, the southern states increased their economic dependence on the institutions of slavery. Their Ideas about the government also differed, the southern states wanted individual states to have more power while the northern states wanted to have a more centralized type of government.

One another difference was in the terrain of northern and southern states. The northern states are hillier while the southern states are flat and levelled. This means that the slaves' rebellion in the northern states had more chance of succeess because of natural help. They were more familiar with the geographical location of the area and hence got more chance of hiding and fighting back strongly. On the other hand, the southern states had more plain area and lacked significant hilly areas which made it less feasible for southern slaves to revolt. One significant factor that also favoured the northern slaves and went against southern slaves was their number. The southern slaves were huge in number, so organizing and keeping them intact was also very difficult. The northern slaves due to their lesser number found it easy to organize their forces and kept them intact. The large number in southern states and huge revenue generated by them also meant that the British kept a close eye on them. Furthermore, the British ownership of most lands and their relation to British monarchs meant that they were well protected and prepared for any consequences in advance.

Resistance

The slaves on individual levels have always tried to run away from their masters and become maroons. The act of running away was the most common form of resistance as the colonist would block any type of political support from outside. However, there was some organized form of revolt as well. The major examples of these include: Samba Bambara conspiracy, Antonio Cofi Mina conspiracy and the 1811 slave revolt. Many people have encouraged southern people to revolt and stand against slavery. Willis Hodges commented on the irony of slaveholding to encourage the oppressed minority by saying "slave of the south, now is your time". He asked the people to strike against slavery and at once against the governor who himself was one of the largest slaveholders in Louisiana. As slave has nothing to lose but everything to gain, a slave's freedom is everything to him, his pride and wealth everything lies in his freedom. Many notable revolts stood up against the settlers at that time but because of lack of proper communications system, travelling and proper organizations, they failed to mark a significant impact. A significant group of around 70 black men stood up and killed almost 60 whites in two days. But later were overwhelmed by the state military forces. One form of resistance is to preserve your culture and religion. African American slaves kept their culture and conventions throughout, which in itself, established a type of resistance. These slaves shared common religion, music, dance, and language among themselves and their families. These types of acts were used as a method for helping troubles, supporting expectation, building a network, and opposing control over their consciousness.

Different Slave revolts continued to provide persistent dismay in the American South, predominantly since coloured slaves represented more than 33% of the entire regional population. Most slave rebellions happened outside the larger plantation fields i.e. in bigger urban communities or territories of little commute. In these regions, the control over slaves was predominantly less and as a result, they were freer to do rebellious things that were not possible in the southern states.

Conclusion

Slavery in the south was more common than it was in the northern states of America. But a higher British control over the distribution of wealth and power meant that people were more confined in the south. There were a different set of rules through which slavery was officially legalized and monitored. Less development in the south meant that there were fewer opportunities for forces in the south to gather and execute a plan as compared to that of slaves in the north. Less education, less infrastructure, less communicational means and little diversity meant that the people in the south were more confined to their limits. Direct British control also meant that there fewer chances for any rebellion to take place in the first place. If in any case, some revolts took place it was dealt with immediately by the government militia. After different movements and wars, the whites of the south were even then not acceptable to believe in the freedom and termed it as a necessary evil. They conveyed that they would like to abolish the system it is still necessary for the development and progress of America.

References List

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Editors, History com, ‘Jim Crow Laws’, HISTORY <https://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/jim-crow-laws> [accessed 5 October 2019]

‘Free Blacks Address the Enslaved: Resist, Run Away, . . . Revolt? 1843-1858’, 4

Timmons, Greg, ‘How Slavery Became the Economic Engine of the South’, HISTORY <https://www.history.com/news/slavery-profitable-southern-economy> [accessed 5 October 2019]