Expansion of Slavery, Cotton Plantations and The Deep South 1793-1838 Flashcards
How did Availability of Land expand slavery?
Louisiana purchase (1803), 530 millions new acres of land.
Large area for new plantations; these new plantations in the deep south became the heart of the ‘cotton kingdom’.
New land meant more territory which meant a need for more slaves for new plantations.
How did Speculation of businessmen expand slavery?
Land speculators from the North often bought land from the new territories, hoping to sell them for a good profit.
Most sold land to wealthy white investors who were keen to start plantations and hire slaves.
The land speculators never went to the deep south and so never had to be confronted with how slaves were treated.
The more speculators that brought land, the more plantations there were which meant there was a demand for more slaves.
How did the demand for cotton overseas increase slavery?
The demand from Britain for more raw cotton was high, leading to a need for more cotton to be picked, resulting in more slaves needed.
‘Cotton Kingdom’ - cotton was transported by sailing docks in New Orleans (centre of the cotton kingdom) which lead to Britain via the Atlantic ocean.
How did new technology increase slavery?
Cotton Gin, 1793 (Eli Whitney).
The machine sped up the cotton picking process by 50x. This meant more slaves were needed so that they could keep up with the speed that cotton was being picked at.
How did banks increase slavery?
President Andrew Jackson allowed banks to lend large amounts of money to cotton investors to help them to open more cotton plantations in the deep south.
What was the Missouri Compromise?
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 tried to stop the battle between slave and non-slave states.
-It drew a virtual line across the country. Any new states created in the west that fell below the line could be slave states, any above had to be free states.
-All territories in the west had to be FREE until they joined as states officially.
-For each slave state added a free state was added to keep the balance of power.
