Final answer:
Most nineteenth-century, white Southerners belonged to a social class known as planters who were wealthy landowners and part of the planter elite.
Step-by-step explanation:
Most nineteenth-century, white Southerners belonged to a social class known as
planters. Planters were wealthy landowners who owned large plantations and relied heavily on enslaved labor for their agricultural production. They were part of the planter elite and held significant political and economic power in the Southern society. Unlike yeoman farmers, who were independent landowners, and poor Whites, who had minimal wealth and land, the planters controlled the majority of the South's wealth and dominated the social hierarchy during this time.
Learn more about Social Studies