Final answer:
Most yeomen in the antebellum South focused on farming corn and wheat for subsistence, unlike the large plantation systems that were dependent on the labor of enslaved people for cash crops like cotton and tobacco.
Step-by-step explanation:
Most upcountry yeomen during the antebellum period, particularly in the Southern United States, focused on cultivating crops that were suitable for small scale farming and were crucial for their subsistence and local economy. The most common crops they focused on were corn and wheat, rather than the cash crops like tobacco, cotton, and rice that were typically grown on large plantations. Yeomen farmers worked their own land and were less likely to own enslaved laborers, therefore tending to produce crops that required less labor-intensive methods compared to cash crops. In contrast, large plantation crops such as cotton and tobacco were heavily dependent on the labor of enslaved people and were the driving force behind the Southern economy.