Final answer:
The majority of white families in the South did not own slaves; instead, the institution of slavery was supported by a smaller, wealthy class of planters and poor whites who hoped to become slaveholders.
Step-by-step explanation:
The majority of white families in the South did not own slaves. Historical records indicate that by 1860, only about 3 percent of white Southerners enslaved more than fifty people, and two-thirds of white households in the South did not enslave any people at all. The white population in the South consisted largely of poor, landless individuals who aspired to own land and slaves as part of their American dream. However, the actual number of slaveholding families was quite small compared to the total white population. Owning slaves was a symbol of wealth and status, concentrated largely amongst wealthy planters, while poor whites often served in roles that supported the institution of slavery, such as overseers or patrols. This dynamic established a racial and economic hierarchy that defined the societal structure of the pre-Civil War South.