Question

In 1850, a majority of southern slaveholders owned how many slaves?

1) 1 to 5
2) 6 to 10
3) 15 to 20
4) 25 to 30
5) least 35

Answer 1

In 1850, most southern slaveholders owned 1 to 9 slaves, with the largest group of White people in the South owning no slaves at all.

Step-by-step explanation:

In 1850, the majority of southern slaveholders owned relatively few slaves. A substantial portion of these slaveholders fell into a category that enslaved between one and nine people each. Looking closely at the historical documents and the context of the times, it becomes clear that while a small number of slaveholders might have owned larger numbers of slaves, the largest group of White people in the South actually enslaved no one at all, indicating that the prevalence of slave ownership in the South was not as widespread as sometimes assumed. Moreover, with the evolution of the southern economy and the reliance on commodities like cotton, which saw a boom in the 1850s, the instances of slavery became more concentrated among a smaller percentage of the population that could afford the rising prices of slaves.