1. What factors account for the tremendous growth in cotton cultivation from 1790 to 1860?
Answer: Several factors contributed to the tremendous growth in cotton cultivation from 1790 to 1860. One of the most significant factors was the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, which made it possible to process cotton more quickly and efficiently. This led to a huge increase in demand for cotton, both in the United States and in Europe. Additionally, the expansion of the textile industry in Britain and the United States created a large market for cotton, and the availability of cheap land in the southern United States made it profitable for farmers to grow large quantities of cotton.
2. What was more important to creating the distinctiveness of the Old South, its economics or its culture?
Answer: Both the economics and the culture of the Old South were important in creating its distinctiveness. The plantation economy, based on the cultivation of cash crops such as cotton, tobacco, and sugar, shaped the region's economy and social structure. However, the culture of the Old South, which emphasized ideas such as honor, patriarchy, and a hierarchical social order, was also important in shaping the region's identity.
3. There were relatively few free persons of color and few urban slaves when compared to the vast majority of rural slaves. What is significant about their experiences?
Answer: The experiences of free persons of color and urban slaves were significant because they provide examples of how some individuals were able to carve out a degree of independence and autonomy within the confines of the slave system. Free persons of color faced significant legal and social barriers, but some were able to own property and businesses, and even to own slaves themselves. Urban slaves had more opportunities for education and social interaction than rural slaves, although they still faced many restrictions on their freedom.
4. What made ideas about race so powerful that poor whites in the Old South seemingly ignored their own economic interests to support slavery and the disproportionate benefits it provided the relatively small number of planter elite?
Answer: Ideas about race were powerful in the Old South because they were deeply ingrained in the culture and social structure of the region. Poor whites may have supported slavery because they saw it as a way to maintain their social status and prevent African Americans from competing with them for jobs and resources. Additionally, many poor whites may have believed that slavery was a natural and necessary institution, and that it was justified by the supposed inferiority of African Americans.
5. Why is it important to learn about slave rebellions in the Old South, even though in the nineteenth century there were only three major ones, and none succeeded?
Answer: Learning about slave rebellions in the Old South is important because it helps us to understand the ways in which enslaved people resisted their bondage and fought for their freedom. Even though most slave rebellions were unsuccessful, they still had a significant impact on the institution of slavery and on the broader struggle for civil rights and freedom. Additionally, studying slave rebellions helps us to recognize the agency and humanity of enslaved people, and to challenge the idea that they were passive victims of an oppressive system.