The SOCIETY OF THE SOUTH in the Early Republic [APUSH Review Unit 4 Topic 13] Period 4: 1800-1848

Southern Culture in the Early Republic

Overview of Southern Society (1800-1848)

• The video introduces the topic of Southern culture during the early republic, emphasizing the significance of understanding this period within the AP U.S. History curriculum.

• While images of large cotton plantations and enslaved laborers dominate perceptions, most white farmers were actually yeoman farmers who worked their own land without enslaved individuals.

• Yeoman farmers occasionally challenged planter elites regarding slavery, particularly those on the western frontier who advocated for gradual abolition due to economic disadvantages.

Political Dynamics and Slavery

• Despite some opposition, cotton's dominance in the Southern economy limited political changes that could benefit yeoman farmers against elite planters.

• The Three-Fifths Compromise allowed states with large enslaved populations to have disproportionate representation in Congress, consolidating power among a small number of elite slaveholders.

• Planters maintained control by providing loans and employment to poorer whites, creating a dependency that discouraged challenges to slavery.

Ideological Justifications for Slavery

• In the 1830s, white planters promoted a unified ideology of white supremacy across different social classes in the South.

• Apologists like Thomas Dew argued for slavery's benefits, contrasting sharply with earlier Founding Fathers who had moral reservations about it.

Calhoun’s Defense of Slavery

• John C. Calhoun articulated a defense of slavery as beneficial for society; he claimed it was essential for maintaining stable political institutions.

• He asserted that no wealthy civilization existed without one part living off another's labor, framing slavery as a "positive good" rather than an evil.

Conclusion: Cultural Impact