Chapter 4

1. Chapter 4 Politics, Slavery, and Antebellum Society

2. Chapter 4 Section 1Politics • Objectives • The learner will be able to understand the changes in the Constitution of 1832

3. Politics • Politics play an important role in history • Elections determine which candidates are voted into offices or jobs • Politics also make people take sides • Causing divisions in society • Also raises the issues that most concern people • What are the two biggest political parties in Mississippi?

4. Capital of Mississippi • Jackson, Mississippi • “Jackson Mississippi City of Soul” is the city slogan • Population of 539,057 • Most populous city in Mississippi • Who was Mississippi named after? • Andrew Jackson

5. State Capital • Location of the capital was the 1st issue to reveal divisions in society in Antebellum Mississippi • Antebellum means “before the war” in the U.S. especially in the South it means before the Civil War • 1798 Natchez was the capital, because it was already a substantial frontier settlement. • 1802 political rivalry led to the relocation of the territorial capital to Washington, located 6 miles east of Natchez • No capital building was built in either city

6. State Capital • In 1817, Mississippi state constitutional convention held the 1st session of legislature in Natchez • Most Mississippians lived in the Natchez District • Small farmers and townspeople throughout the state wanted a state capital closer to them • Believed Washington was too small • Also wanted to move the capital away from the influence of merchants and planters of Natchez

7. State Capital • In 1821 Mississippi’s legislature formed a committee to locate a capital in the center of the state • The committee chose LeFleur’s Bluff on the Pearl River • Louis Lefleur traded with the Choctaw here • Town was named Jackson, previously called LeFleur’s Bluff • Honoring the hero of the battle of New Orleans • Andrew Jackson 7thpresident 1829-1837 • Streets were quickly laid out in grid pattern • Houses and public buildings were built • First state legislature met in Jackson for the 1st time in Dec. 1822

8. State Capital • Jackson remained a small town for decades • In 1840 a capital building was built for the legislature and a mansion for the governor • Governor still lives in the mansion • The Old Capital was replaced by the New Capital at the beginning of the 20th century and is now a museum . • Old Capital is now a museum

9. The Constitution of 1832 • America had many political changes during the early 19th century • Property ownership requirement to vote was eliminated • Meant that all adult white men could vote and hold office • Time period was referred to “Era of the Common Man” • Wealth and education no longer guaranteed access to positions of authority • Wealthy and educated held office because they were elected by the poor and uneducated • Most visible evidence was Andrew Jackson. Pg 79

10. Constitution of 1832 • Some Important changes in the constitution of 1832 • Judges were elected by the people for specific terms instead of being appointed for life • State offices also became elective. • Representation in both houses of legislature was determined by population • One provision banned slaves coming into MS, “If to be sold” • Passed a law to enforce it, but was never applied • Slavery was important to the South but, slavery also became a troubling issue • Some question the morality of owning people • Others feared possibility of slave revolts • Society would be divided between wealthy slave owners and the poor

11. Local Governments • State government was important but county government met most of the needs of the citizens • After 1832 a board of police was elected to govern each county. • Board levied taxes for county operations, and imposed special taxes to construct courthouses and jails also supported the poor • Appointed supervisors to build and maintain roads and bridges, operated public schools open to all white children. • Approved people to operate hotels, run ferries, or sell alcohol • Page 80 (1-3) It’s your turn

12. Chapter 4 Section 2 • Objectives • The learner will be able to identify the treaties for the acquisition of Native American land

13. Section 2 Acquisition of Native American Land • The growth of Mississippi was made possible by the removal of Native Americans • Showed the greed of Americans and their uncaring attitude towards the natives • Tension rose between white settlers and natives because more and more settlers were moving west. • By 1840, most Native Americans had ceded “given up” their land to the government and left the state.

14. Assimilation • Government first wanted a policy called assimilation • Theory that if Native Americans relied on farming rather than hunting, they would need less land and could then co-exist with the settlers • Natives weren’t given time to change nor did they want to change • After the War of 1812 U.S. government gave up assimilation because • They thought the natives might side with either the British or the Spanish in their disputes with the United States. • The native tribes were beginning to unite. • Land speculators, settlers, and squatters wanted all natives moved west of the Mississippi River, so more land was available

15. Federal Treaties • To get the Indians to move west what did the government do? • Government negotiated a series of treaties • Which eventually required the Choctaw and Chickasaw to leave Mississippi • In 1783, their were only the Chickasaw, and Choctaw left in Mississippi, the Choctaw was the largest tribe in Mississippi. • Mississippi territory was established in 1798 when Spain gave up its hold over the Natchez District

16. Treaty of Fort Adams • In 1801, 1st treaty in a series of treaties where the Choctaw ceded their land • U.S. received almost 3 million acres of land and the right to build a road(Natchez Trace) through Choctaw territory • The Choctaw received several thousand dollars worth of merchandise and the promise that non-Native Americans would be removed from their land • Promise WAS NOT KEPT

17. Treaty of Mount Dexter • In 1805 • U.S. received over 4 million acres of land in south Mississippi • In exchange the U.S. would cancel the debts Native Americans owed people who traded with them, and give annual pensions to various Native American leaders. • Even after the Choctaw helped the U.S. against the British and the Creeks, the pressure to acquire their land continued • Page 82

18. Treaty of Doak’s Stand • Gave the United State’s 5 million acres • This included the area where Jackson is located • Choctaw was promised the land west of the Mississippi • Rejected the land because it was not suitable for hunting and had already been settled by whites • Pushmataha and other Choctaw chiefs, travel to Washington to renegotiate the treaty • Pushmataha died there and received a military funeral

19. Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek • After Andrew Jackson became president • Federal government insisted the Native Americans be subject to state laws and state courts • Was signed in 1830 • The Choctaw ceded the rest of their land(over 10 million acres) and agreed to move to what is now Oklahoma • Treaty was negotiated by Greenwood LeFlore • Choctaw numbered in the 18,000s, several hundred whites, and about 500 black slaves • Provision in the treaty allowed Native Americans to register with the government to obtain land • So difficult most families couldn’t get land (less than 70 families were able to do so.) • Page 84

20. Treaty of Pontotoc Creek • Chickasaw numbers were less than 5,000 Indians, and a thousand black slaves • Signed the treaty in 1832 • The Chickasaw ceded their lands in North Mississippi to the federal government and moved West

21. Trail of Tears • Native American walk to Oklahoma • Called trail of tears because the number of people who died along the way. • The Trail of Tears is a name given to the forced relocation and movement of Native American nations from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830. • Many Native Americans suffered from exposure, disease and starvation on the route to their destinations. Many died, including 60,000 of the 130,000

22. Trail of Tears • In 1831 the Choctaw were the first to be removed • 2nd were the Seminole in 1832 • 3rd were the Creek in 1834, • 4th were the Chickasaw in 1837 • The Choctaw are found in Mississippi, the Seminole in Florida, the Creek in Alabama, and the Cherokee in North Carolina. • By 1837, 46,000 Native Americans from these southeastern states had been removed from their homelands thereby opening 25 million acres of land • Page 85 (1-4) It’s your turn

23. Section 3Slavery in Mississippi • Native Americans and African Americans were slaves • Natives Americans were forced off their landsand confined to reservations • African Americans were brought to America as slaves • Their descendants labored for generations before becoming free • Tribes in Africa would sell their enemies to the Europeans into slavery

24. The Black Code • Early 18th century French brought African slaves to Louisiana • Soon there was enough slaves to require legislation • Governor Bienville issued a set of laws called the Black Code • For Slaves -Marriage, ownership of property , travel and gathering in groups were severely restricted • Any attempts to escape were punished cruelly

25. The Black Code • The Black Codedid provide some protection to slaves • Husbands and wives couldn’t be separated or children under the age of 14 from their parents • Owners could not mistreat their slaves or free slaves when they were old or sick leaving them helpless • Slaves could not be forced to work on Sundays or religious holidays • A freed slave received all the privileges of any free citizen

26. The Black Code • Fort Rosalie was a French settlement and prospered because of slave labor • Slaves cleared the land and raised tobacco and indigo • Some slaves helped the Natchez Indians destroy the fort in 1729 • Nobody knows what happened to the slaves • The French used black troops • After the French lost the Natchez District to the English, the African American population grew slowly • Pg 87

27. The Black Code • At the out break of the American revolution 1 out of 5 settlers was black in Mississippi • More arrived in Mississippi, during the Revolution from South Carolina as British Loyalists fled • After the Revolution, The black population under Spanish rule increased, slaves soon made up 40% of the people living in the district

28. Cotton Production and Slave Labor • Agriculture and lumber products continued to be the main occupations for slaves • Food products, tobacco, indigo, and cotton provided cash income for farmers • Who invented the Cotton gin and when? • Eli Whitney in 1793 • What did the Cotton gin do? • Made it easier to separate cotton seeds from the cotton fibers

29. Cotton Gin in Mississippi • Designs of the cotton gin were brought to Mississippi and put together by slaves • They designed and built the first cotton gin • Cotton became the primary cash crop in the South • King Cotton is an accurate description of its importance to Mississippi

30. Cotton Production in Mississippi • Why was Mississippi well suited to the production of cotton • The land was fertile • Growing season was long • Many navigable streams made it economical to ship cotton • Where was most cotton grown at in Mississippi? • Large plantations • Slave were concentrated in MS where most cotton was being produced

31. Working and Living conditions for Slaves • Did all types of work; most tasks involved the production of cotton • Land had to be cleared, and soil broken down and prepared for planting, needed to keep up with the planting(weeds, thin cotton plants), and picked • Cooked and cleaned, tended livestock, made clothes, and cared for small children • Skilled Slaves worked as blacksmiths carpenters, and brick masons • Could be hired out to other plantations or townspeople, could earn money to buy their freedom

32. Working and Living conditions for Slaves • Slaves were always supervised • Overseer was hired if the owner did not live on the farm • Slave drivers often supervised work of a group of slaves • Work began at sunrise and work went until sunset • Work days were longer during harvest time • Women spun thread or weave cloth at night • Sunday was normally a day of rest • Some plantations the work week ended Saturday at noon • Christmas was a holiday that lasted for several days

33. Working and Living conditions for Slaves • Owners enforced discipline and work rules many ways • Slaves could be whipped • Incentives were offered for good work • Extra clothing, pocket knives, time off work, party or money • Ate meals together • Pork, corn were most important part of diet • Fruits, vegetables, game, and fish • Small amount of food • Basic diet wasn’t necessarily nutritious enough to maintain good health

34. Working and Living conditions for Slaves • Medical care was provided by owners • Usually a doctor was called in for major cases • Medical knowledge wasn’t very advanced • Treatment could do more harm than good • Housing depended on the age of the plantation • On a new plantation slaves houses were very simple • Log cabins, no windows or floors, only furniture were bunks and chairs

35. Working and Living conditions for Slaves • On older plantations houses were in better conditions • Houses had brick chimneys, windows, wooden floors, • Cabins could be made of brick • Cabins were used for mainly sleeping where men, women, and children slept together without privacy • Owners learned that it was better to allow families to share a cabin

36. Slave Community • According to the law of Mississippi, slaves were considered property without rights, and specific restrictions • The Black Code the French put in place no longer existed • Families could be broken up at any time(parents or children) • Needed written permission to leave plantation • Were not supposed to learn to read or write • Any gathering had to have a white observer • Slaves could not testify in court

37. Slave Community • With these restrictions, slaves struggled to create a secure and stable community • Most lived on farms and plantations with more slaves which allowed them to create a small society • Slave marriages had no legal basis, but strong bonds held husbands and wives and parents and children together • They all looked out for each other, and did learn to read and write • Slaves adopted and adapted Christianity • Slave owners saw religion as a way to control slaves

38. Slave Resistance • Slaves resisted their owners • Sometimes resistance was open • Owners died at slaves hands • Families were poisoned at dinner • Slaves ran away • In 1831, Nat Turner a slave preacher, led a revolt which resulted in the death of at least sixty whites and 100 blacks • Owners feared slave revolts, so much that even a rumor resulted in beatings and executions

39. Slave Resistance • In Madison County, 1835, both slaves and owners were killed because there were fears about a revolt • Ways slaves got back at their owners • Valuable machinery broke down • Barns, cotton gins, and bales of cotton were burned • Work passed slowed

40. Free African Americans • Not all blacks in Mississippi were slaves • Most lived in towns like Natchez, and Vicksburg, and worked many different types jobs • Most famous free black was William Johnson of Natchez, a barber, who owned town lots, a farm and slaves • Restrictions of free blacks • Slavescouldn’t be freed unless owners provided funds for the freed slaves to leave the state • Slaves had to leave state unless they were granted permission to stay by the board of police

41. Antebellum Mississippi SocietySection 4 • The removal of the Choctaw and Chickasaw from Mississippi in the 1830s sparked a land boom and a population explosion • 30 new counties were formed • In 4 years speculators and settlers bought seven million acres of land • Mississippi’s population grew more rapidly than the nation’s population

42. Mississippi’s Economy • In antebellum Mississippi Prosperity was everywhere • Land was cheap • And price of cotton was high • Banks extended easy credit and issued paper money far in excess of the specie (gold and Silver) in their vaults. • Boom ended abruptly, followed by the most severe economic depression faced by the U.S. up to that time • Andrew Jackson carried the state because he was so popular • President Jackson’s policies were what brought economic disaster to Mississippi

43. Mississippi’s Economy • Jackson battled to destroy the second Bank of the United States (1816-1836) which handled financial transactions for the federal government and issued paper money • Jackson had all the federal government’s funds withdrawn and transferred to certain state banks called “pet banks” • Planter’s Bank of Natchez established in 1830 was one of these pet banks • These state banks increased the amount of paper money in circulation which stimulated the economy

44. Mississippi’s Economy • These bank notes were not face value because the banks didn’t have enough specie to back them up • Settlers and speculators used the bank notes to buy federal land • The Specie Circular of 1836 required that government land be paid for with specie rather than paper money • Distribution Act required the surplus in the federal treasury paid to states in specie • When the “pet banks” could not provide the gold and silver, the banks collapsed

45. Mississippi’s Economy • By 1837 the Planters Bank could no longer redeem its paper money with specie • The Panic of 1837 led to depression of 1837-1841 • Depression hit Mississippi hard • Federal government foreclosed on land bought on credit • Cotton prices tumbled • Banks disappeared and didn’t re-open until after the Civil War • Bonds guaranteed by the state were no longer valid and remain unpaid to this day • Property owners lost land because they couldn’t pay their taxes

46. Transportation • Travel and communication were slow and difficult within the state • Roads were dirt, and mud • A pulled wagon could only travel 20 miles a day on good condition • The health of Mississippi’s economy depended on transportation • Steam boats carried cotton and other goods on the Mississippi River • And smaller rivers the Yazoo, Big Black, Pearl, and Tombigbee

47. Transportation • Poor roads made travel difficult, eventually railroads solved the land transportation problems • Was not easy to build railroads in Mississippi, because bridges had to be built over creeks and streams • Raising money was difficult, and especially after the Panic of 1837 • 2 Stages of Railroad production • First railroad built was to bring cotton to a river port • Rails were laid in short tracks from small town to small town

48. Transportation • Smaller town recognized the economic importance of bringing cotton to their towns • So small towns tried to built railroads to Jackson • Vicksburg and Jackson rail line was the most successful in the state • Began operation in 1838 • Second stage occurred when small railroads were combined with the main lines joining the major cities of the nation • New Orleans ( where most of MS cotton was shipped) and Mobile both secured lines with the north making then important cotton towns

49. Education • Public education developed slowly in Mississippi, because most counties couldn’t afford to spend money • After 1836 the state authorized counties to fund schools • By 1860 30,000 white children were attending school • School terms were short rarely lasting more than 3 months • Only the basics were taught reading, writing, and arithmetic • High education was the responsibility of private and religious organizations

50. Education and Religion • Southerners are known to be religious people • Many Christians denominations established churches in Mississippi • The largest were the Methodist and Baptists • Presbyterians, and Catholics were also well established