Antebellum Unit Study Guide
1. Which group was made of wealthy, upper class planters who owned 20 or more
slaves? They gained their wealth from cash crops, such as cotton or rice. Elite
2. Which group owned small farms and might own a few slaves but worked alongside
them? The children may be educated at home. Independent Farmers
3. Which group was made of unskilled and uneducated individuals who often did not
own any land? The children of this class did not attend school and usually worked
to help provide for the family. Lower Class
4. Which group of people were unpaid labor workers that were bought, sold, and
considered the property of their masters? Enslaved African Americans
5. Which group of people were tradesmen, merchants, shopkeepers, doctors, and
lawyers? They may have owned a few slaves to do household chores. The children
were taught to read and write and may join their family’s business. Middle Class
6. Which group of people were usually skilled workers such as carpenters, tailors, and
shoemakers? Some were small farmers who had been given their freedom by their
master for some special deed or service. Some actually owned slaves. Free African
Americans
7. This cash crop was grown to create textiles and fabrics. cotton
8. The institution of slavery became stronger as a result of the invention of the cotton
gin.
9. The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney.
10.Explain the impact the cotton gin had on South Carolina. The cotton gin made it
easier to pick seeds from the cotton boll. This made cotton easier to clean, so
plantations began to plant more cotton which created a need for more slaves to do
the work.
11.As cotton became a more important cash crop, South Carolina farmers expanded
their farms and crops. This resulted in the spreading of slave labor farther west.
12. Slavery spread due to more crops planted when the cotton gin was invented.
13. Free African Americans did NOT want slave labor but:
Elite class wanted slave labor because they depended on it.
Middle class wanted slave labor because they desired to someday be a part of the elite class.
Lower class wanted slave labor because it made the feel as a higher class than enslaved
people.
.
14. What were people who wanted to end slavery called?
Abolitionists
15. The Underground Railroad was a route slaves took to escape to freedom.
16. Secede means to break away from a country.
17. South Carolina seceded because Lincoln was elected and the South feared he would abolish
slavery.
18. Some not all South Carolinians were happy about being separated from the country.
19. South Carolina was the first state to secede.
20. After seceding, Southern states called themselves the Confederate States of America.
1.