The Expansion of American Slavery
Background for Teachers:
Delegates to the Constitutional Convention grappled with the divisive issue of slavery in
1787. Southern delegates fiercely protected the institution of slavery in all of their negotiations
during the convention, whereas many northern delegates, such as Benjamin Franklin, believed
slavery would eventually come to a natural end. Southern delegates were able to secure a
guarantee that slave importation could not be banned until 1808 and passage of the fugitive slave
clause that prevented free states from emancipating escaped slaves. Part of the Great
Compromise achieved during the convention specified that slaves would be counted for 3/5 of a
person when apportioning a state’s population and direct taxes. This enabled slave states to
greatly increase their political power.
Events within the next few decades would halt the natural decline of slavery that many
had foreseen, and reverse its course. These changes prompted southerners to go from defending
the institution to promoting its spread into new territories. In 1790, there were roughly 700,000
slaves in the United States. By the eve of the Civil War, slaves numbered over 4,000,000. This
introductory activity leads students on a brief exploration of the reasons why southerners came to
behold slavery as a positive institution worthy of expansion rather than a necessary evil that
should be allowed to come to a natural end. Through the use of thematic maps, students will
examine the spread of cotton and the dramatic increase in the slave population.
Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, invented in 1793, revolutionized the southern cotton industry.
Using the machine allowed one person to clean 50 times more cotton than could be cleaned
without it. The machine, and many of its imitations, enabled cotton producers to profitably grow
new varieties of cotton in the deeper regions of the South and further west into Texas. Many
farmers, who previously grew other crops, converted their farms and plantations to cotton
production because of how profitable the crop became as a result of the cotton gin. Although the
cotton gin reduced labor needs in the seed removal phase, the increased production resulted in an
increase in labor needs in the planting, harvesting, and transporting phases of production.
The increased profitability of cotton does not fully explain its expansion, however. The
rise of cotton mills in the United States and particularly, England’s increasing demand for cotton
during the first few decades of the nineteenth-century helped spur the growth of the South’s
cotton industry. By 1820, cotton was becoming the preferred choice for clothing, surpassing
preferences for linen in England. At the beginning of the nineteenth-century, Americans
produced 18 million pounds of cotton and cotton accounted for approximately seven percent of
the nation’s total exports. By 1830, growers produced 300 million pounds of cotton and cotton
exports made up 41% of our nation’s exports. By 1860, Americans produced 1,700 million
pounds of cotton and cotton exports accounted for 57% of our nation’s exports. The South
produced 80% of the world’s cotton in 1860. Cotton was King in the South. 1
By 1820, political motivations also contributed to the spread of slavery. Just as
southerners began to promote the spread of slavery because of the cotton industry’s profitability,
1
Feldmeth, Greg D. "U.S. History Resources" http://www.polytechnic.org/faculty/gfeldmeth/USHistory.html
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a small, but growing number of northerners -- who were once tolerant of the institution they
expected to come to a natural end -- began to view its spread disapprovingly. The population in
northern states surpassed that of southern states. By 1820, northern representatives in Congress
outnumbered southern representatives, 108 to 81. As Americans pushed westward and settled
new areas, southerners ardently promoted the spread of slavery. The expansion of slavery
facilitated increased cotton production while enabling southerners to close the gap between
northern and southern representatives in congress. At the same time, it also intensified the
regional conflict over slavery.
History-Social Science Content Standards for California Public Schools:
8.7 Students analyze the divergent paths of the American people in the South from 1800 to the
mid-1850s and the challenges they faced.
Section 1. Describe the development of the agrarian economy in the South, identify the
locations of the cotton-producing states, and discuss the significance of cotton and the
cotton gin.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills
Chronological and Spatial Thinking
1. Students explain how major events are related to one another in time
3. Students use a variety of maps and documents to identify physical and cultural features of
neighborhoods, cities, states, and countries and to explain the historical migration of
people, expansion and disintegration of empires, and the growth of economic systems.
Historical Interpretation
1. Students explain the central issues and problems from the past, placing people and events
in a matrix of time and place.
3. Students explain the sources of historical continuity and how the combination of ideas
and events explains the emergence of new patterns.
6. Students interpret basic indicators of economic performance and conduct cost-benefit
analyses of economic and political issues
Procedure:
•
Divide students into groups of four and distribute copies of maps, graph, and questions to
each group. Direct students to study the handouts and answer questions. (If possible, create
laminated class sets of the handouts.)
•
Once each group has finished answering the questions, lead the entire class in a discussion of
the questions, while displaying large images of the maps and graphs being discussed, using
either a computer-projected image or an overhead transparency. While discussing the
expansion of slavery during the nineteenth-century, emphasize its main causes:
1. The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 and the increased profitability of cotton
production.
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2. The growing demand for cotton in the U.S. and especially England.
3. The South’s motivation to achieve parity with the North in congressional
representation.
Assessment/Extension:
You may wish to assign students individually, or working in pairs, to create a thematic
map of the United States between the years 1820 – 1860. Suggested topics: population and
congressional representation; crop production; and distribution of slaves.
•
Using an overhead transparency map of the United States, trace and label each state on an
11 X 18 piece of paper or poster board.
•
Identify the time period for your map.
•
Think of a theme for your map. Look through your history textbook and other resource
books for ideas. It could be about the population of each state, crops produced, or the
distribution of slaves.
•
Create a key with symbols to identify your selected theme.
•
Plan how you will complete your map. Make it accurate, neat, and colorful!
Selected Bibliography
Faragher, John Mack, et al. Out of Many: History of the American People, 4th
ed. Teaching Resources. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2003.
Fogel, Robert. Without Consent or Contract: The Rise and Fall of American Slavery.
New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1989.
Mabunda, L. Mpho, Editor. The African American Almanac, 7th ed.
Detroit: Gale Group, 1997.
National Geographic Society. Historical Atlas of the United States, Revised ed.
Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1993.
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The Expansion of American Slavery
Directions: Using the maps and graphs available at your table, answer the following
questions about the expansion of slavery during the nineteenth-century. Record your
answers on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Describe the South’s agricultural production (Sources A, B, & C)
in 1820:
in 1860:
2. What changes occurred between 1820 and 1860? (Sources A, B, & C)
3. How did Eli Whitney’s cotton gin affect cotton production in the South? (Source D)
4. As cotton production increased over time, what happened to its percentage of
America’s total exports? (Exports are the goods and products the U.S. sells to other
countries). (Source E).
5. What happened to America’s slave population between 1790 and 1860? (Source E)
6. Compare the distribution of slaves with cotton production. (Sources F & G)
a) Which southern states had the heaviest concentration of slaves? List the top 5
b) What connection do you see between a state’s cotton production and
distribution of slaves? (Look back at Source D to help answer this question)
7. By 1820, slavery was illegal in northern states. Many in the North who hoped slavery
would come to a natural end became very concerned when they saw the South
extending slavery into new areas. At that time, northern states held 108 congressional
seats in Congress, while the South held only 81.
a) Which region had more power in congress?
b) Why was the South motivated to establish more slave states as the nation
expanded?
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Source A: Cotton Production, 1820.
Historical Atlas of the United States, Revised Edition. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society. 1993. P. 133.
Source B: Cotton Production, 1860.
Historical Atlas of the United States, Revised Edition. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society. 1993. P. 133.
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Source C: Cotton Production by Individual States: 1791 – 1859. (In millions of pounds)
Data Source: Bruchey, Stuart. Cotton and the Growth of the American Economy 1790-1860. Atlanta: Harcourt, Brace & World Inc, 1967.
State
1791
North Carolina
1801
1811
1821
1826
1833
1834
1839
1849
1859
4
7
10
10
10
9.5
51.9
29.5
64.6
South Carolina
1.5
20
40
50
70
73
65.5
61.7
120
141
Georgia
0.5
10
20
45
75
88
75
163.4
199.6
312.3
2
15
20
12.1
18
29.9
Florida
Alabama
20
45
65
85
117.1
225.8
440.5
Mississippi
10
20
70
85
193.2
194
535.1
10
38
55
62
153.9
71.5
311
23.2
193.1
Louisiana
2
Texas
Arkansas
0.5
0.8
0.5
6
26.1
163
Tennessee
1
3
20
45
50
45
27.7
77.8
132
Other States
1.5
8
12
25
13
10
4.5
1.6
24.7
36.5
80
177
330.5
439.8
457.5
791.5
987.1
2347.2
Totals
2
Source D: Eli Whitney’s Invention.
Historical Atlas of the United States, Revised Edition. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society. 1993. p. 132.
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Source E: Comparing Cotton Production & Exports to U.S. Slave Population
Part One: Cotton Production and U. S. Exports
Feldmeth, Greg D. "U.S. History Resources" http://www.polytechnic.org/faculty/gfeldmeth/USHistory.html
Cotton Exported
(in pounds)
Dollar Value of
Cotton Exported
Percentage of Total
U. S. Exports
1800
18 million
$5,000,000
7%
1830
300 million
$30,000,000
41%
1860
1,700 million
$191,000,000
57%
By 1860, eighty percent of the world’s cotton came from the South. England was the main
importer of U.S. cotton.
Part Two: U. S. Slave Population
Year
Total U.S. Slave Population
1790
700,000
1820
1,500,000
1860
4,000,000
Source F: Slave Population, 1820 – 1860
Teaching Resource map from Out of Many: History of the American People, 4/e. Faragher, John Mack et al. New Jersey: Pearson
Education, Inc. 2003.
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Source G. Population Patterns in the South, 1850.
Teaching Resource map from Out of Many: History of the American People, 4/e. Faragher, John Mack et al. New Jersey: Pearson
Education, Inc. 2003.
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Copyright © 2004 UC Regents
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Camille Leonhardt for