HIST 119: The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877 Lecture 3 - A Southern World View: The Old South and Proslavery Ideology
Aug 18, 2017
Professor Blight, an expert on southern slavery and pro-slavery ideology, presents a compelling lecture on the Old South as a true 'slave society.' He outlines the internal slave trade that relocated thousands before the Civil War. The discussion highlights various aspects of the pro-slavery argument, including its biblical and economic justifications. Blight also critiques Southern society, referencing Tocqueville's observations on its stagnancy compared to the North, and delves into the moral complexities faced by figures defending slavery.
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South As A Full Slave Society
- The American South became one of five global "slave societies" where slavery structured almost every aspect of life.
- Blight ties this to high slave-to-population ratios and slavery shaping family, property, labor, and political institutions in the South.
U.S. Slavery Reproduced Itself Domestically
- U.S. slavery uniquely sustained itself by natural reproduction after the 1808 end of the international trade.
- Blight links climate, sex ratios, diet, and westward expansion as reasons enslaved populations reproduced domestically, fueling cotton profitability.
Wallace Turnage Sold Into The Cotton Southwest
- The domestic slave trade forcibly relocated roughly two million enslaved people from the Upper South to the cotton Southwest between 1820 and 1860.
- Blight recounts Wallace Turnage sold at 14 for $1,000 in Richmond and later resold, illustrating traders like Hector Davis and auction-house operations.