Chapter 4: The Cotton Kingdom Created by Tara Green

Chapter 4: The Cotton Kingdom

Created by Tara Green“Alabama: The History, Geography,

Economics, and Civics of an American State” by Dr. Leah Atkins and Dr. Harvey H.

Jackson,III

Chapter 4 Vocabulary• homespun• coffle• toll roads• industrialist• tutor• sixteenth section lands• abolitionist

homespun

• A loosely woven fabric made of linen or wool

coffle

• A train of slaves fastened together

Toll roads

• One must pay a fee to use

industrialist

• Owners or managers of factories

tutor

• A teacher

Sixteenth section lands

• Units of surveyed land, often set aside for schools

Abolitionist

• People who do not support slavery

Chapter 3 Vocabulary

• homespun• coffle• toll roads• industrialist• tutor• sixteenth section

lands• abolitionist

Play games and test your vocabulary knowledge

http://www.classtools.net/mob/quiz_70/Chapter_4_Vocabulary_mnmsM.htm





The Cotton Kingdom• 6. Identify cultural, economic,

and political aspects of the lifestyles of early nineteenth-century farmers, plantation owners, slaves, and townspeople.

• OUTCOME: compare and contrast the life of a yeoman farmer and that of a plantation owner

The Cotton Kingdom

• Before Activity: 1 Word Review

Think of all you have learned about the early Americans living in Alabama. THINK of one word to describe this group of settlers.

Be ready to share with your group/class.

Chapter 4 Lesson1

• CLOSE Read• Listen and read

along as your teacher reads the 1st paragraph on page 107.

Chapter 4 Lesson1• CLOSE Read• Think about the meaning

of sparsely, isolated, agriculture, yeoman, and plantations. Reread the 1st paragraph on page 107 and use context clues to determine the meaning of these words.

• Discuss with your group members.

Chapter 4 Lesson1• CLOSE Read• ON YOUR OWN : Reread

the 1st paragraph on page 107. Put this information in your own words in a few sentences. Be ready to share with your group/class.

The frontier period lasted a long time in Alabama. Most Alabama families lived far apart (isolated). The majority of families made their living through agriculture (farming). They either raised their own food or produced lots of cotton to sell at market. African Americans made up almost ½ of Alabama’s population in 1860. Most lived on farms and were slaves.

Colonists react…

Yeoman Farmers

VS.

Planters

Chapter 4:The Cotton Kingdom

Chapter 4:The Cotton KingdomYeoman Farmers

•They lived on small farms and tried to produce food for the family to eat.

•Yeoman farmers tried to survive on what they could make or grow (self sufficient).

•CORN was their most important crop. They also planted many other crops, along with raising animals such as pigs, chickens, and cows.

•Everyone in the family had a job. Even children fed animals, shelled peas, and combed the seeds from cotton.

•They usually planted just enough cotton for the women to use for clothing. The women would spin the cotton into thread and weave it into cloth called homespun.

•Some farmers may have also sold a bale or two to buy the things they could not grow.

Chapter 4:The Cotton KingdomYeoman Farmers

•Yeoman farmers had to buy things like coffee, tools, plows, nails, medicines, sewing needles, strong thread, scissors, cooking utensils, shoes (though most shoes were made on the farm-brogans), bolts of fabric, and iron skillets. They may by wheat flour, but it was very expensive. Most bread was made from cornmeal.

•The yeoman farmer was the backbone of Alabama during the 19th century. He didn’t have much money, was not educated, and couldn’t afford the finer things in life…but he could vote! There were more yeoman farmers than the wealthy planters so their voice was heard.

•Planters could influence him but not control him!

Chapter 4:The Cotton KingdomPlanters

•Planters lived on plantations. They may have raised some food, but they mostly planted cotton.

•They grew enough cotton to sell at market which is called commercial agriculture (farming to sell for money)

•Most of these plantations were located near rivers so boats could come by and pick up the cotton.

•The wife of a planter had slaves to help in the kitchen and with housework, but they also had to make sure everyone on the plantation (black and white) were fed, clothed, and cared for when sick.

•A planter’s children may have odd jobs, but slaves did most of the work

The Cotton Kingdom: Lesson 1

Discuss and answer the following question:

1. How did most Alabamians make their living during this time period?

2. Who were yeoman farmers?3. What did Alabama farmers grow

during this time?4. How did the children of yeoman

farmers help?5. Who usually looked after the sick

on a plantation?

Alabama: Territory and State


1. During this time period, most Alabamians made their living by farming (agriculture).

2. The yeoman farmers lived on small farms where the goal was to produce food for the family and be self-sufficient.

3. Alabama farmers grew corn, along with beans, peas, squash, potatoes, melons, and a little cotton.

4. The children of yeoman farmers helped by feeding and caring for the animals, planted, and picked and combed cotton.

5. The wife of a planter usually looked after the sick on a plantation.

Lesson 1: Activity Venn Diagram

Step 1: On a sheet of chart paper, your group should compare and contrast the life of a yeoman farmer and that of a plantation owner (planter). Use as many details from the textbook as possibleStep 2: Read page 111 in your textbook with your group members and discuss what life would be like if you lived during this time period.Step 3: Answer the following question on your chart paper by using the question as part of your answer:

Would you rather be the child of a yeoman farmer or a plantation owner? Explain why you feel this way.

Extension: On your chart paper, illustrate a day on a yeoman farmer’s farm and a day on a plantation.

The Cotton Kingdom

• Before Activity: “Think, Turn, and Talk”

We have talked about European settlers and their influences on Alabama and now about the settlers. None of them are African American. What do you think was the reason that people came from Africa to Alabama?


Chapter 4 Lesson2


along as your teacher reads page 113.

Chapter 4 Lesson 2

CLOSE Read• Think about this

question: How/Why do you think the Africans came to Alabama?

• Re read page 113 with your group…discuss after reading

Chapter 4 Lesson2

CLOSE Read• How/Why do you think the

Africans came to Alabama?• Re read page 113 on your

own. Be ready to share the sentences containing the evidence that helps you answer the question above.

Africans in Alabama• The 1st slaves in

America arrived in Virginia in 1619 aboard a Dutch ship.

• 1721- the French needed workers in Mobile, so slaves were brought on the French ship Africane.

Africans in Alabama• The trip on a slave

ship was terrible! Men and women were shackled to the ship in crowded areas and given very little to eat (meager rations)

• Once on land, they usually walked to their new homes, possibly tied together so they could not run away (coffle).

Africans in Alabama• Some families were

separated when they were sold.

• Alabama’s law stated that children were not to be separated from their mothers…but sometimes they were.

• Fathers were often sold and forced to leave their families.

Africans in Alabama• Africans brought to

Alabama were people with strong oral traditions. They would often gather at night and the elders would tell stories from Africa, passed down by their family members.

• African folkways (ways of thinking/ feeling/ acting) still remained in the slave culture: food cooked, superstitions, songs, and stories

Africans in Alabama• Slaves were made to

do most of the physical work on a plantation – planted, hoed, harvested, chopped cotton, built barns, mended fences, tended the garden, and took care of animals, wagons, and the tools.

• They lived in small 1 room houses (slave quarters) grouped together behind the master’s house (the big house).

Africans in Alabama• Their culture helped

them get through the hardships of slavery. They expressed their culture in many ways- made instruments, (drums, gourd fiddles, banjos) sang songs, danced, created African pottery, and told stories.

• By the 19th century, most slaves had adopted Christianity, but often gave it African flavor.

Africans in Alabama• To get married,

slaves had to ask their “master” for permission, which almost always was granted. Most masters wanted slaves to live in families and raise children.

• Some were married by a minister, but others were married by their master. They were often allowed to have a small celebration in their quarters.

Africans in Alabama• The slaves that

labored in the fields ate and left early in the morning.

• They worked ALL day, only stopping for a small lunch.

• They would get home just as the sun went down.

• Slaves were also blacksmiths, carpenters, brick masons, and architects.

Africans in Alabama• Slaves wore simple

clothes• Young boys/girls wore

straight dresses (shifts).

• Men wore shirts with no collars and held up their pants with a draw cord.

• Women wore blouses and skirts.

• Slaves working in the “big house” were often given hand-me-downs to wear.

• The master’s wife sewed all the clothes for the family and slaves.

Africans in Alabama• Slaves were usually

given enough food. • They were given

cornmeal and salt pork.

• Vegetables and fruits were often grown on a small garden in the quarters.

• Sweets came from honey and syrup made from cane grown on the plantation.

Africans in Alabama• The majority of

Alabamians did not own slaves.

• In 1860 - 437,271 slaves were owned by 33,730 (6.4 % of the white population)

• Slavery was an expensive, but profitable system of labor.

• It forced planters to spend money buying labor (workers).

• Slavery was a part of that time, and some feared what may happen in the future without it.

Africans in Alabama• Some free blacks

in Alabama raised cotton to be sold at market. Others worked as skilled laborers.

• Free blacks typically lived in cities because their freedom was protected there by the community that knew them.



1. When and how did the 1st slaves come to Alabama?

2. How did the slave owners keep slaves from running away?

3. What are some African folkways that continued in America?

4. Where did the slaves live on the plantation?

5. What part did slavery play in Alabama’s economic development?



1. The 1st slaves come to Alabama in 1721 on the French ship Africane.

2. The slave owners kept slaves from running away by tying them together with ropes in a coffle.

3. Some African folkways that continued in America were superstitions, songs, and stories.

4. The slaves lived in small 1 room houses grouped together on the plantation (slave quarters).

5. Slavery was an expensive, but profitable system of labor that forced planters to spend money buying labor (workers).

Lesson 2: Activity 1 Pager

Step 1: In the middle of a sheet of paper, you should illustrate an event experienced by a slave. Use your textbook pictures to guide you. Illustration must be true to the time period.Step 2: Any where on the paper, write 5 words that you think are important in learning the information in this lesson. These words can be words used in the textbook.Step 3: At the top of the page-write 3 facts about slavery you learned in the lesson. Be sure these facts are meaningful to this lesson on slavery in Alabama.Step 4: Answer the following question at the bottom of your paper by using the question as part of your answer:

What is your opinion of slavery? Validate your opinion by using details from the text.

The Cotton Kingdom

• Before Activity: “Think, Turn, and Talk”

Why are towns, transportation, and industry important in a growing state?


Make predictions about Alabama by scanning the subheadings, pictures, and captions in lesson 2.

Chapter 4 Lesson 3


along as your teacher reads the 1st paragraph on page 119, 120, 127.

Chapter 4 Lesson 3• CLOSE Read• Your group will be assigned

one of these paragraphs to reread(1st paragraph on page 119, 120, 127.

• Discuss with your group why___ (towns, transportation, or industry)was important to the growth of Alabama

Chapter 4 Lesson 3• CLOSE Read• Reread that same paragraph

on your own. Be ready to give a fact about an Alabama town, transportation, or industry.

Chapter 4:The Cotton Kingdom: Lesson 3

Towns and Commerce•Plantation owners usually ordered their

goods from a broker in a large town (Mobile, New Orleans)

•Alabama did have many small towns that also provided goods and services for people. In each small town there were stores owned by merchants, inns for travelers, millinery shop (hats, lace, feathers, ribbon), doctors (but no hospitals), and a general dry goods store.

•In each county, 1 town was designated county seat. This is where the courthouse was located and all legal documents were handled.

•Mobile was the largest town, mostly due to its busy seaport. Montgomery was the 2nd largest town in Alabama.


Transportation•Alabama rivers provided the 1st major

transportation system within the state.•Steamboats on the Al. rivers were

important to the growth of Al.’s economy. Steam engines could push boats upriver against the current. They could carry large amounts of cotton.

•Some areas had no navigable rivers, but there were a some dirt roads, few brick roads, and toll roads (had to pay to use them). Alabama citizens began paying taxes to work on the roads and build bridges and ferries.

•1st Alabama railroad was built in 1830 and was 2 miles long. In 1832 a 2nd railroad was built and was connected to other states (Tennessee and South Carolina) by 1847. By 1860, railroad connections allowed travel between Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.


Industry and Manufacturing•Alabama was mostly a farming

(agricultural) state, some industry did develop.

•Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793.

•Daniel Pratt was one of Al.’s most famous industrialist (owners or managers of factories). He learned how to make cotton gins and came to Alabama in 1833 to build a small factory north of Montgomery. A town grew around the factory and it was named Prattville. He went on to build a textile mill (windows, doors, and blinds) and employed both white and slave labor.

•Alabama was rich in natural resources- iron ore, coal, limestone, and some deposits of gold.


Horace King: Bridge Builder•He was the most celebrated bridge builder

in Alabama.•He was a slave that was owned by a well

known South Carolina bridge builder.•He fist built many bridges as a slave and

then as a free man when he was given freedom.

•In 1852, he worked on the new capitol on Dexter Avenue in Montgomery. He probably built the curving staircases in the west lobby.



1. What shops and services did a town in Alabama offer at this time?

2. What was the largest town in Alabama in 1846?

3. What form of transportation was important to the economic development in Al.?

4. When was the 1st railroad built in Alabama? How long was it?

5. Who was Alabama’s most famous industrialist?



1. Towns in Alabama had stores owned by merchants, inns for travelers, millinery shop (hats, lace, feathers, ribbon), doctors (but no hospitals), and a general dry goods store. at this time?

2. The largest town in Alabama in 1846 was Mobile?

3. Steamboats were the form of transportation important to the economic development in Al.?

4. The 1st railroad was built in 1830 built in Alabama and was 2iles long.

5. Daniel Pratt was Alabama’s most famous industrialist.

The Cotton Kingdom

• Before Activity: “Brainstorm”

Whit your group, list some ideas about school. (example: 1 teacher with 25 students,…)

Be ready to share with the rest of the class.


William Rufus King•Born in 1786 in North Carolina•Became a lawyer in 1806•Moved to Alabama in 1818 and built a

plantation on the Alabama River…now called King’s Bend

•Served on Alabama’s 1st constitutional convention and later became one of the state’s 1st U.S. senators

•Was selected in 1852 by Franklin Pierce to run for vice president. They won the election.

•1853- he became infected with tuberculosis and was too ill to attend the inauguration. He took the oath in Cubs where he had gone to recover.

•He was not recovering, so he returned to Alabama and died a day after his arrival.

Chapter 4 Lesson 3


along as your teacher reads the 1st paragraph on page 132.

Chapter 4 Lesson 3

• CLOSE Read• With your group,

reread the 1st paragraph on page 132.

• Discuss how school was different from school today

Chapter 4 Lesson 3

• CLOSE Read• On your own,

reread the 1st paragraph on page 132.

• Form an opinion of education then compared to now.


Education•In Alabama there was no state school

system. Local communities supported schools financed by 16th section lands (land set aside for school).

•Wealthier children in towns went to academies. (one for boys/one for girls)

•It was difficult for children in rural areas to go to school. Mothers often taught their children to read, write, and “figure” at home.

•Wealthy families may have hired a tutor (teacher paid to teach children at home).

•Several families might hire a teacher. The men would build a 1 room log cabin, and children of all ages would be taught together.


Education•Mobile had the best school system

in the state.•Alexander B. Meek, a Mobile

legislator, sponsored a law that created an Alabama school system in 1854. William Perry was elected to be superintendant.

•1856-Alabama Education Association was organized to promote education.

•Teachers were poorly paid and poorly trained. School terms were short with very few books.

•Only about half the children in Alabama attended any school.


Alabama in 1860•Cotton prices were HIGH!•Life was good for the yeoman farmers and

planters!•Slaves yearned for freedom and some

heard about the abolitionists’s (people who wanted to end slavery) demands that slavery be limited and slaves set free.

•They wanted new states entering the Union to be free states.

•There was talk from southern states of secession (to break away from or leave a group).

•Secession would come, war would follow, and times would get hard for everyone.



1. Where did children go to school in Alabama during the early and mid-1800s?

2. Which city had the best school system?

3. When was the Alabama Public School System established? By whom?

4. What is an abolitionist?



1. In Alabama during the early and mid-1800s , children went to school in 1 room log cabins that taught children of all ages.

2. Mobile had the best school system.

3. The Alabama Public School System was established in 1854 by William Perry.

4. An abolitionist is someone that doesn’t support slavery and wants it to end.

Lesson 3 & 4: Activity 4 squares

“Then …and… Now” Step 1: Fold a piece so that there are 4 divided squares when

unfolded. Trace the dividing lines with a black crayon/colored pencil.Step 2: Head each section with one each: Town/Commerce, Transportation, Industry/Manufacturing, Education.Step 3: At the top of each section, write a statement about the particular heading during the 1800’s. At the bottom of each section, write a statement about that particular heading now in the present day.Step 3: In the center of the square, illustrate either “then” or “now”

Lesson 3 & 4: Activity 4 squares

“Then …and… Now”: EXAMPLETowns/Commerce Transportation

Industry/Manufacturing EducationThen…Schools were a 1 room log cabin with all aged children.

Now…Schools have many rooms with only children of one particular grade.

Chapter 4: The Cotton Kingdom Created by Tara Green

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