THE PLANTATION SYSTEM IN SOUTHERN LIFE

[Music] do [Music] if you've ever been in one of our southern states you may have taken a sightseeing trip just as this family is taking a trip to see one of the plantation homes that were built before the civil war this beautiful mansion is one of many homesteads that were once the residences of southern planters these homes were centers of plantation life inside the mansion we can get some idea the luxuries that a well plantation family enjoyed the home was often beautifully furnished many planters imported fine household goods from england these things represent part of the wealth that came from products grown in the plantation here is a map that explains how this plantation was organized it was almost a little community by itself most of the sections of land were devoted to one crop such as cotton other sections contained orchards vegetable gardens and pastures the source of food for the people and the work animals the buildings included the planters home a mill workshops and a row of small cabins for the slaves who did almost all the work we can still find remnants of some of these things on old plantations these small houses were for the slaves who worked on the plantation in this carriage house the plantation vehicles were kept and repaired in the blacksmith shop such things as tools wheel rims and plowshares were made and all of this was done by hand the hand labor of the slaves but what made each plantation depend mostly on its own labor and its own products the answer is poor transportation there were few roads and many of them were conditioned so there was little commercial traffic between plantations travel was so difficult that each plantation was practically isolated and so had to be almost self-sufficient the easiest means of travel was by riverboat and so many plantations were located along the rivers at the boat landing manufactured goods from cities could be brought in crops grown on the plantation could be sent out most plantations raised and shipped only one crop in most plantations near the mississippi the one crop was cotton cotton was such an important part of the plantation system that it came to be called king cotton the enormous amount of hand labor required to grow and pick the cotton was supplied by great numbers of slaves this then was the economic background of the plantation cheap slave labor producing one main crop on vast tracts of land owned by the planter but the plantation was more than an economic organization it was a social organization as well the planter and his slaves were part of an unusual class system the sharp division of people into two main groups the owners and the slaves left a lasting influence on the society of the south what was that society like for the plantation owner and his family it was an aristocratic kind of society gentle manners courtesy hospitality many of the ideas that we still associate with the people of the south came from the days when plantation life was in full flower this then was the social organization of the plantation the aristocratic class of the landowners who had wealth and privileges and the laboring class of the slaves who had little wealth and few privileges the plantation system in the united states reached its greatest development before the civil war by 1860 plantations reached from virginia to texas on some of these tobacco was produced another sugar was grown on others cotton was the main crop whatever the crop the system of producing was similar cheap labor one crop and vast tracts of land these are some of the things we can better understand when we visit one of the old plantation homes of the past but did this plantation life influence the modern south can we find anything left of the plantation system we might find part of the answer as we look around us in the south today here is a scene that tells us part of the story this plantation home was abandoned during the civil war great changes in the plantation system occurred during the war the freeing of the slaves and the great financial burden of the war disrupted the economic pattern some planters went bankrupt and lost possession of their plantations but the plantation system did not entirely disappear some elements of that system did not change the land cultivated for generations and still productive remain the source of labor great numbers of negroes remained the demand for cotton remained and the growing of cotton continued so the plantation system in a smaller and modified way continued and can be found in the south today much of the work is still done by hand much of the wealth still comes from one crop cotton most of the workers are negroes who live on the plantation today the man who owns the plantation is called the landlord the men who work the farm are tenants and so the landlord the laborers and the land are still the important parts of the plantation system today this owner has less land than the plantation owner of the past and he lives in a house that is less pretentious than the great mansions of earlier times the tenant farmers and their families live on the plantation each family has a small house which they rent together with a section of land a few tenants pay their rent and money but most tenant farmers on the plantations work their portion of land in return for a share of the crop and so the tenant farmers both negro and white provide the necessary labor for raising the cotton what other changes have come to the plantation the plantation today is not as isolated as it once was paved highways link the plantations with towns and cities the plantation crop can be shipped by railroad or by large trucks today as we look out over the southern countryside we'll see that plantations are not as plentiful as they once were many have been divided up into smaller farms on this farm beef cattle are raised other farms specialize in producing milk or poultry or grain we'll find most of these farmers using modern machinery and will find that these same methods of mechanization are affecting the plantation system too this mechanical cotton picker is one of many different machines that are replacing hand labor here the most modern machines are used at every stage of the work growing harvesting and preparing for the next crop today that crop is not always cotton some plantations raise more than the traditional one crop soybeans for instance sorghum a kind of sugar cane and peanuts are a few of the crops that are changing the pattern of the plantation system that system has been changing over a long period of time but its economic and social patterns have left a lasting influence on life in the south today if we visit a social gathering in the south we'll see some of these influences the traditional southern hospitality the gentle manners and courtesy the separation of society into distinct groups and the relationship of that society to the land which supplies its wealth these are some of the things which the plantation system has contributed to southern life [Music] you