Period Five Notes a la Joe

After getting our vocab lists from the last chapter passed back, we continued discussing the period between 1800-1850(ish)

-Slavery was declining with tobacco production (VA began shifting to grain or cattle)
-Slaves were part of a person's wealth (along with land) so the farmers only gave away the weak ones
-Cotton Gin (1794) picks out seeds from cotton
-Allowed 50 pounds of cotton vs. 1 pound a day
-cotton was in high demand across the pond
-Slaves were needed to run the machines
-It was better to grow cotton plantation style, but could also be farmed in a small area
-Slaves were hired out as artisans
-No new slaves were imported from Africa
-stated by constitution in 1808. This made slave owners nervous
-Seaport cities = Trade centers
-Dirty, unhealthy, small number of rich people
-Paternal power decline
-Sons and daughters begin to realize they won't get a huge farm/ dowry
-fathers have less say in who their children marry
-Social ills
-alcohol, grain is made into whisky because it keeps longer during transport
-Many engaged couples get pregnant
Voting laws
-Non-landowners could vote after 1790
- Changed Gov.- uneducated, poor men could make decisions