Daniel Clavijo 9/10/11 AP U.S.

History Period 3 When Rice Was King

Map 2 2. The map shows the terrain of Georgetown County. The land is riddled with rivers and streams, as shown in map one, furthermore, the land is marshy and perfect for growing rice. Rice requires a flooded terrain in order to grow properly. The rivers allowed plantation owners to control when the land was flooded and, thus, grow rice in the ideal conditions. Reading 1 1-2. Planters believed that slaves were suited to cultivate rice because of their knowledge of rice cultivation and their alleged resistance to heat and humidity as opposed to Europeans. This knowledge is attributed to the large quantities of rice produced in western Africa. These desirable characteristics led to an increased demand for African laborers. This increase in slave imports was shown when the slave population rose from one fifth of the total population in 1680 to ninety percent of the population in 1740. More than likely English planters knew of African developments for growing rice, and, for this reason, chose to have African slaves manage the rice cultivation. This knowledge, however, did not earn slaves respect from the English. This knowledge only allowed slaves to become more of a necessity for plantation owners. Keeping this in mind, there is little reason to believe that planters grew opposed to slavery because they valued African skills. Knowledge of the land further confirmed the idea of European superiority and the idea that the sole purpose of Africans was to tend to European crops. Reading 2 1-3. Allston was the owner of a large rice plantation. His success and, therefore, his wealth were great compared to the average planter of the time. While the average plantation produced 300000 pounds of rice, his harvested 840000 pounds this overproduction caused Allston to become rather wealthy. Allston wrote various texts that accounted for the quantities he produced by explaining his techniques. These skills, of course, were not entirely his; they were his slaves methods. This was not noteworthy and most likely not mentioned because the slaves were thought to be Allstons property. As such, Allston could publish their ideas and methods without acknowledging the source. Oddly enough, Allston was an advocate for modernization and sought to reform the way people with disabilities were treated. This mindset did not impede him from purchasing slaves and forcing labor upon them. These contradicting beliefs were probably explained, in his mind at least, as the difference between a crippled horse and a healthy rat. The horse being Europeans with disabilities and Africans being the rat, he believed that the horse, regardless of impediments, was superior to the inferior being that is a rat, no matter how healthy and full of life. Photo 1 1. The picture of Chicora Woods plantation house seems to conform to the typical plantation house of the time. It is not clearly visible what material the exterior walls of the faade are, but it can be

assumed that they are clapboard, due to some thin lines visible on the wall in an even spacing. Allstons house seems even more imposing than what is described as typical house. The house possesses a small third floor, uncommon of other plantation houses, which only possessed two, probably an attic or supplemental bedroom. The house is large and nestled in a sparsely wooded forest, further proof of Allstons success. Photo 2 1-2. The kitchen was most likely located away from the main house to avoid a catastrophe. Being that the kitchen was distanced from the house if a fire were to begin, the plantation owners family would have time to escape, and the main house would be at less risk of being destroyed in the fire. The food prepared for the planters family was probably prepared by a white indentured servant. The reason for me to believe this is that since African slaves were considered subhuman, the plantation owners probably did not want their food contaminated. Photo 4 1-2. Threshing and pounding mills greatly increased the production of rice on the plantation. This was because the time spent beating the rice to separate the seed was greatly reduced. This allowed more time to be spent tending to the rice and cultivating larger quantities. The effects of the development of the mills are seen when comparing the 300000 pounds of rice produced at an average plantation in 1850, to the 500000 produced ten years later. These mills, however, have been abandoned and left to the mercy of the elements. They should be restored and kept as a window to the agricultural methods used during the birth of America. Drawing 2. The drawing shows the organization of a typical plantation; it also reveals that the segregation of the time was practiced not only at the macro scale of the colonies, but also on the micro scale of the plantation. The slave quarters, for example, were considerably smaller than any of the buildings surrounding the main house. Furthermore, the slave cabins were in a small, secluded are opposite the main house, at a considerable distance. Theme Analysis The courses themes of heterogeneity and class are actually ideas present throughout American history. These ideas applied at any scale in the colonies. At the macro scale, it is observed that altogether the colonies had a vast diversity of races, ethnicities, classes, and ideas. There were Quakers, Jews, Protestants, Catholics, Separatists, Puritans, Catholics, Irishmen, Englishmen, Germans, and Africans among others. This diversity led to what we now know as the melting pot, and it was accompanied by a class system. The opportunities of the early colonies led to the rise of an elite class. This class interbred and wove a tightly knit class, which kept wealth in the hands of the same families. Below them was the middleclass of landowners who enjoyed a standard of living higher than could be obtained in Europe. At the bottom were the landless men who worked for wages. In much the same way, heterogeneity and class structure were seen at the

plantation level. Within the plantation lived English, Africans, and sometimes Natives. This heterogeneity of mingling races came with a class structure. In this class structure, the plantation owner and his family were supreme. Beneath them was a white overseer that ensured that the slaves were working enough and delivered punishment accordingly. Further below him was the driver, a slave with power over the other slaves. He was in charge of assigning tasks to individual slaves, to optimize the crop yield. Below the driver, at the bottom of the plantation class system, was the common slave in charge of laboring in the fields.