Georgia, uniquely situated among southern states on the eve of the Civil War , played a vital part in the formation of the Confederacy. In population, enslaved and free, Georgia was the largest in the Deep South. Both geographically and demographically, Georgia encompassed as much diversity as any other Confederate state, and these factors had an important impact on how the state experienced the war years and what it contributed to the Southern war effort.
Census figures that year indicate that more than , of those residents 56 percent were white, and nearly , 44 percent were Black. These figures reflect a The upcountry and mountain counties together claimed nearly a third of the populace. Enslaved African Americans outnumbered whites in both the Black Belt and the coast making up 55 percent in the former and 59 percent in the latter.
Like the rest of the South, Georgia remained overwhelmingly rural in the mid-nineteenth century, averaging a population density of fewer than 16 people per square mile. In nearly 8 percent of Georgians lived in towns or cities of more than 2, people, up from 4. With 22, residents, Savannah was nearly twice the size of Augusta , the second-largest city in the state, with 12, people. Columbus , with 9, residents, was only slightly larger than rapidly growing Atlanta , with 9, Free Blacks made up a mere 0.
Nearly 99 percent of white Georgians in were American by birth; slightly more than three-fourths of those were born in Georgia. By newcomers to the state included an increasing number of northerners, attracted by business opportunities in growing cities like Atlanta. The largest foreign-born concentration was in Chatham County , where nearly a third of its free residents, primarily Irish laborers and a small but influential group of German Jews , were born abroad.
Georgia remained a sharply divided society in terms of wealth and resources, with a pronounced hierarchical social structure dictated by the institution of slavery. Although more than 60 percent of white families in the state did not hold people in slavery, the 37 percent who did, and especially the small tier of large planters, skewed the average to suggest that Georgia was among the wealthiest states in the Union.
The per capita wealth of white Georgians in , for example, was nearly double that of New Yorkers or Pennsylvanians. On average, slaveholders in the state owned property worth nearly five times that of a typical landholder in the North. They made up the planter class, generally defined as those who enslaved 20 or more people and whose plantations ranged from to improved or farmable acres.
Many of these slaveholders were professionals, including lawyers , politicians, and doctors, or businessmen who lived in towns or cities while still maintaining plantation operations nearby. The yeoman class included farmers who enslaved fewer than five people and, for the most part, fewer than acres of improved land.
Many such residents were concentrated in the less-productive mountain counties and the wiregrass region. Below are tables originally published in a edition of The Georgia Historical Quarterly.
The tables provide statistics on the early days of slavery in Georgia. Although Equiano told tales of friendships found in Savannah, the port city hardly extended a warm hand of welcome. Perkins went unpunished for his behavior, but another physician, Dr.
Brady, cared for the wounded Equiano and helped bring about a full recovery. On another trip to Georgia, a visit to enslaved friends once again sparked conflict between Equiano, then a free man, and white inhabitants in Savannah. Because the slaves in the house had a master to vouch for them, only Equiano was taken, despite his status as a free man.
When the Georgia Trustees first envisioned their colonial experiment in the early s, they banned slavery in order to avoid the slave-based plantation economy that…. The New Georgia Encyclopedia does not hold the copyright for this media resource and can neither grant nor deny permission to republish or reproduce the image online or in print. All requests for permission to publish or reproduce the resource must be submitted to the rights holder.
This pen-and-ink drawing and watercolor by Henry Byam Martin depicts a slave market in Charleston, South Carolina, in An inscription on the original reads "Charleston S. Enslaved workers are pictured carrying cotton to the gin at twilight in an drawing.
Beginning in late July and continuing through December, enslaved workers would each pick between and pounds of cotton per day. The cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney on a Georgia plantation in , led to dramatically increased cotton yields and a greater dependence on slavery.
According to his testimony, the injuries sustained from a whipping by his overseer kept Peter, an enslaved man, bedridden for two months. A row of slave cabins in Chatham County is pictured in Enslaved people fostered family relationships and communities in and among their quarters.
In the same manner as their enslaved ancestors, women on Sapelo Island hull rice with a mortar and pestle, circa Language and cultural traditions from West Africa were retained in the Geechee culture that developed in the Sea Islands.
Courtesy of Georgia Archives , Vanishing Georgia, sap View on partner site. Requests for permission to publish or reproduce the resource should be submitted to the Georgia Archives. Thomas Nast's famous wood engraving originally appeared in Harper's Weekly on January 24, The liberation of the state's enslaved population, numbering more than ,, began during the chaos of the Civil War and continued well into Nast's cartoon aimed to arouse sympathy for freedpeople following emancipation.
Originally published Oct 20, Last edited Sep 30, Rice Culture From Harper's Weekly. Slave Cabins Photograph by Wikimedia. Hulling Rice Courtesy of Georgia Archives. Emancipation From Harper's Weekly. Article Feedback Why are you reaching out to us?
Share this Article. Slavery in Antebellum Georgia When the Georgia Trustees first envisioned their colonial experiment in the early s, they banned slavery in order to avoid the slave-based plantation economy that….
Facebook Twitter Email. Share this Snippet. Star Featured Content. Hank Aaron Baseball. Trending Trending. All males between the ages of 21 and 60 had to pay a poll tax or head tax. Beginning in , African-Americans are listed separately until the early s.
Immediately after the Civil War employers are often listed. Type of taxes paid also indicate occupation and wealth. Pre Civil-War digests indicate number of slaves owned. Digests after about may not include African-Americans who do not own real property. Digests in Archives custody up to are scanned and indexed on Ancestry. Check microfilm card catalog Tax Digest drawer for microfilm of tax digests not in Archives custody.
Many of these that date prior to are available on FamilySearch. Most counties have indices to grantor and grantee, also called direct and reverse. In many counties, the County Courts were primarily used to try freedmen. Records from these courts are available for 54 counties. Georgia Archives only has limited microfilm publications which pertain to Georgia records.
Federal Records U. Georgia Archives only has those microfilm publications which pertain to Georgia records.
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