Topic: COTTON AND SLAVERY IN ARKANSAS

Grade: Level: Fifth Grade

Time: One to Two Days

Ark. History Frameworks: 1.1.9, 2.1.14

Objectives: Students will be able to understand the relationship between the growth of cotton in Arkansas and the increase of the slave population in the state.

Set: A picture of slaves posted in front of the class along with a stalk of cotton

Resources: America's Story Vol 2, Harcourt Brace
Negro Slavery in Arkansas, Orville W. Taylor
Arkansas 1800-1860 Remote and Restless, S. Charles Bolton

Materials: Arkansas maps, post-it notes, cotton balls

Key Terms: Plantation, Cotton Gin, Importation

Key Facts: With the invention of the Cotton Gin in 1793 and the popularity of cotton in Europe the expectations for cotton making a large profit was high. With this new technology, cotton could be processed at a faster rate. As more cotton was sold - more was planted. Ahigh demand for cotton made both the planter and mill owner wealthy. As new land was needed to grow more cotton, planters looked toward the fertile lowlands of Arkansas to clear and plant their crop.

Slavery was not new to Arkansas. In the early 1700's (1720) the French brought slaves to Arkansas Post. Slavery continued to grow in numbers in our state. In 1820 the new territory of Arkansas had 1,617 slaves. At this time, agriculture in Arkansas had just begun. By 1860 there were 111,115 slaves living in the borders of our state. The rapid growth came from the importation from other, older states to Arkansas to help produce wealth in the form of cotton production. In 1850 cotton production made $65,344. By 1860 cotton was a 16 million dollar industry for the state. At this time 74 % of our states' slave population lived on plantations in the lowlands.

Work of the slaves on these plantations was shaped by the cotton calendar.

Nov-Jan clearing land
Feb plowing
April/May planting
June hoeing plants
July/Aug weeding
Sept/Oct picking/ginning

The largest cotton producing counties in Arkansas were *Chicot & Phillips on the Mississippi River. Arkansas & Jefferson on the Arkansas River. Union & Clark on the Ouachita River. *Lafayette, Sevier and Hemstead on the Red River. (* 40% of cotton in state)

Activities: The teacher and students will first read and discuss Chapter 13, lesson 1 in the text. Following the lesson, students will work in groups of two. Each group will identify the largest cotton producing counties in Arkansas on a state map using a post-it note. Time will be spent brainstorming as to WHY these counties were the largest producers +(why not NW Arkansas, etc). The students will then be introduced to a stalk of real cotton. Drawing names of two students, these students will demonstrate for the class the picking of the boll, and removal of seeds from the boll. This will show the students what a difficult task picking cotton/seeds really was. After this demo, the groups of two's will be given a new task. This activity begins with each group receiving 10 jumbo size cotton balls. The group must tear the ball apart, flatten it, and roll in up to resemble a bale of cotton. The time-limit is 1 minute. After the 1 minute, combine 2 groups (equal 4 people). Stop for discussion: Was it easier w/4? Did you produce more bales w/more people? Now, up the production to 20 cotton balls. How many bales did the 4 people produce? Would more people make the difference? You can lengthen/shorten this activity to fit your time.

Closure: After completing the activity, the groups should be able to see the relationship between more cotton being produced and more slaves needed to keep the cotton economy strong.

Assessment: Traditional testing will be given to assess the understanding/comprehension of key facts. Teacher observation/questions will be used during activity.

By Regena Shelby