CHAPTER III
Economics of Slavery in Tennessee
I. Slavery an Expression of the Soil.
Someone has said, “The rocks determine our politics.” The rocks make the soil, which in turn determines the agricultural products that a section can produce with profit, and, hence, the labor system. Slavery nowhere in the United States reflected physiographic features more distinctly than in Tennessee. The three sections of the state have always differed very largely in their agriculture, in their sympathy with various sections of the country, and in their politics. In fact, there are almost three peoples and three civilizations in Tennessee. Physiography has been the biggest factor in the differentiation. The human response to the soil is very clearly shown. The differences in the sections of the state on the subject of slavery were due mainly to geography, since differences in climate were not sufficiently marked to promote or create any special attitude of mind toward slavery.
East Tennessee remained throughout the slavery regime mainly a section of small farmers. It was only the river valleys of the French Broad, the Watauga, the Holston, and the Tennessee that yielded with advantage to agriculture. These valleys were mostly of limestone formation, and produced a loamy soil that was very fertile.
The counties[1] in these river valleys produced considerable quantities of wheat and corn, but very little cotton. In 1850 East Tennessee produced one bale of cotton, ten hogsheads of tobacco, 1,813,338 bushels of wheat, and 10,998,654 bushels of corn.[2] In 1840, the counties containing the largest number of slaves were Knox, numbering 1934; Hawkins, 1499; Jefferson, 1282; and McMinn, 1241. There were six counties with slightly over one thousand each, six in the six hundred column, and the others ranged from 150 to 450 each. In 1860 there were four counties in East Tennessee with 2000 slaves in each. In the same year, there were 27,560 slaves in East Tennessee.[3]
In 1856 there were only 28 farms in East Tennessee containing one thousand acres or more. There were 164 containing from 500 to 1000 acres, 1,173 having from 100 to 500 acres, 7,117 having 50 to 100 acres, and 6,920 containing less than fifty acres. There were only 192 farms which contained more than 500 acres. It is seen from these figures that East Tennessee was populated essentially by small farmers who raised wheat and corn and live stock.[4]
In 1840 there were 19,915 slaves in East Tennessee, valued at $10,813,845.[5] In 1850 there were 22,187 valued at $11,248,809; and in 1860 there were 27,560 slaves valued at $23,536,240.[6] There were in 1856 only 4,784 slaveholders in East Tennessee. Of these, one held between 200 and 300 slaves, 3 between 70 and 100, 4 between 50 and 70, 12 between 40 and 50, and only 718 owned more than ten slaves, and 1207 owned only one; 719 owned two slaves. Practically half the slaveholders of East Tennessee owned either one or two slaves. The average price of land per acre in East Tennessee was $4.62, slightly more than half of what it was for middle and West Tennessee.[7] The value of the slave in 1859 ranged from $563 in Johnson County, which is in the northeastern part of the state, in the mountains, to $953 in Blount County, which is bordered by the Tennessee River and is traversed by some of its branches.
Middle Tennessee was more adapted to the slavery system than East Tennessee. It contained the rich Central Basin, traversed by the Cumberland River, and also portions of the valley of the Tennessee. Slavery was profitable in Middle Tennessee, especially for the cultivation of tobacco and cotton. Middle Tennessee in 1856 raised 19,621 bales of cotton and 4,511 hogsheads of tobacco. It produced 1,825,423 bushels of wheat and 21,968,114 bushels of corn.[8] The big cotton counties were Lincoln, producing 2,558 bales; Williamson, 3,167 bales; Maury, 4,623 bales; and Rutherford, 4,623 bales. All these counties are in the Central Basin. The big tobacco counties were Robertson, producing 1083 hogsheads, Smith, 1050 hogsheads, and Williamson, 1179 hogsheads.
There were 74 farms in Middle Tennessee, containing more than one thousand acres each and 299 farms having between 500 and 1000 acres each. The counties having plantations of more than 500 acres were Wilson, with 24, Davidson, 27, Bedford, 33, Montgomery, 23, Williamson, 49, Lincoln, 50, Rutherford, 52, and Giles, 60. Most of these counties are located in the Central Basin, and have a rich, loamy soil. The response was the big plantation and a dense slave population.