Yeoman+Farmers+and+Slaves

Yeoman farmers were farmers who worked the land that they or a family member owned. These people made up most of NC's population during the 1800's. The Farmers lives were based mainly on three things; their neighborhoods, their families, and the seasons. Starting a farm was hard work that was done not long after marriage. Most yeomen practiced subsistence farming, or farming just to feed a family. Grains were the most heavily planted out of all the crops. The yeoman farmers lived in neighborhoods where they bartered and traded with each other, and everyone helped each other out. The farmers had large families on purpose. The children could help with all the chores associated with keeping a farm. Yeoman farmers were allmost never rich, but helped each other survive as family and neighbors.
 * //__Yeoman Farmers__//**

Most slaves lived and worked on plantations or mines. Slavery of Africans had started somewhere around the 1600s, and was considered acceptible by most. Many slaves had little or no civil rights and were often treated in a cruel, inhumane way by their owners. There were some good slave owners, though. Some rewarded their slaves for their hard work and allowed them to make money to free themselves. This was not what normally happened. Slaves were treated like animals, not people and were auctioned off without regard to families or friends. Not all of Americans owned slaves, however, and the practice was even frowned upon by the northern states. The North did not have as much use for slaves as the South. The southern states relied on these relatively inexpensive workers to tend to their huge plots of land. The northern states' economy was made up more of industry than farming so slaves were not a necessity. Slaves were not allowed to read or write or become educated in any way. The slave owners were afraid of the slaves forming an uprising or running away if they were able to communicate with each other. They were controlled through confusion and power. The life of a slave was hard and long, from sunrise to sunset for the rest of their lives; working and being ordered around and beaten was all that they knew.
 * //__Slaves__//**


 * //__North Carolina's Population 1830-1860__//**
 * Year || White || Slave || Total ||
 * 1830 || 492,386 || 245,601 || 737,987 ||
 * 1840 || 507,602 || 245,817 || 753,419 ||
 * 1850 || 580,491 || 288,548 || 869,039 ||
 * 1860 || 661,563 || 331,059 || 992,622 ||

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