The South

• Long growing season: mild winters, hot, humid summers

• Many deep, flat rivers (transportation)

• Some coastline, few ports

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Geography of the South

• Economy based on farming

• Plantations: used enslaved labor to grow cash crops

• Cotton becomes most import crop

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Economy of the South

• Mississippi River: main "highway" of the South to ship goods

• Steam powered boats used on rivers

• Few roads, canals, and railroads

• Major cities near rivers

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Transportation in the South

• Large plantation owners: few, but control most of the economy and political life of the South

• Enslaved African Americans outnumber free whites in some states

• Most Southerns don't enslave people, but jobs benefit from it

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Society in the South