Who Were the Planters?

1. Number and Significance
   1. Minority of White Population
      1. Slaveholding Households=1/4 (1860)-1/3 (Earlier) of Free Households
      2. "Planters" (Slaveholders With 20+ Slaves)=48,000 Households (3%)/1,500,000 Free Households
      3. Large Planters (50+ Slaves)=10,000 Households
      4. Very Large Planters (100+ Slaves)=2,300 Households
   2. Disproportionate Wealth and Influence
      1. Planters Held Over Half the Slaves
      2. Dominated Landholding in Most Fertile Regions
         1. Alabama Black Belt--17% of Households Held 2/3 of Land
         2. Concordia Parish, LA--1/2 of Households Owned 1000+ Acres, and These Controlled 90% of the Land
2. The Planter Paradox
   1. Planters as "Businessmen"
      1. Crude and Unstable Way of Life
      2. Profit Orientation
      3. Exploitive Relations With Slaves
   2. Planters as "Paternalists"
      1. Slaves and Free Industrial Workers Compared
         1. Free Workers--Purchase of Labor Time
         2. Slaves--Purchase of Whole Person
      2. Peculiarities of the Master-Slave Relationship
         1. Slaves as Valuable Property
         2. Plantation as Community
         3. Paternalistic Ideology--Blacks as "Children"
3. In Two Worlds
   1. Among Fellow Whites--Equality in the Marketplace and the Public Realm
   2. On the Plantation--Patriarch