Civil War Social Classes

white people who were unskilled and unedcuated

tradesmen, merchants, shopkeepers, doctors, lawyers

farmed on someone else's land and grew just enough crops to live

owned small farms and worked them themselves

were sold and split up from their families

many chose jobs like their fathers

worked with their slaves in the fields

had to pay a special tax and carry freedom papers

usually owned 20 or more slaves

Who am I? Plantation owners who sold cash crops

most lived in Charleston and worked to earn money to buy freedom for their wives and children

educated by private tutors or in private schools

hoped to become members of the Elite as they bought more slaves and grew more cash crops

did not work for wealthy people because wealthy people hired slaves instead

uneducated because it was illegal to learn to read or write

had been given freedom by their masters

thought to be property of their white masters

most lived in cities and towns and had some political and social influence

most of the farming in the state, especially the Upcountry, was done by these people