The wealthiest plantation owners take up little of the population, own lots of land, and have lots of slaves (20 or more). Small farmers had slaves but only a few, owned some land, and held office rarely. Poor farmers have no slaves, usually live in the mountains, and are usually descendants of indentured servants.
Are the poor farmers the lowest on the social hierarchy?
No, the lowest of the social hierarchy, are slaves. Slaves work on farms/plantations without being paid. They have no rights, and can't be in office or vote.
Society/Social
Glide: 2
Like I said earlier our economy is formed from cash crops. Our most known are tobacco, sugar, rice, and cotton. Since the invention of the cotton gin made harvesting cotton easier it became more popular. More people started growing cotton, and slave labor increased to produce more cash crops and faster.
Oh, I would have thought it would decrease. Especially since slave trading from other countries became illegal.
No, slave trading still takes place inside of the U.S. and illegal smuggling. Now the price for slaves are higher since they are harder to get and people want them for production of cash crops.
Economy
Glide: 3
Slavery has been one of the biggest debates in America at the moment. The South is in favor of slavery. Our economy is based on slavery, slaves are the ones producing cash crops. Because of this heated discussion, some people have died here regarding the debate.