Topic 4.13
The Society of the South in the Early Republic

THEMATIC FOCUS Geography and the Environment(GEO)
Geographic and environmental factors, including competition over and debates about natural resources, shape the development of America and foster regional diversity. The development of America impacts the environment and reshapes geography, which leads to debates about environmental and geographic issues.

Learning Objective M 
Explain how geographic and environmental factors shaped the development of the South from 1800 to 1848.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS 
KC-4.3.II.B.ii
In the South, although the majority of Southerners owned no slaves, most leaders argued that slavery was part of the Southern way of life.
KC-4.2.III.C
Southern business leaders continued to rely on the production and export of traditional agricultural staples, contributing to the growth of a distinctive Southern regional identity.
KC-4.3.II.A
As overcultivation depleted arable land in the Southeast, slaveholders began relocating their plantations to more fertile lands west of the Appalachians, where the institution of slavery continued to grow.