Antebellum is a Latin idiom meaning "before the war." It was used in the context of US history to offer clarification on the period leading up to the Civil War. Many consider the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 to be the beginning of the antebellum period. However, some argue that it began as early as 1812. Overall, this was a period in American history where the rise of sectionalism ultimately led to the Antebellum era. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayIn Antebellum times, the American South was a monocultural, chivalrous society founded on the sweat and labor of African American slaves, a stark contrast to the industrialization that was occurring in the antebellum Northern or rather Southern states. This old south was a land of cotton fields and knights who had the last knights and their fair ladies. This nostalgic and fond vision is what many think of when they remember the pre-war period. Yet, even with depictions of grand plantations with their sweeping staircases and people speaking in hushed, Southern enunciations, the reality of an entire race of people deemed worthless and used as nothing more than pets is not a matter that can easily be ignored. As such, they were considered property due to the color of their skin. Their property status was inflicted with real and threatened violence. Although blacks lived by the same standards as whites, their lives took different forms as the notion of slavery was imprinted on blacks to the point that they could not forget their property status, while their white owners boasted of their status as owners of slaves. . Both slaves and their masters hated each other, and their statuses never approached equality. Therefore, theorists have developed several theories that explain these types of relationships. Social contract theory, for example, assumes that political order is justifiably acceptable solely under the conditions of the outcome of an agreement between free, equal, and rational individuals. Sinha argues that the politicization of slavery only strengthened this notion. According to this theory, many slave owners were justified in denying equity to their slaves because they were not equal in any context. Antebellum courts also ruled on this theory and often denied blacks their rights based on their black skin color. An increase in demand for cotton around the world was the reason why slavery spread rapidly in the antebellum period. By 1830, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama were at the center of cotton production. These regions were the major cotton producers of the United States, generating over half of the nation's output, and African American slaves were the people who worked in these fields. In addition to working on cotton plantations, slaves worked in other fields with a variety of other crops such as rice, sugarcane, corn, and tobacco. In addition to farming, slaves had to cut and lift wood, dig trenches, slaughter livestock, clear and prepare new land, repair buildings and tools among other chores. Therefore, many worked as drivers, mechanics, carpenters, blacksmiths, and other positions in other skilled trades. Additionally, black women were expected to take care of their masters' families and care for children. They were also forced to weave, spin, sew, and supervise their masters' households under the strict control of their mistresses. Smith talks about the debate that.