" This was more of a rule than an exception for slaves. Even though most slaves worked on plantations, this does not imply that all their time was consumed by rising and picking cotton. A third of slaves on plantations were children and another fifth of adults were not involved in field tasks. There was more to the plantations than just producing cotton. Most of the food that was consumed was produced on the plantations. The slaves had to rear the livestock as well as grow the feed. Between producing cotton (34%), rearing livestock, growing the feed (25%), and growing corn (6%), the slaves had a remaining 35% of time available for other work. This working time was spent constructing fences and buildings, land improvement, raising other crops, and producing clothes. So the idea that slaves strictly labored in the fields is false and in fact, they had various tasks around the plantation.
Chapter two also converses about the interregional redistribution from the Chesapeake Bay area to the rest of the south. In 1690, Maryland and Virginia held about two thirds of the black population and even a hundred years later, they still held slightly over half. But by 1820, the percentage was about a third and on the eve of the Civil War, the percentage was just over 15%. The redistribution was brought about by the increasing demand for cotton throughout the world and the improvements in transportation. Slave trading in the South was not as extensive as it has been perceived. Selling slaves was not a profitable business because the cost of rearing a slave was about three quarters of the profits. The redistribution occurred because the older slave states land was becoming less fertile. Farmers moved their whole plantation to the New Southern states like Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. These states were better suited for the production of cotton, and with the development of river steamers and railroads, the costs of moving was reduced and became more feasible.
