History 120

Post #7: Matthew Brady: A photo Essay

http://history120sm.typepad.com/photos/matthew_brady_a_photo_ess/

Post #5: Barrow's Plantation

  Barrow’s Plantation was a property of the Barrow family in Oglethorpe County, Georgia. In 1860, before Reconstruction it consisted of a gin house, master’s house, and slave quarters. By 1881, there were 26 additional houses, a church, and a school.  The new houses belonged to tenant farmers, as did the church and school. On the 1881 map of Barrow’s Plantation, found in Charles S. Aiken’s 1985 article, “New Settlement Pattern of Rural Blacks in the American South,” there are asterisks located next to several of the tenant farmers’ houses. These asterisks indicate the residents who were former slaves on the plantation. These indicated changes were due to the developments that came with Reconstruction. The plantation was also divided into small farm units, each belonging to a different tenant farmer who worked their section of the plantation for a share of the crops that it yielded.

    We originally found Barrow Plantation by searching for historical maps of Oglethorpe County, Georgia.  The main source of this was the Carl Vinson Institute of Government website, a part of the University of Georgia. The most critical part of the investigation was locating Syl’s Fork on the 1883 and1885 maps of Oglethorpe County. The major error which we discovered on the plantation map was that the maps of Barrow Plantation were  rotated about 90 degrees counter clockwise, in other words, the orientation was skewed. If the original maps provided to us were accurately drawn, the plantation is located extremely close to Philomath and Maxey's, Georgia. This discovery was also helpful in uncovering the major map error.

    Barrow Plantation is located approximately at the coordinates 33.694 North and 82.997 West.  We managed to find the coordinates by searching for Syl’s Fork on TopoZone.com, a topographical map site. Once the coordinates were found, it was easy for us to transfer them to a satellite image, which led us to terraserver.com. The area that was formerly the Barrow Family Plantation is now heavily wooded and no sign of civilization can be seen from the satellite image.

    The map of Barrow’s Plantation originally appeared in an article written by David C. Barrow, Jr. “A Georgia Plantation” was published in March 1881 in the fifth issue of the twenty-first volume of Scriber’s Monthly, a literary journal published by Charles Scribner.  David C. Barrow, Jr. was the younger brother of Middleton Pope Barrow. Middleton Barrow is buried in a private cemetery on the family plantation in Oglethorpe County.  He served in the Senate and was a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. These two Barrows are the great-grandsons of Wilson Lumpkin, who served in Congress for four terms and was elected governor of Georgia for two terms (1831-1835). The Barrow family and its relatives were very active in politics and the welfare of their country. (Original Appearance  )

    Based on the several different maps found during research, we found that the Barrow family plantation changed greatly between 1860 and1881. The map showed the changes that occurred during the Civil War and after Reconstruction.  The abolishment of slavery changed the plantation from a slave-driven farm to several different tenant farms. Remarkably, the satellite image shows a clear shape very similar to the shape of the original maps we have. Such an occurrence showed us that the plantation had had a strong impact on the ecology of the area, and that the plantation could very well still be in use to this day. Whether or not it’s still producing the same crop is debatable, but nonetheless quite impressive that it has withstood the test of time for so long. (Current Satelitte Image ).

Additional Related Pictures: Pope House
Additional Pictures: Barrow's Plantation

Capturing a Glimpse of a Changing Culture

The subject of George Catlin’s painting, Pigeon’s Egg Head, represented the troubles of Native Americans during the time of westward expansion. Much of what was happening in America can be contributed to Catlin’s view of natives. The market revolution and Jackson’s presidency are a couple of the most influencing factors on the movement west and ultimately, the Trail of Tears. Although Catlin has a great amount of passion and admiration for this people, he sees the Native Americans as losing much of their identity as a result of what has happening between 1830 and 1850.

    Many events took place in the early 1800’s resulted in the westward movement. The development of a national economic expansion also resulted in a transportation revolution This made it easier to not only move products, but also allowed for people to move into new regions and continue to be productive. Prior to these new advancements, the only way to transport goods cheaply was by water, therefore in order to make a living a person had to be able to access water rather easily. This allowed for mainly for coastal and international markets. During the times of 1825-1855, however, the cost of land transportation not only fell 95% but the speed increased as well. This allowed for new regions to be incorporated into the market. The initial developments were steamboats and canals, but railroads soon became the key method. They were twice as fast, offered direct routes, and could be run year-round. Along with transportation developments, was the prevalence of land speculators at the time. Speculators purchased most of the public lands sold and redistributed them to others. This practice played a major role in the settlement of the west. As a result of new geographic mobility and available land settlements, the zest for opportunity became one of the most prominent characteristics of the American people. 

    Catlin made his expeditions west during the period known as Jacksonian America. The values and political agenda had much to do with what ensued in relation to Native Americans. Andrew Jackson was said to be a man of action and he vigorously carried out his political agenda, which related to the market economy. At the time America’s economy was expanding as well as the nation’s population in geographic terms. This put great demands on Native American land and a greater amount of pressure on the natives. As a shift in the attitudes of whites toward Native Americans occurred, pressure for removal intensified significantly as well. The desire for access to western lands increased just as the racial attitudes towards Native Americans strengthened. Americans argued that “the Indian was a permanently inferior savage who blocked progress [1].” This is the attitude that eventually led to the passing of a removal bill by Congress in 1830, after Jackson urged them to provide funds for removal efforts.

    Catlin’s painting offers a great deal of insight into the ways the natives handled the changes and pressures now placed upon them.  and also shows how one’s opinions can change after time immersed in a culture. The side portraying this admirable Indian chief on his way to the capital is much more culturally rooted. He is wearing a ceremonial headdress, custom décor on his clothing and accessories that have ceremonial functions. The other side of the photo, on the other hand, suggests that Pigeon’s Egg Head is now a mockery. He no longer has a typical native dress. Catlin depicts a densely colonial attire. His whole appearance, is exaggerated and overdone. By depicting two extremely contrasted portraits of this Indian chief, Catlin, shows the dilemma that faced most every Native American at the time. Native Americans were quick to reject the idea of abandoning their lands, and therefore in an effort to prevent this, accommodated by adopting several ways of the white man.


    Catlin reveals what transpires between the encounter of two starkly different cultures in a an area being exposed to drastic transformations. In the wake of white society’s westward craze, some may see the natives as “selling-out”, this painting goes to show that these are a culture of dignified people merely doing all that it takes to keep their heritage the least bit alive.






[1] pg. 294; Davidson, James W.. "The Rise of Democracy."Nation of Nations. 4th ed. 2006.