e work. He also
spent much time engaging in politics, caring more for the honor of the
public station than for the remuneration, and often went on sporting
trips, being used to out-of-door life from boyhood. "The high sense of
personal worth, the habit of command, the tyranny engendered by the
submission of the prostrate race, made the Southern gentleman jealous
in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,"[6] and, as a result, the duel
was very common. Men went about fully armed and used their pistols
with slight provocation. They were used to exercising absolute power
over their dependents and became furious at opposition; thus a quarrel
between one lord and another was, during the earlier period, usually
settled by the pistol.

The mistress, usually mother of a large family of her own and
over-mother of the pickaninnies, was the "chatelaine of the whole
establishment." She supervised the domestic duties, superintended the
household industries, was head nurse for the sick, and instructor in
religion and morals for the family and for the slaves. She was highly
honored and respected by the men, who showed her much consideration.
"No patience was had with plans to bring women into competition with
the men in the public life; but a generalization of the Pauline advice
to the Corinthian church did not hinder the mother from exercising a
gentle but firm sway over her husband and sons, while she set the
example of virtue and modesty for her daughters."[7]

One of the chief characteristics of the Southern people was their
hospitality, which was increased by the fact that they had few
opportunities to extend it. Any traveler was welcome to eat at their
tables, which were always loaded with meats, breads, seasonal
vegetables, relishes, pickles, preserves, jellies, and cakes. He was
willingly entertained until he again took up his journey. The general
effect of the hospitality upon the status of the Southern society was
similar to that of "some rosy afterglow upon a landscape, enhancing
the charm of many features, and making attractive others that under a
cold white light might mar the whole."[8]

Another prominent feature of the planters was their remarkable
progress. Between 1859 and 1860 they had eleven thousand sons and
daughters in Southern colleges, while the enrollment of New England
colleges was only four thousand. The income of the higher institutions
in the South was $700,000, while that of New England was $268,000.
They