Answer:
The term "Antebellum" comes from the Latin meaning "before the war". It refers to the period from 1800 to the beginning of the Civil war in 1860. There were some important social classes that existed during that time. The upper class was made of the richest, wealthiest people. They usually owned large plantations and lived in the country. These plantations grew crops like cotton or tobacco. This class also owned slaves ususally 20 of them. This class was the smallest of the social classes but it was also the most powerful. The middle class was made up of people like doctors, lawyers, and bussiness men. They usually lived in cities and were very educated. They usually did not own many slaves, if at all any. The lower class was a large uneducated class. They usually did not own any land and had few skills. There were also many slaves in the antebellum south. Slaves were African Americans who were considered property by their owners. They were often treated very poorly by their masters and had no legal rights. About 30% of the population was made up of slaves.