oligarchy - Rule by a small elite. “…the South was…not so much a democracy as an oligarchy….”

medievalism - Devotion to the social values, customs, or beliefs thought to be characteristic of the European Middle Ages. “Southern aristocrats…strove to perpetuate a type of medievalism that had died out in Europe.…”

commission - Fee paid to an agent in a transaction, usually as a percentage of the sale. “They were pained by the heavy outward flow of commissions….”

middlemen - In commerce, those who stand between the producer and the retailer or consumer. “[Southern planters] were pained by the heavy outward flow…to northern middlemen, bankers, agents, and shippers.”

racism - Belief in the superiority of one race over another or behavior reflecting such a belief.  “Thus did the logic of economics join with the illogic of racism in buttressing the slave system.”

fecund - Fruitful in the bearing numerous children. “…some of these fecund females were promised their freedom….”

overseer - Someone who governs or directs the work of t another. “…under the watchful eyes and ready whip-hand of a white overseer or black ‘diver.’”

sabotage - Intentional destruction or damage of goods, machines, or productive processes. “They sabotaged expensive equipment….”

fratricidal - Literally, concerning the killing of brothers; often applied to the killing of relatives or countrymen. “…supported a frightfully costly fratricidal war as the price of emancipation.”

incendiary - A person who willfully stirs up riot of rebellion. “The nullification crisis…conjur[ed] up nightmares of black incendiaries and abolitionist devils.”