Male southern plantation owners were considered the elite in the South due to the fact that they wielded most of the economic and political power of the region. They were able to obtain most of this power through the system of slavery. Though only three percent owned more than fifty slaves, owning any slaves was a sign of wealth. Many of these large plantations with hundreds of slaves were established because of large growth of cotton. With this wealth came greed and mistreatment to the slaves. Obviously, the owners disciplined their slaves because of things like not reaching quotas, running away, or not obeying. However, Male plantation owners also abused their slaves to reassert their dominance of being the master. They often whipped, shackled,
