论内战前美国南部奴隶主群体的社会位置与社会控制力

On the Social Position of the Slaveholders in Antebellum Southern America and Their Social Control Ability

在内战之前的美国南部蓄奴州,奴隶主是一个人口规模很大但地理分布不均衡的社会群体。他们占有了南部社会的大部分经济财富,控制着南部绝大部分政治职位,是南部地区实际上的统治集团。奴隶主群体庞大的社会规模和优越的社会地位使得南部社会形成了支持奴隶制的广大社会基础,但奴隶主人口的地理分布不均衡在一定程度上制约了奴隶主在不同地区对白人社会进行控制的能力。在奴隶主人口稠密地区,奴隶主群体能够实现对白人社会的绝对控制;在奴隶主人口稀少地区,他们的社会控制能力就受到极大削弱。

The slaveholders who held most of social wealth and political power of the antebellum Southern America was the ruling group. This group had a massive population, but unbalanced geographical distribution. As a result, they can control the white society in slaveholder highly-densed district while their influence was weakened in nonslaveholder highly-densed communities.