To what extent did southern society constitute a social hierarchy

The southern states were a society based on a division of classes. White Society and Black Society.

The White society was divided between:

Planters: The rich class that held the majority of the wealth of the southern states with them.

Middle class: Composed mostly by farmers who lived modestly growing cotton and corn.

Poor whites: Did not possess slaves and struggled for a survivor.

The Black Society was divided into:

Free black people: They usually bought they own freedom with money they saved.

Mulattoes: People of mixed breed that had plantations. They had limited rights and had to carry documents that proved they were free, if not they would become bonded laborers again.

Slaves: Tied to their owners usually resided in slave quarters away from their masters home.

abraham lincoln  (february 12, 1809  – april 15, 1865) was an american statesman, politician, and lawyer who served as the 16th  president of the united states  from 1861 until  his assassination  in april 1865. lincoln led the nation through the  american civil war, its bloodiest war and its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis.[2][3]  he preserved the  union,  abolished slavery, strengthened the  federal government, and modernized  the u.s. economy.