Colonial Wars And The American Economy During The Civil War Essay

The economies of the North and South were vastly different leading up to the Civil War. Money was equivalent to power in both regions. For the North, the economy was based on industry as they were more modern and self-aware. They realized that industrialization was progress and it could help rid the country of slave labor as it was wrong. The North’s population had a class system but citizens could move within the system, provided they made the money that would allow them to move up in class. The class system was not as rigid as it was in the South. By comparison, the South wanted to hold on to its economic policy. In doing so, the practice of slavery kept the social order firmly in place. The economic factors, social issues and a growing

All southern colonies - economy similarities? – All of the southern colonies were broad acred outposts of the English empire. They were devoted to the export of commercial farm products, tobacco, indigo, rice, and sugar cane especially the staple economic crops like tobacco and rice. Slavery was found in all of the southern colonies by 1750, and the power and acreage remained in the hands of the few, except in North Carolina.

Although the American Civil War mainly occurred because of slavery, the fact is that slavery had a lot to do with economic and social issues.

A plantation economy, an economy founded on an agricultural mass production like tobacco, sustained the source of income of the Chesapeake regions, consisting Virginia, Maryland, and northern North Carolina. The early settlers soon realized the urgent need for labor in the New World. Due to the fact that many potential immigrants could not afford an expensive trip across the Atlantic, the Virginia Company developed the system of indentured servitude to attract common laborers. Since tobacco required intensive hand labor all year round, indentured servants have become vital to the colonial economy. "Virginia Servant and Slave Laws" represent the elaborate efforts of masters' to profit from indentured servants and slaves against runaway and

Both areas had many farmers, but the south was successful with big plantations. The southern economy depended on agriculture while the North was based on technological advancement. The North successful developed many industries, while the south improved their farming methods (Roark, 7). The south farmers established huge plantations for cash crop production especially cotton. In addition, slavery became an important factor that provided

Agriculture and environment were factors in the way each culture grew. The fertile land of the south along with a warmer climate made it possible for the colonists to grow cash crops such as tobacco, rice and indigo. However, this was not the case with

The Southern Colonies depended on agriculture for their economy. The crops required a lot of hard work so by the 1700s, they started using African slaves as a main source of labor. People of the Southern Colonies used wood and tar for building ships and some colonies traded with Indians who were local for deerskins to sell.

With the explosion of the tobacco industry, the need for cheap labor had increased dramatically. Many poverty stricken individuals immigrated to the new world under indentured servitude contracts with hopes of starting a new life. By the year 1650, the average life expectancy of colonists of Virginia was

Luckily, for those in power, there was a precedent for unpaid labor in the form of indentured servitude. The workforce made up of those working off their travel, food, and room and board had already proved useful and cost-effective in this new market. As fully owned slaves began to arrive there grew a need to fully define the differences under the law. Virginia enacted the earliest of such laws which began to define the status of those of African descent within the colonies. According to one of the laws: ”…any negroe, molatto,

Agriculture was a prominent feature in colonial economy. In all of the colonies, it was a way for colonists to obtain food and income. In New England, subsistence farming was common. In the Middle Colonies, there was rich soil that produced the perfect environment for crops such as wheat and corn, which was exported as to Europe and the West Indies, creating a source of income from agriculture. In the Southern Colonies, there were subsistence farms and plantations. Plantations grew their own food, as well as cash crops that created a source of income.

For example, farming was the main source of income for the Confederate states. The main southern chief crop which came to be known as King Cotton, accounted for 57% of all U.S. exports (“Civil War”). However, in order to produce these large amounts of cotton, the southern Confederate states depended heavily on slave labor. Since cotton production began to dominate and fuel the southern economy, the South felt that they did not need to industrialize like their northern neighbors did. This caused the South to manufacture very little goods and caused them to purchase manufactured goods from the industrialized North or to purchase imported goods from overseas.

The citizens of the Southern Colonies such as Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina were mainly successful with lots of crops; mostly tobacco and rice, which in turn gained a lot of money for them. These large plantations usually were farmed by forced labor of

In the period after the civil war there were many consequences in the economy in such categories as agriculture, labor, industrialization, and transportation. Many of these economic categories took a hit because many suppliers, work areas, and and employees were hurt or destroyed during the war. It took many years after the end of the Civil War for the agricultural industry, labor industry, industrial industry, and transportation industry to regain their footing in the economic world. Even then some of the industries would forever be changed by the things that the great Civil War caused in our country.

During the development of the colonies and the nation as a whole, slaves were utilized in order to produce the crops and perform laborious tasks that were “below” white people. In the 1660s, there was an increased demand for tobacco products as well as indigo and rice in England (“African American Slavery in the Colonial Era, 1619-1775”). In order to fulfill the demand, there was a spike in interest in purchasing slaves. More and more slaves were needed to produce larger amounts of crops for the plantation owners.

By the 1670’s prices for tobacco entered a fifty-year period of inactivity and decline, as land became limited and costly. Thereafter, in 1681, Maryland abandoned its requirement for servants to obtain land with their freedom dues. This made the Chesapeake land less of an opportunity for immigrants (Norton, 42). Furthermore, the restoration of the colonies provided mirgrants other settlement options (65). As time passed throughout the 1680’s, the cost for indentured servants rose by nearly sixty percent in some colonial regions. In Europe and England with the increase of income; It then took a smaller share of one’s annual salary to purchase voyage to the colonies, enabling immigrants to refrain from entering indentured contracts. For many of