preview

Slavery American Slavery

Better Essays

During the period between 1800 and 1865, slavery was a key part in the economic, political, and social development of the American South. Slavery was often referred as the backbone to the southern lifestyle, which made many southern plantation owners wealthy and powerful. In this essay, I will be discussing the many ways slavery played a vital role in the development of the south into a powerful economy and I will also discuss how slavery led to the the destruction of the of the southern states after the Civil War. Slavery was very important to the southern economy. Slavery was regarded as the economic foundation of not only the South, but of America. Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin made the cotton market explode, by creating a machine that allow for the quick and easy separation of cotton fibers from their seeds. This invention made it possible to grow large amounts of cotton. Even though the cotton gin required less slaves to operate it, it made growing cotton more profitable. This led to the development of more cotton plantations across the south. The increase of cotton based farms increased the requirement of the number of slaves required . Therefore, the slave population in the south grew from approximately 700,000 in 1790 to around 3.2 million in 1850. Slave labor began to produce two-thirds of the world’s cotton supply and up to 80% of the British market by 1860. Slavery and the cotton gin transformed the South into a world agricultural powerhouse. After

Get Access