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The Labor System Of Slavery Transformed The South During The Eighteenth Century

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Prompt:The labor system of slavery transformed the South during the eighteenth century. Discuss the impact of slavery on the economy of the South, as well as its impact on southern society and politics.

In the 18th century the population of British America skyrocketed from 250,000 to more than two million, a great deal of this population increase was because of the increasing slave population and the slave natural increase (pg 107). As opposed to the century before when slaves were scarce, there was a dramatic fluctuation of slaves in the colonies during the eighteenth century. Slaves made such a huge impact in the population that in some places there were more slaves than white men, such as in South Carolina (pg 117). Slavery had a large influence on southern society and on politics as whites rich and poor now shared so called “supremacy” over slaves which worked to unite the whites in some way (pg 122). Slaves also helped the economy as they worked tirelessly for free and for a lifetime with little hope of ever obtaining freedom unlike their indentured servant counterparts. Slaves in the South made the most noticeable contribution to the flourishing southern colonies, especially in the southern economy (pg 117). The population of slaves increased from over 20,000 slaves in 1700 to over 400,000 slaves in 1770, bringing the percentage of African Americans from 20 percent to 40 percent (pg 117). This tremendous increase was due to natural increase, or reproduction of the

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