The Pros And Cons Of Slavery In The South

The Civil War was fought in America from 1861 to 1865. Many people refer to this war as “The War Between the States.” Tensions were high between states before the war officially started. During the period of time preceding the war, people were arguing with each other and a majority of them hated each other. The reason they were fighting was, for the most part, over the issue of slavery and what rights a state had. Since there were only eleven states when this happened, the problems they were faced with divided all of them. These issues often came up in the presidential debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. Abraham Lincoln and the North believed that all slavery should end, while Stephen A. Douglas and the South thought that every state had a right to choose if they wanted slavery or not. By the time the Civil War started, people were as furious as they possibly could be at each other. The war officially started when Southern troops attacked Fort Sumter, South Carolina. When the battles started, the Northern states and Southern states were both fighting for what they believed to be right. Although the North had more men and supplies than the South, it was still a hard fought battle. Countless people died during this war and, the most gruesome battle was the Battle of Gettysburg. The war itself is not considered quite controversial, but the issues of it are and there are many reasons as to why.

Throughout the 1800s in America, slavery was a controversy between the north and the south. A Slave was one who was the property of another human being under law and was forced to obey them. The North felt that slavery was unfair and inhumane, whereas in the South, they felt as though slavery was crucial to their success. African American slaves were not allowed many rights: they were not allowed to testify in court against a white person, could not receive an education, or even sign contracts. Due to the brutality they faced each day, many slaves escaped with hopes to find freedom. The Underground Railroad, a system utilized by many runaway slaves to help them escape from the South to Canada, played a large role in the downfall of slavery and eventual abolition in the United States following the Civil War.

Cotton was the king of the South. It was bringing in large amounts of money as the textile industry in the North grew. Slavery was vital to the economic well-being of the South, and when the North began to question the “peculiar institution” of the South the wall of civility between the two sectionalized areas began to crumble. Due to the growing issue of slavery in the 1850s, the United States of America was in a state of total disarray and turmoil. The tension that had always existed between the North and South over the matter of slavery was no longer ignorable. As the United States expanded to the West, the status of slavery in the new states erupted in a violence that could no longer be controlled by sectionalism. The peace treaties that had worked in the past became Band-Aids over stab wounds. Southern states began to leave the United States of America to form the Confederate States of America and war was declared as the South fired onto the forts of the North. The Civil War was caused directly by the issue of slavery; the fugitive slave act in the Compromise of 1850, Dred Scott v. Sandford, and Bleeding Kansas prove that slavery was the key factor in the eruption of the nation.

During early 19th century, the entrenchment of Southern slavery, there was discussion between planters who benefitted from it and abolitionists who fought against it. Most Americans, especially those in Southern states, understood that slavery system could not help parting from their economic and social system. Southern slavery system brought big economical benefits. However, it negatively influenced American society as a whole rather that positively.

Slavery. A topic that should never be brought up in a conversation, should never be said casually, and should never happen. Slavery, despite being illegal in every country, is still going on, and at different odds. Slavery has many forms. Many of which, only the cruelest of minds can think up. Slavery is different than in the 1800s because it has many more forms, has more potential slaves, and more profit.

The Civil War, occurring between the years 1861 and 1865, was a devastating effect of sectionalism caused by the division of the country on the topic of slavery. Slavery impacted every aspect of the country, whether in the North or the South, though primarily in the South; major impacts were in the politics and economy of the early country ways which inevitably caused the Civil War.

Slavery is the act of owning a person, making them the legal property of another and forced to obey the defined owner. It was the dominant form of labor in the country of the United States between 1815-1861. This was a country that stood for liberty and freedom, and the way they operated was based off of controlling and forcing others to complete tasks. James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Jackson were President during this time span, and each had different views and morals when it came to slavery. James Madison, the first of the four to run his term, was a key contributor to the Bill of Rights. He believed in human rights especially rights to liberty and property. In an article written to address Madison and other’s views and inputs in the bill, it states “They[George Mason, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson] were men for whom ‘possessing property’ was a natural and an inherited right. And a substantial portion of the property that each owned was slaves”(Roger Wilkins). James Madison wrote in the Bill of Rights each man’s individual liberties and freedoms, and still goes on and with his rights, such as that to own property, he owns other men. James Madison was not someone known to be against slavery, however, he was not a supporter, he merely believed he had the right to property, and with the knowledge that slaves were property he gave himself the right to own slaves.

After the American Revolution, the plantation systems of the south greatly expanded slavery in the United States. The Southern states relied on this slave labor for workers in their fields. This created tension everywhere, politically, economically, and socially. Many felt it was unjust to own a human being and the treatment of these slaves was horrible. These tensions were so strong that it became a major component to the nation-wide crisis, which resulted in the Civil War. Non-slaving holding Americans used forms of anti-slavery agitation to try to persuade slave-holding people to see their side. After the Civil War ended and the abolishment of slavery was put into law, the problem of race was not over. It provided freedom to millions of enslaved Americans and was a major social shift in the United States.

Ratified by the states in the winter of 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment was put into play. It declared, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude…shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” (Primary Documents). Officially, this amendment outlawed the practice of slavery, there was, however, an exception. That exception was the use of involuntary servitude, or slavery, as a form of punishment. More than four million African Americans walked free in 1865, this had a rather negative impact on the Southern economy. And so came the Convict-lease system. Many white Southerners saw this system as a solution to their economic hardships; nonetheless, it was often seen as being worse than slavery. In addition to the convict lease system was the practice of Sharecropping and Peonage. These forms of subjugation brought even greater distress to the newly freed African Americans. Despite the ratifying of the Thirteenth Amendment the abhorrent treatment of this newly freed race did not change significantly thanks to programs like the Convict Lease system, Peonage, and Sharecropping.

The introduction of slavery in the Southern colonies helped the development of their economy. The plantation owners had no choice but to turn to slaves because of the lack of colonial workers and indentured servants. Slaves increased the productivity and profits generated by the huge plantations in the South because they had advantages over indentured servants. It also caused the South grow and develop different from the North, which would later lead to conflict between the two.

the states that were in the northern section had mostly depended on trading posts and merchants. By being dependent on those two things there had been no need for the use of slaves, and they had also been armed with machinery's and jobs in the factories. They also had the skill that had been needed and had done lots of labor. Since they had been well equipped on everything making money was very easy and the north had planned to bring these types of jobs to the North. Unfortunately the south had always mostly relied on agriculture, and for having lots of work like this meant they needed lots of man power to keep it going. The north hadn't relied on slaves like the south had and the southern hadn't paid the slaves as well. Once the north became

Escaped slaves from the South helped the north to win the Civil War by increasing the number of soldiers fighting in the war for the north and by spying on the south for the north. With the help of escaped slaves fighting the South, the north outnumbered the south in battles, which eventually led to the North’s victory in the Civil War. Escaped slaves form the south also helped the north by spying on the south and reporting to Union officials who reported the information to the Union army. The purpose of this paper is to consider how escaped slaves from the south helped the north win the civil war resulting in the abolishment of slavery.

I agree the northern and southern states have different economic needs.  With the large plantations in the South, the owners needed more land to farm.  They had the resources to buy land as well. Also, I think the idea of not wanting to expand slavery in the new states and territories and not wanting the wealthy land to buy up any more of the land in the new territories placed an important part as well. I think the war would have still taken place although slavery and the effects of slavery played an important part in the tensions of the

The question of slavery and the rights of states to decide on the matter for themselves completely controlled politics in the years prior to the Civil War. Laws were passed, such as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which made it so any slaves that escaped were to be sent back to their owners. Not only would these runaway slaves be punished severely, but anybody who aided them in escape would also be subject to harsh punishment. These desperate men, women, and children had no protection in the legal system and were left with no options in life other than escape. Many of these escapees had to watch friends and family be beaten, sold, or even killed and were expected to work just as hard, like nothing had happened. After losing everything, it

In the land of the free, saying slavery is a dark part of the United States’ history would be an understatement. From the early 1600’s until the abolition of the practice in 1865, slavery would be a common sight amongst plantations. The slaves would not stand idly in their predicament, learning how to improve their situations and sometimes reaching compromises or rebelling against slave masters. Slavery during the antebellum United States encompassed the ideals of whites in the North and South, the influential relationships between the whites and blacks, and the controversial lives the slaves led.