They depended on slave labor for economic stability. Without the slaves many whites believed they were not able or should be doing the backbreaking labor. The plantation owners also needed the support of the slaves in all areas of their lives such as: cooks, housecleaners, nannies and chauffeurs. The possibility of life without the slaves was devastating. Slaves were the support system of their owners.
Cotton is the next thing plantation owners turn to after the failure of indigo and tobacco. The plantation owners strike a goldmine after Eli Whitney introduces the cotton gin to the South region. The cotton era is born and with it comes the explosion and need to have even more slaves. Slaves are now needed to clear the land, work the cotton crop in the fields and to harvest the cotton once it has completed full growth. Mississippi was admitted as a slave state to the union because of the intense profitability of cotton and the use of slaves.
As slave-owning and slave trading were accepted routines of colonial life, slavery would play a central part in the language of the revolution. The perseverance of the legalized institution of slavery until 1865 is unquestionably the most controversial aspect of all American history. The hypocrisy of the new republic dominated the spotlight of the global stage. The US cultivated and advocated philosophy of the Enlightenment while continuing to legitimize the evil of slavery amongst countless innocent souls. As the European lands were building powerful states on the foundations of revolutionary ideas, and dismantling the whole system, the United States forged a strong central government to deal with the political and social issues that divided the American republic.
The economy would be at a state of corruption. Supporters of slavery would argue that without salves the economy would collapse. Another economic argument was the foreign countries, as well as the north, were dependent on slave trade. Much of the British economy was reliant on the slave trade - both directly and indirectly. Raw produce such as sugar, tobacco, tea, coffee and cotton all came from slave plantations.
Also, many Africans knew about farming so they would be accustomed to the work involved. Third, Africans were strangers to the Americas and would know no places to hide from slavery. From 1500 to 1870, when the slave trade in the Americas finally ended, about 9.5 million Africans had been imported as slaves. The Spanish first began the practice of bringing Africans to the Americas. However, the Portuguese—looking for workers for sugar plantations in Brazil—increased the demand for slaves.
Years of frustration is what caused the eventual succession. Since the American Revolution, the topic of slavery was present in the minds of important men in both northern and southern states. The institution of slavery was allowed to continue in the United States, but it was when the Union started to expand that much of the frustration began. The government had passed regulations banning the spread of slavery into these new territories, and many southern states were outraged to the point where South Carolina threatened to succeed from the Union in 1821. Southern states believed that their way of life was being infringed, meaning that slavery was an important institution for their mainly agricultural based economy.
The search for labor in southern states eventually led the states to do something they didn’t intend on doing. With the great demand for tobacco from states like Virginia and Maryland, and the large demand for sugar cane from the West Indies, the settlers were forced to turn to slave labor. They played a small role at first in the southern states, but eventually made up a large percentage of these areas populations. Georgia and North Carolina opposed slavery, but were unable to compete with the other states crop production. English settlers in Virginia and later Maryland around the Chesapeake Bay area discovered a crop from the Indians known as tobacco.
FRQ for Three World Collide (Chapter 1-3) What role did unfree labor play in colonial American society? Unfree labor systems have been around in America since the early 1600’s and can still be seen today. The first form of slavery started with the arrival of indentured servants, where people bound themselves to masters in return for passage to America, many of whom wanted to escape their turbulent homeland. Eventually, this turned into the slavery as we have come to know it- African Americans doing backbreaking work for little or no money. While many disregard this system as cruel and unfair, in reality it helped to shape America as it is today.
1518 - First boatload of slaves brought directly from Africa to the Americas Cause: Europeans accustomed to slavery were coming to the Americas. Effects: Slavery helped owners gain wealth and property. The United States grew and slavery eventually became a necessity for the Southern Plantation owners. Driven by humanitarian and economic reasons the country became divided and erupted into Civil War. Significance: Slavery brought Africans to America, challenged this country to look at all men as equals and made us leaders in the world for civil rights of mankind.
The Cotton Gin The cotton gin, one of the most important inventions for the south. It all started a long time ago when Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. The problem with picking the cotton gin was slaves had to separate the cotton from its seed which was difficult. Even though the Cotton Gin was created to make slave labor easier it counter acted. In my opinon without the cotton gin slavery might not have lasted as long as it did.