Antebellum Slavery
Slavery has been of significant importance in American history.During the antebellum period, slavery undergirded the economy of the UnitedStates, dominated politics and eventually led to the war between the Northand South (Institution 1991). After the Civil War, the legacy left behindof slavery continued to influence American history, from the Reconstructionera of the 1860's and 1870's to the struggle of civil rights during thetwentieth century (Institution 1991). After the American Revolution, slavery became an institution in theWith the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, cotton production rosesharply and the demand for slaves increased (Institution 1991). When theRevolution began, there were approximately half a million slaves in theUnited States, North and South, and on the eve of the Civil War there werefour million slaves, confined entirely to the South (Institution 1991). Slaveholdings in the South varied according to size, location, andcrops produced and slavery in cities differed substantially from that inthe countryside (Institution 1991). Slaves served as skilled craftsmen,
The abolitionist movement voiced the sinfulness of slaveholding, however,more persuasive to most northerners was the 'free-labor' argument that"slavery was backward, inefficient, and socially degrading" (Institution1991). Due to the decline ofplantation agriculture in the 1800's, slaves were no longer profitable inthe east, so slaves were hired out or sold usually to the salt industry(West pg). Slaves inurban areas were less confined than those on plantations and had moreopportunities for learning, thus had more contact with free blacks whoinfluenced their ways of thinking about slavery (Africans pg). There were 490,308 slaves in 1860 eastern Virginia belonging to48,308 slaveholders, averaging over ten slaves per owner and in westernVirginia there were some 18,451 slaves belonging to 3,820 slaveholders,averaging less than six slaves per owner (West pg). Therefore, "secessionism in South Carolina was amainly top-down affair that reflected the concerns and values of agoverning elite (Sinha pg). The economy of South Carolina was based largely on slavery due to the largeplantations and agricultural life (Sinha 2000). Slavery in the Southwas not only an economic investment, it was a way of life. About half the slaves in the Kanawha Valley were ownedor hired by salt firms and forty percent of these were used to mine coalfor the salt works "because they could be hired from their owners for muchlower wages than white laborers demanded and were usually leased andinsured rather than bought due to the risk of death or injury in the coalmines" (West pg). During the antebellum period, slaves made up about one-third of the southern population (Institution 1991). Slavery did not become as vital and profitable to thewestern Virginia economy, and this led many to believe that slaveryactually harmed the economy and discouraged immigrants from settling in theregion (West pg). Henry Ruffner and other abolitionists based theirbeliefs on economic and political ramifications rather than moral arguments(West pg). nurses, drivers, mill workers, field hands and house servants(Institution 1991). Beginning in the 1840's, this controversy dominated national politics untilthe election of Abraham Lincoln "plunged the country into a secessioncrisis and civil war as southern politicians defended their institution"(Institution 1991). The sectional nature of slavery led to bitter political strugglebetween the North and South that ended in civil war (Institution 1991).
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Acceptance Essays
