Slavery and the Economy in America

Slavery and the Economy in America

Slavery is still a hot topic in the American public domain. In the 18th century and 19th century, slavery was a common practice in America, where blacks were considered as nothing more than just properties of white Americans (Ford 1). In the southern states, one-third of the population was made of slaves. American towns and cities, such as Savannah, New Orleans, Charleston, Mobile, Philadelphia, and New York, had a vast number of slaves. Most enslaved Africans worked in agricultural plantations and, in particular, in cotton and rice plantations. Besides, African Americans worked as maids, sewists, waiters, butlers, and launderers. Some of them worked as blacksmith, weavers, millers, coopers, stonemasons, spinners, carpenters, drivers, and stable boys. These enslaved Africans provided labor to their masters at an exchange of food and shelter. In this way, slave masters benefited and defended slavery at all costs. This essay paper reviews the economic reasons why people and, in particular, slave owners defended or justified slavery despite its horrible impact on enslaved Africans.

Pro-slavery whites and, in particular, those from the South justified slavery because it was the primary source of labor in cotton plantations. In the mid-19th century, cotton was the primary source of income in southern states (Phillips 205).  New Orleans, for instance, was a vibrant commercial center in the mid-19th century thanks to the cotton, which was produced using slave labor. In particular, slavery shaped the believes and culture of the South in that it promoted the ideology of white supremacy and made whites think that slavery was the bedrock of the economy of southern states.

By the early 1800s, cotton eclipsed tobacco, sugar, and rice as the most profitable cash crop in the South thanks to enslaved Africans and cotton gin. The surplus of cotton compelled American cotton plantation owners to turn to global markets such as the United Kingdom (Torget n.pag). Notably, the southern cotton, which was grown, picked, and processed by enslaved Africans, led to the industrial revolution in American and other parts of the world. The entry of slave masters into international markets to sell their cotton fueled the growth of wealth in New Orleans. Thanks to slaves and other contributing factors, New Orleans possessed 12% of the country’s banking capital in the1840s. In this regard, New Orleans became a metropolis that was important as New York.

In 3.2 million people who were enslaved in the United States, about 1.8 million were engaged in the production of cotton in the 1850s. In the 1860s, slave labor was yielding more than 2 billion pounds worth of cotton each year. The production of cotton continued to increase up to a point when United States production or supply to the international market amounted to two-thirds. At one point during the Civil War, politicians from the state of South Carolina noted that the South was more robust than the North because “cotton is king.” Mainly, the statement of “cotton is king” was true given that the South had strong economic ties with American cotton markets and Atlantic markets as well due to the supply of cotton that was produced by slaves. In particular, the exportation of large quantities of cotton made America a world leader in the production and supply of cotton. Overall, the South valued the cotton as much as they appreciated the idea of maintaining slavery labor system to continue to thrive.

Southern states fought to maintain the slavery system because the slave trade was a lucrative business. As tobacco production and demand decline, slave masters and farmers in Maryland and Virginia chose to sell the enslaved laborers because they were unable to feed, clothe, and shelter them. The new practice that took place between the late 18th century and mid 19th century became a unique economic opportunity for white Americans. In particular, the slaves were sold between upper southern states such as Virginia and Maryland to deeper southern states such as Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. In Mississippi and Louisiana, enslaves laborers were sold primarily to cotton plantation farmers. In this regard, southern states defended slavery and the slave trade because they were sources of income. In other words, enslaved laborers were properties that could be exchanged at any time for profit.

Each plantation was an economy that was part of the national and international economy, with free labor from slaves. Slaves were part of the American political economy, as they were legally considered as a commodity or property of their owners. In some cases, they acted as collateral in all forms of business transactions, such as loans – used to settle outstanding debts. Notably, slaves were traded for other commodities such as land, food, houses, and so forth (Morrison n.pag). In the calculation of the values of estates, slave owners included the value of slaves. This form of transaction compelled local and state governments to level tax revenues on business dealings that included slaves. In this regard, proponents of slavery so slave trade as a source of income not only to slave owners but also to the government.

With every part of production and distribution in American South being attached to slavery and slave trade, the defendants of the slave noted that an abrupt end of slavery as abolitionist had argued was going to destroy the southern economy. Mainly, this is because it relied on slave labor as the foundation of its growth. In particular, the abolition of slavery was going to destroy lead to the collapse of the cotton economy, and tobacco crops will dry in the plantations (Jenkins n.pag). Further, they noted that rice would no longer be profitable to the farmers. In this perspective, the defendants of slavery argued for the interests of white Americans and, in particular, the beneficiaries of slave labor; that is, rice, tobacco, and cotton farmers.

Again, the defendants of slavery maintained that freeing slaves at once would result in unemployment and chaos in the United States. Mainly, the unemployment would emanate from enslaves African American who would have nothing to do. Again, pro-slavery groups maintained that abolition of slavery would destroy the American capital system since the US and the UK offered loans to the South to purchase land and procure labor from slaves. Further, these groups noted that abolition slavery was causing chaos in the merchant businesses, especially those who distributed cotton to the international markets. Consequently, this would lead to uprisings, anarchy, and bloodshed. Mainly, they noted that ending slavery was to propagate an environment that will result in a rule of terror, whereby blacks will turn against whites. In this regard, they saw the importance of maintaining the status quo whereby white Americans continued to enjoy free labor from enslaved Africans, as well as wealth and stability from this form of the economic slave system.

The defendants of slavery considered the end of slavery as a significant source of disruption of economic activities in the United States and the United Kingdom through various sectors. Mainly, this is because the benefits attributed to cotton that was produced using slave labor benefited the South, the North, and the United Kingdom. Notably, North America and the United Kingdom transformed cotton into clothes. Besides, their shipping and financial industries grew significantly. Banks in the United States and the United Kingdom benefited from slave labor through their provision of loans, out of which slaves acted as collaterals so that once a borrower is unable to pay, a bank can take and auction his slaves to recover the loaned money. In this regard, most Americans who supported slavery argued that ending slavery would kill not only the cotton industry but also other fundamental sectors such as the financial and shipping sectors.

In conclusion, slavery was widely defended from an economic perspective by individuals who benefited from the systems. Mainly, slavery and slave trade benefits white Americans who owned slaves. In particular, they used slaves to grow cotton, tobacco, and rice. As such, they argued that the abolition of slavery would destroy these economics and hence hurt farmers. Again, the defendants of slavery noted that ending slavery would hurt financial, shipping, and industrial sectors not only in the South but also in the North and United Kingdom. Further, the defendants of slavery maintained that ending slavery would lead to unemployment and chaos, which would aggravate the disruption the economic activities. Finally, the defendants of slavery maintained that ending the practice would deny state and local governments slave revenue taxes.

Works Cited

Ford, Lacy K. Deliver Us from Evil: The Slavery Question in the Old South. Oxford University Press, 2009.

Jenkins, William Sumner. Pro-Slavery Thought in the Old South. University of North Carolina Press, 1935.

Morrison, Michael A. Slavery and the American West: The Eclipse of Manifest Destiny and the Coming of the Civil War. University of North Carolina Press, 1997.

Phillips, Ulrich Bonnell. American Negro Slavery: A Survey of the Supply, Employment and Control of Negro Labor as Determined by the Plantation Regime. D. Appleton, 1918.

Torget, Andrew J. Seeds of Empire: Cotton, Slavery, and the Transformation of the Texas Borderlands, 1800-1850. University of North Carolina Press, 2015.