Abolishing Slavery in America

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Slavery today is a large concern to many people, just as it always has been. Any type of slavery is considered immoral and unjust in today’s society and standards. However, before the Civil War, slavery was as common as owning a dog today. Many in the United States, particularly in the South, viewed slavery as a “positive good” and owned slaves that were crucial to their business and income. However, the Civil War then changed the lifestyle of many southerners in a negative way. After the Civil War, slavery was abolished and any man owning a slave was required to let them free and view them as an equal. This was a difficult thing to do and eventually led to a downfall and destroyed economy in the southern United States. Abolishing slavery hurt the country economically and socially at the time and slavery was socially acceptable. For example, abolishing slavery in the United States was unfair towards the South. The South’s economical state depended on the backs of the slaves. After all, slavery was a form of free labor that gave southern plantation owners an affordable way to mass produce. Slavery became so common that it was a dependent for the South (Arrington). Slavery in the eighteen hundreds was as important to southern plantations as cars are for most people today. Without one’s slaves, there was almost no way to earn a profit and be successful for some. When President Lincoln and Congress proposed the removal of slavery, many in the South became upset by this. After all, who was a white northerner to tell a southern plantation owner what he can and cannot do on his land hundreds of miles away? The North did not understand how important slavery was to the Southern economy. The removal of slavery would soon destroy the South’... ... middle of paper ... ...rt Sonkin. The Library of Congress. American Memory, n.d. Web. 4 May 2014. . Richie, Alexander H. Destroying the Railroads While Atlanta Burns. 1864. Sherman's March to Sea : Total Warfare. Web. 4 May 2014. "The Debate over Slavery in the United States." The African-American Years: Chronologies of American History and Experience. Ed. Gabriel Burns Stepto. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 108-149. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 May 2014. "The Southern Argument for Slavery." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, 2008. Web. 03 May 2014. West, Elizabeth J. "Slavery." American History Through Literature 1820-1870. Ed. Janet Gabler-Hover and Robert Sattelmeyer. Vol. 3. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006. 1092-1100. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 May 2014.

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