Antebellum Era Essay

During the Antebellum Era, slavery was about one-third of the South’s population. The Antebellum Era was the period before the Civil War broke out. The South’s economy was booming which was credited to slavery. Their argument about slavery was that slaves were necessary and important to their economy. It would kill their economy if they got rid of slavery. Slavery was the foundation of their economy. Without any slaves, cotton would not be able to be produce. Nearly 60 % of their exports was cotton. Southerners would also point out that slaves were better working in plantations than working in a northern factory. According to them, the North had bad workplaces and long hours. They insisted that slaves were cared for and helped when they needed it unlike the North. However, slaves were still treated bad in the South. They would resist slavery in a variety of ways. For example, running away was one form of resistance. The most common form of resistance was known as “day-to-day” resistance which were

It abolished all slavery, but slaves still faced many challenges. To help alleviate some of their problems, the Congress created a temporary agency that provided food, clothing, and medical care to newly free slaves. This was known as the Freedmen’s Bureau. Slaves were made citizens of the United State which gave them constitutional and legal rights. Slaves were also given “equal protection” and education, right to vote, legalize their marriages, and could hold a position in a political office. However, it was still difficult for slaves to find a place in society because they were not given an alternative way to earn a living. They had to start of fresh with no homes or no money. The only jobs they could get were sharecropping and tenant farming. In both, slaves would have to work out in the fields and give the crops back to their owners, so they were basically tied back to