Economic Benefits Of Slavery

The Civil War during 1861-1865 is the bloodiest war in the American history with over 600,000 people dead and many others wounded. That figure exceeds those of the World War I, World War II, and Vietnam War in combined. At that time, the Union had been going through multiple wars together such as the Revolutionary War, the Seminole War, and several wars with the native Indian tribes. Those “togetherness” experiences help to draw the separate states closer, and to develop their trusts of a strong Union. Why brothers of a stably-growing country has to fight each other in such a long and costly war? Economic differences and protecting state rights from the federal tyranny are argued to be direct causes of the fight. However, slavery is the root

cause of the Civil War: the South would not give up slave because of its economic benefits which also formed their social and political beliefs; on the other hand, the North was more moral when abolish slavery to keep the union together.
Slavery is the uncompromised right of the southern states because of its economic benefits, as well as the southerners’ social expectation and political belief toward it. Among them all, economic return is the most important reason. By 1860, the market value of slavery in the south is up to 2.7 million dollars . In addition, Negro slaves were the main labor in the south. They worked in almost every sectors, from farming to manufacturing, mining, and building railroads and canals. Most of the industrial firms in which slaves were employed had a higher return than average. Despite the theory of inefficient slavery labor, during the antebellum, slave labor was more beneficial than the alternative free labor . The bond men were easier to track compare to poor white men, yeoman, and immigrants. Another reason was slave women and children were fully exploited by the slave owners. The values that slaves brought to the society were substantial that the owners never want to give up those benefits.
Moreover, economic benefits from slavery is the driving force of the secession of the southern states .

The individual states reaction test show strong the reaction of each state was when slavery was banned. The southern states showed varied reactions in coherent to its economic dependence to the slavery system. Those states that economic strength was hurt by ending slavery the most, about twenty-four to forty-two percent income, left the Union first . The second group that left the Union had the income loss percentage ranging from seventeen to nineteen percent. The rest of the southern states that did not leave the Union barely had any income change if the slavery was banned. Their different reaction in accordance to their independence from the economic return proved that the economic benefit of slavery is the main issue for their secession. On the other hand, the social orders also make a contribution to the south’s effort to keep the slavery

system.
Not only the planter class, but also the yeoman farmers gained economic and social advantages through this system. Most of them owned a few land, and were closely connected with the cotton production. Because of their dependence on the plantation for accessing the cotton gins, and having market for their livestock, they were supportive to keep the slavery system. Moreover, in the most southern states, there were lot of first-generation planters. This inspired the farmers to keep up hope of a financially comfortable life. Only a small group from Appalachian ranges who were economically independent from cotton production would speak up against slavery. However, even if the economic factor was not considered, most of white yeoman looked down to the slave to feel the racial supremacy.
The right to own slave had deeply became a political belief of the southerners. Alexander H. Stephen, the Vice President of the Confederate States, stated that “it is a firm foundation that we build on slavery. ” Likewise, in section III of the new Constitution of the Confederation States, the right of slavery is “recognized and protected ” by the government. Not only the southern states did not want to give up the economic and social benefits of slavery, but also the Union determined it as a critical issue that needed to be solved to keep the Union together.
Slavery has exposed to be a critical problem since the Union expanding westward. In 1819, Missouri applied for admission to join the Union in which the balance of eleven slave states and eleven free states was already established. The joining of Missouri with the developed slavery system is a threat for that balance. The current free states were afraid to lose their advantages when voting for Federal policies, especially on slavery matters. The controversy is ended by the happy, but temporary solution – the Missouri Compromise. It draws a line from the southern borders of Missouri from which up north, slavery is prohibited. Thomas Jefferson, on his letter to the Massachusetts congressman John Holmes, expresses his concern of this momentary compromise that “every new irritation will mark it deeper and deeper. ” The level-headed former president pointed out that the controversy of slavery was not going anywhere after this compromise, but it was getting more serious after every new conflict happens.
Jefferson’s concern became true when the controversy of slavery was raised again in 1854.

The continental railroads were designed to go through an unorganized territory west to the Missouri, which is known as Nebraska. Acknowledging the opposition of the south, Stephen Douglas, a Senator from Illinois, proposed a bill that allowed the new territory to choose to have slave or not. It later became the Kansas-Nebraska Act which accepted Kansas as a slave state. The Missouri Compromise was repealed, and slavery continued to expand throughout the Union. This time, the controversy around slavery did not ended peacefully, but created strong conflicts that divided both the major parties at the time, the Democrats and Whigs. The establishment of a new party, the Republican, which openly against slavery pushed the constraints further. This event is a clear proof that series of temporary compromises could not solve the issue. Fully acknowledging this, Abraham Lincoln did not seek for a compromise when the controversy around slavery came to its

peak.
Through Lincoln’s speech in June 16th, 1858, he asserted that the country cannot maintain the system in which half of the states had slaves, and the other half did not . In interpretation for Lincoln’s assertion, either we allow slavery to spread all over the nation, or we have to end it. After Lincoln’s inauguration, the other four states followed South Carolina to secede the Union. The Crittenden Compromise was proposed with the attempt to reserve the Missouri Compromise. However, it is rejected because of the expansion of slavery westward. Lincoln was consistent with his assertion. When the Fort Sumter loss, he fought the war instead of finding another compromise. If the constraints of slavery was still there, the secession of the south, moreover, the separation of the Union would be inevitable.
If slavery ended itself, would we be able to avoid such a costly war? The heavy dependence of the south on the slavery system on social, political, and especially economical perspective made the slavery abolition process so slowly that would hardly achieve any accomplishment without the war. The northern was fighting over slavery with the effort to keep the Union together. Even though the war was bloody and costly, it ended with the thirteen amendment which officially abolishes slavery. This is the opening of a new chapter of American history.