The Slavery Of The United States - 1670 Words

In 1619, the first Africans made their way to America, giving birth to the slave industry that would soon drive a wedge between the nation. As the United States progressed into different industries, slavery benefited only one side of the country – the south. The north began outlawing slavery, deeming it as immoral and unconstitutional while the south needed and depended on slavery to maintain their economy. The opposing sides on the slave system lead to arguments between the North and the South as to decide what new territories would allow slavery, then leading on to outlawing slavery all together. Tensions increased with the enactment of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 as both northerners and southerners rushed to relocate to Kansas and†¦show more content†¦When England banned the international slave trade, the new nation of the United States had to rely on their own domestic trade. Slaves continued to be sold as labor to provide profit for whites who would brutally punish and abuse them. The nation began to divide itself on what better benefited and profited both sides – the north focused on manufacturing, while the south focused on agriculture. The north no longer needed or relied on slaves for production, rather focused on women, children and immigrants as the labor force. Yet, as the south’s economy revolved around agricultural production, especially cotton, the slave labor force demand was at its highest. By 1860, the slave population in the south was around four million slaves, all due to natural reproduction. With such a big population of slaves and a high demand in labor, the slave trade continued and evolved into a multimillionaire industry where slaves were sold for high prices at local auctions. The slave industry was incredibly important in the south, but would soon be attacked by northerners who deemed slavery as a sin. Around the mid-1800s, abolitionists began uprising in the north with the help of such as William Lloyd Garrison and Elijah Lovejoy, both of who tried to educate people of the sins and unjustness of the slave