Slavery in the North

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the reasons and rationales for the fact that there were less slaves in the North, compared to the South. It argues that while economic diversity, or rather a focus on industry and commerce instead of agriculture, did play a role in limiting the use of slaves, climatic issues played a pivotal role in determining the extent to which slavery was employed in the North.

From the Paper:

"In this regard, then, the differences in economic production did play a role in the limitation of slavery in the North. However, slavery had been limited in the North long before industrial production began there in earnest. As such, we have to assume that whatever factor affected the use of slaves in the North did not have to do with economic diversity but with something else. Slavery simply never reached the scale that it was practiced in the South, though historians caution us to remember that slavery still was very present in the North, just to a lesser degree (Harper par. 6, 10-11). Given the limited nature of slavery in the North, I think it would be prudent to discuss first the nature of the fundamental difference between the North and the South in order to develop the reason why slavery never expanded its economic role in the North."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Beard, Charles A. "The Approach of the Second American Revolution." The Causes of the Civil War: Institutional Failure or Human Blunder?. Ed. Hans L. Trefousse. Malabar, FL: Robert E. Krieger Publishing Company, 1971: 23-38.
• Harper, Douglas. "Introduction." Slavery in the North. 2003. 2 Dec. 2005 <http://www.slavenorth.com/index.html>.
• Owsley, Frank L. "Southern Agrarianism." The Causes of the Civil War: Institutional Failure or Human Blunder?. Ed. Hans L. Trefousse. Malabar, FL: Robert E. Krieger Publishing Company, 1971: 51-62.

More papers on Slavery in the North:

• Term Paper # 121154 : "Slavery in the North"
• Essay # 60646 : "Slavery in the North and South"
• Descriptive Essay # 108787 : "Slavery in the North American Colonies"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: