The Economics of Slavery

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how, although today we view these acts of slavery as distasteful, a time existed when slaves were thought to be a necessity for the economic well-being of the nation. It looks at how people found many advantages to colonial slavery: adaptability to most all levels of occupation; money saved by not having to pay the wages of free, white workers; and profitability for the economy. It also discusses how profitability occurred as colonists began participating in the slave trade and marketing goods available only because of slave labor.

From the Paper:

"Northern factories depended on the steady flow of cotton from the South to keep profits up. The South, in turn, depended on slaves to keep production of cotton high by working the fields. The Southerners designated so much land and effort to this cause that they became reliant on the West for food and livestock supply, and the North for most of their clothing and machinery. In turn, slave grown cotton accounted for over half the value of all United States exports, which brought in money that allowed commerce and growth in all sections of the nation."

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