Civil War Times!
Keeping Students Informed About the War Between the States!
Civil War!
The Southern colonies/states were primarily agricultural and as a result were increasingly dependent on "unfree" labor. In the South over the 18th and 19th centuries slavery was slowly but surely being institutionalized. The enslaved population gradually outnumbered the free/white population and the vast wealth in the South was tied up in "human property" until the enslaved population was worth more money than the homes/land/crops of the slave owners. The southern economy was not diversified which would become a liability for the South. Plantation slavery developed differently in the American South than anywhere else in the world.
The Northern/New England colonies were much more diversified than the Southern colonies/states. The Northern colonies/states never relied upon slave labor to the extent that the Southern colonies did since they had much smaller farms, and their economy included fishing, shipbuilding, textiles, etc. In the North people didn't own as many enslaved people and typically worked alongside the enslaved people they did own. Soon after the revolution, states in the North began to abolish slavery state-by-state. The abolitionist movement developed in the subsequent decades and gained momentum through the first half of the 19th century.
The South refused to sign the Declaration of Independence until Thomas Jefferson removed the negative language related to slavery. So the text relating to slavery was removed to ensure Southern support.
Southern delegates to the Constitutional Congress in 1787 refused to vote for and ratify the Constitution until the 3/5 Compromise was agreed to because of their representation in Congress. The South wanted to count the enslaved population as "people" since the additional people would ensure the South had more representation in Congress. However, the South did not want to be taxed for their "human property" since, according to the Southern states, the enslaved population was not considered "property." The South "held the nation hostage" with the issue of slavery for over 100 years.
By the time the country reached 1860 the situation had reached a boiling point and there was no going back.