Slavery in the United States was largely a result of pulling economic factors. When the colonists originally arrived in America and, later, established a new nation, they were faced with needing to find a means of creating both personal and national economic stability. The greatest advantage that this new continent offered was space. With space, large scale agriculture could occur. Yet, in order to operate a large-scale, profitable agricultural venture in a time when technology was limited, there was a demand for cheap labor. Thus, the conditions were set for the use of African slaves.
Further, as demand for such agricultural products as tobacco and cotton, which were the main production crops of the south's plantations, the need for slave labor increased. As a result, slavery in the United States was largely a manner of supply, demand, agricultural efficiency and lack of technology.
Since large scale agriculture was limited to the south, slavery had the unintended effect of dividing the nation. In the north, industry was the main source of economic income and did not depend on human slaves for its success. However, the opposite was true in the south. As the slave trade continued, the two halves of the continent grew in very different ways, setting up the ultimate confrontation of the Civil War.
The result of the Civil War and the outlawing of slavery resulted in the crashing of the Southern economy, thus leading to a further divide, this time economically, between the North and the South. Since the southern economy depended on slaves, when this factor was removed the economy collapsed while the north's continued to grow. The effects of this are still felt today.
Bibliography
Garraty, J.A. And M.C. Carnes. (2001): A Short History of the American Nation. (8th ed.). Boston: Longman.
Howe, Daniel Walker. (2007): What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kolchin, Peter and Fritz Metsch. (2003): American Slavery, 1619-1877. New York: Hill and Wang.
Williams, a.A. (1999): The South in the History of the Nation: A Reader, Volume One: Through Reconstruction. New York: St. Martin's.
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