Slavery as an Economic System

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Slavery as an Economic System
Slavery isn’t usually thought of as being an economical system, but it truly was an economical system and a crucial part to the Southern way of life. Without slavery the South would have lagged behind the North both economically and population wise, and would have had no way to make personal revenue and profits. Slavery and the slave trade gave the South the opportunity to grow and flourish, while also helping the North to grow and flourish. The South relied on slaves to work in fields, houses, plantations, and many other places. Without slaves, the Southern economy would have collapsed or dropped drastically. If slaves would have been hired and paid for the work that they did, they could have helped the economy to grow even more. They would have been able to do this, because they would be getting paid for their hard work, and they could then turn around and spend it on food, houses, and other wants or needs that would arise. By doing this, they would have also had the opportunity to have a touch of freedom. On the contrary, masters are seen by some as the kind of people that took care of their slaves. Most masters took care of only the minimal things, but at least the slaves didn’t have those things hanging over them. Some examples of the things that the master would take care of are: clothes, shoes, a place to live, and food and water. The masters took care of the necessities, which helped to release a burden that if the slaves were free, would have been placed on their shoulders. Being a slave must have been really hard. To have your master only care about you because you made them money, and to not be able to provide for, protect, or be with your family would have been a huge trial. M...

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...ut they were not given the respect that they deserve. The masters at least had the decency to give them a place to stay, clothes, shoes, and food and water. Even though slavery was focused on boosting the economy and helping with the supply and demand of the North, it soon became a way of life that took longer to abolish than it did to start. Slavery and the slave trade will forever be part of our past and will be something that we will always make sure will never happen again.

Works Cited
Fitzhugh, George. Cannibals All!: Or, Slaves Without Masters. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1960. Print.

Douglass, Frederick, and David W. Blight. "Caleb Bingham: Dialogue between a Master and a Slave 1797." Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave: with related documents. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003. . Print.

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