Slavery and Sectional Attitudes

Slavery had been practiced in America for many years. By the 1840s the rapid expansion of cotton and the growing abolitionist movements sparked a great debate over slavery. Several northern Americans decided to perceive slavery as an evil, while southern Americans defended slavery as good. Both sides made arguments to support whether slavery was evil or good based on morals and economics.

There were many reasons why the North described slavery as evil. One of these reasons was the moral injustice of treating slaves as animals. Slaves had no natural rights. Several slaves lived in inhumane conditions and were forced to work long hours in the day. Abraham Lincoln became a supporter against slavery and argued that slaves were people. In his speech at Peoria, Abraham Lincoln addressed the issue of slavery, saying that slavery was declining the progress of America and destroying America`s freedom (Document D). Hinton Helper also thought slavery was weakening the progress of America economically. He argued that slavery was not an efficient way to develop Southern commerce. The North had advanced more economically with the use of domestic and foreign trade; the North had the ships, mariners, and naval architects. Hinton Helper wrote The Impending Crisis which condemned slavery and claimed that slavery hindered Southern economic development and industrialization (Document E). Uncle Tom`s Cabin represented the reality of slave life and changed how Americans depicted slave life. The book demanded freedom and equality. Uncle Tom`s Cabin became the greatest book of the age and thousands of copies were sold. This book persuaded Americans to become against slavery, especially Northerners.

Southern Americans made many arguments to defend slavery as good. Southerners opposed the idea that they treated their slaves poorly. George McDuffie wrote to the South Carolina legislature claiming that slaves live in good conditions that are much better than the conditions of the English and Irish factory workers. He argued that slaves were exempt from hard labor and that their masters provided generously for them (Document A). Also George McDuffie reasoned that the men of God were slave holders, using the Bible against anti-slavery Northerners. George McDuffie implied that Africans slaves were destined to be slaves because they all had the qualities fit for being slaves. He believed that a white man was inferior to a black man. Slaves made an immense contribution to the development in Southern economy. Slaves were good for cheap, hard labor; their labor helped develop America. Slavery was the backbone of Southern commerce and without slaves profits would decrease. Cotton became a staple crop; the production of cotton required numerous slaves. William Harper insisted that if slavery was abolished, the cultivation of cotton would come to an end (Document B). William Harper agreed with George McDuffie, thinking that white men were inferior to black men and