Around 1850, the amount of slaves in the Upper South dramatically decreased and the need for slavery lessened. The Upper South no longer depended on slaves to grow and harvest their crops, so slave labor was seen as unnecessary in most states. In 1815, slaves in the Upper South were sent to work in urban areas in skilled roles …show more content…
A large majority of slave laborers were working on cotton plantations. Large productions of cash crops are what helped the Lower South’s economy to grow, so having a large number of slaves to work the expanding crop fields was vital. However, the Lower South began to notice a change in attitude from the Upper South towards slave laborers. As the Upper South became more opposed to slavery, the Lower South tried desperately to preserve the idea of slavery. Plantation owners tried to justify slavery by changing their idea of slavery from being a negative force to a positive one. Many Lower Southerners tried to use the Bible as evidence to support their claim that slavery was necessary for economic prosperity (Goldberg, 301).The Lower South tried desperately to hold onto their slaves while the rest of the world around them was