Dbq Free Soil Analysis

Controversy was spread all over the United States due to slavery. In general the South was in favor of slavery, whereas the North was opposed to it. The North’s main argument in this controversy was “Free Soil” and that slavery hurt white men and the economy. The South, however, claimed that without slavery, it would not be able to have a stable society or economy. The North believed slavery hurt white men and must be stopped from expanding throughout the United states; the South argued that both the United States government and the British economy needed slavery in order to survive. The North’s main argument against slavery consisted of “Free Soil” and how slavery hurt whites and the economy. The “Free Soil” ideology was the idea that everyone has the opportunity to own their own property, control their labor, and have a chance for advancement in their society. Slavery competed with white men in finding a job, which the South did not like …show more content…
In the 1850’s the South’s economy in the plantations was all about cotton. After the invention of the cotton gin, cotton production rapidly increased, which, in turn, increased the need for slaves. The South’s cotton production also had a big part in Britain’s economy in manufacturing and textile mills. Without slaves, the Southern and British economies would crash as a result (Document 2). The South believed that the blacks were not really human, and that they were inferior (Document 7). The South also thought the conditions in the plantations were much better than those of a Northern factory (Document 1). One of the Southerner’s main arguments for slavery was the “Mudsill Theory”. This theory explained that there has always been an upper and lower class, where the lower class generally does most of the work. In this case, they argued, the blacks were just the lower class and they should do majority of the labor (Document