Slavery In The 19th Century

In nineteenth century America, slavery was a colossal source of tension and discord. Many southern Democrats based their livelihoods on the very existence of slavery. In the early 1800’s, the Abolition of the Slave Trade made it illegal for anyone to import slaves from outside of the United States. Furthermore, the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 rebooted the economic preeminence of slavery in the United States. Cotton was becoming a crucial cash crop in these newly inherited western territories, and ambitious slave owners needed slaves to work the fields. Due to this, the price of slaves previously existing inside of the United States was raised significantly. Slavery became even more of a brutal business practice than it was before. Many slaves went without adequate food, …show more content…
The Market Revolution catapulted the American economy headfirst into a massive change that included industrialization, and urbanization. Transportation and communication such as canals, steamboats, roads, railroads and telegrams cultivated a new type of relationship between society and economy. Suddenly, there existed a class of single, independent, working women, as well as men. The growing gap between classes emerged as a means for affluent individuals to get involved in (pro or anti) abolitionist and feminist movements. Radicals emerged from both sides who had the time and money to provoke destruction to opposing viewpoints. One such example was John Brown, a religious fanatic, and militant abolitionist. Brown led a massacre against a pro-slavery settlement with the rationalization God told him to abolish slavery. Additionally, Brown secretly built an army to start a slave uprising in Harpers Ferry. This unforeseen result of the newfound economic amelioration was commonplace yet