Slavery In The Upper South Essay

Slavery had remained prevalent in the Southern state up to 1860. When slaves were first brought to America, they were primary used to work on plantations in both the Upper and Lower South harvesting crops like cotton and tobacco. As time passed, other forms of labor became favored in the Upper South and slavery began to slowly diminish in some southern states. However, plantation owners still heavily relied on slaved to grow and harvest their crops. The main changes in slavery that occurred between 1815 and 1860 were that the Upper South became more diversified and no longer relied on slaves as a labor source, while the Lower South tried desperately to maintain their slave population by changing their ideologies and attitudes towards them.
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