Slaves: The Main Causes Of The Civil War

Slaves played a huge role in helping develop America as a major power. Slaves greatly increased production throughout America, encouraged trade, as well as influenced society and culture. They were used to dramatically bolster production of goods, in addition to freeing up time for their white owners, who were considered more important at the time. Slaves were also a very controversial topic however, seeing as they were still people, but had no say in their lives. Using slaves split the Union apart, it was one of the main causes of the Civil War, in which many slaves also participated in. The use of slaves in America’s early stages however, was essential to America growing powerful, and prospering as a whole, the development of America progressed …show more content…
There were many upsides to this in the eyes of the slave owners; the Natives were readily available in the New World, they were close to the colonies, unlike indentured servants, who needed to be shipped across the Atlantic. They could treat the Natives however they would like, there were no laws protecting them, and nearly everyone (Europeans) saw them as inferior. They could be treated however, could be forced to work indefinitely, and generally could do nothing about it, since they had lackluster technology. The use of Native Americans as a labor force, like other sources of labor, was vital to the success of America. Most of them would be used to work on plantations, and were treated worse than indentured servants. Physical pain, such as whipping, was a common method used to motivate Native Americans to work. While it hurt relations with the Natives, cheap labor was always needed. These new slaves did not come with no downsides, however. While there were helpful tribes who gave food, as well as taught the colonists about the New World, some tribes became increasingly hostile towards the colonists. The threat of attacks from these “savages” were feared throughout the colonies. The question of whether or not it is morally acceptable to use slaves arises. One of the biggest …show more content…
After the Constitution, there was an influx of slaves. As the United States industrialized, there was an increasing need of slaves, mostly in the South, after the cotton gin was invented. Cotton plantations became more profitable than ever, and more slaves were imported. As the internal strife increased, the South tried to justify their usage of, and importation of more slaves. They argued that releasing the slaves would lead to greater unemployment rates, and crime. The South claimed that abolishing slaves would destroy the southern economy, since they did not industrialize, instead heavily relying on cotton plantations for profit. This resulted in the divide in the Union, between the North and South. Eventually the civil war would be fought, with one cause of it being the issue of slaves. The North, which had less need for them, was for abolishing slavery, and even had several regiments consisting of only black male, while the South, which relied heavily on slaves, was against the abolishing of slaves. Slaves were one of the causes of the one of the bloodiest wars in American history, in terms of American deaths. The American Civil War was another demonstration of how slaves impacted America