The southern economy relied on slave labor. Southerners believed abolition “... would put an end to the cultivation of our great southern staple (Doc 2)”. The author clearly thinks abolition would have dire consequences for the southern economy. In document 4, slaves are depicted picking cotton while wealthy whites observe. The scene is calm and serene. The purpose of this document is to advocate plantation life. Contradictory to southerner’s claims, slave labor was not the most cost effective means of production at the time. Free laborers would have an incentive for hard work: a salary. Slaves, however, had no incentive and even worked slowly at times to spite their owners. Slave owners also believed that they were providing their slaves with a satisfactory life. Slave owners fed, clothed, and housed their slaves. Slave owners argued that their slaves were their family.They thought they were saving their slaves from “excess of labor, this actual want and distressing cares (Doc 1)”. The purpose of this document was to defend slavery. In addition, the supreme court case Dredd Scott v. Stanford further affirmed southerner’s belief in the institution of slavery. This case determined that slaves were nothing more than property. Slaves were “the most valuable species of their property, worth according to recent estimates, not less than $4,000,000,000 (Doc 7)”. The intended audience of this document was the Governor of…