Impact of Slavery on the South

Life in the South was based on an agrarian system which contrasted from the industrialized style of the North in the 1800s. The rural characteristics of the South were evident as 84% of it’s labor force was dependent on agriculture and it lacked in urban development. Therefore the Southern economy was based on plantation production, a laborious activity and time consuming effort. This made it crucial to have a enormous number of working force on demand, ready to initialize the work. Therefore Southern landowners, wanting to maximize profit and diminish any sort of excessive spending, found it vital to institute a system of slavery which could provide them with a controlled system of labor on demand at low cost. Slavery became their source of sustainability and a resource that supported the prosperity of Southern slave owners. Cultivation of cotton and tobacco is a multi-step process that requires much dedication and effort. In the Deep South, where these types of crop were the “backbone” of the entire plantation, fields extended for miles and many workers were needed. It was in this sort of environment that slaves were mostly welcomed. Obtaining a slave was rather simple process and considering the profits to be made from their labor it was only rational to pay even $1500 as a price for a slave. To sustain one adult slave for a year it would require $30-$35 and if owners wished they could even half that amount. This was exceptional to slave owners since keeping a slave came at almost no cost, and they benefited greatly from the transaction. Basically these slaves, who lacked liberty and humane treatment, made Southerners into prosperous individuals who did not wish to part from such pleasures. It was not only the cost of owning a slave or the low expenses needed to keep one that appealed to Southern farmers. Slaves had to no freedom and were entirely controlled by their owners. Their masters defined the activities that they needed to perform and they also