What Was The Role Of Slavery In The 1800's

When you think about your family and who your great-grandparents are, do you ever think about what they did or what their great-grandparents did? Think about what your family was doing in the 1800’s. Were they wealthy? Did they live in the North or South? In 1850, the plantations were becoming a big controversy that everyone talked about. What if you had family that was a wealthy plantation owner of the South? Slavery in the United States was the biggest conflict in the 1800’s. However, the people who owned these slaves put them through horrific conditions lived their own lavish lives. These slave owners lived on acres of gorgeous land and created the culture of the South. Plantations in the 18th and 19th century shaped the culture in the South
Fights that would occur dealt with who deserves the slave and how much wealth they have. These fights often started during the bidding of slaves.(civilwar.org) Tensions were usual during this time due to the fight to get to the top of the economic pyramid they designed themselves. There were separated groups of plantations based on how many slaves you have worked. Obviously, the more slaves you had, the more money you had. In 1860, if you had 500-999 slaves, you would have the equivalent of at least 386 million dollars today. Small plantations or farms with 5 slaves at most would have the equivalent of around 4 million dollars (in today’s money) a year.(civilwar.org) The South's economy received 3,930 million dollars from slavery. While these power-houses controlled everything within the South, they also controlled the middle class and lower class citizens.”Power-Houses” is used to describe how these wealthy people wanted to have every little thing under their control. The middle class people practically worshiped the wealthy because of how successful they were. This allowed the wealthy Southerners to control all things such as the
The farmers admired the plantation owners and how they had slaves. Everyone who didn’t have slaves worked hard to try and get the money able to afford those slaves. Some farmers forced their children to get a better education in order to get enough money for slaves. Within the 15 states that created such a strong and prominent culture, there were some major similarities and some differences. Some being on how some people would do anything to climb the social ladder. The further you go south, the stronger the argument of having slaves was enforced. There weren’t always supporters of slavery in the more Northern-Southern states. This lead to many conflicts for elections and with following the laws established to help plantation owners.(Independence Hall Association) However most middle class citizens strived for the acceptance from the elite. Since everyone strived to impress the “god like” figures, they allowed for this design of their culture. After all, the wealthy have “the best lives ever.” (Kahn, Eve M.0) Since the wealthy created the culture of the south, the expectations were set extremely high. This created a push for most middle class citizens to want to become a plantation owner once they have enough of their own