Effects of Slavery on Development of the South Essay

Effects of Slavery on Development of the South - Essay Example By the 18th century, America could not be seen as being a homogenous society. Clearly defined states could be identified that had different outlooks and different values. Which later was seen in the North versus South divide that created the two sides in the war. By April 1861, slavery had become entwined with state rights, the power of the federal government over the states and the South’s ‘way of life’. It made a significant contribution to the causes of the American Civil War.It later is seen in the North versus South divide that created the two sides.The South was an agricultural region where cotton and tobacco were the main backbone of the area’s economic strength which relied on free labor from the slaves. Slavery was seen as part of the southern way of life. Without slavery, the economic clout would have been severely dented. On the other hand, North was industrializing at a very fast rate. North’s economic development was based on entrepreneu rial skills and input of poorly paid workers who were not slaves. Due to this difference, both parts had different views of slavery. The southern side did not advocate for the release of the slaves as they relied on their labor for their economic backbone while northern side advocated for their release. These differences became the essential difference between north and south. Even after the liberation of slaves after the swearing in of Abraham Lincoln, the southern side was not viewed as a safe place for blacks as they were still considered as slaves.