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How Did Slavery Affect The Economy Of The North And South

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Slavery caused there to be very different economies in the North and the South, creating even more tension and stratification. The southern economy relied on slave labor on their large plantations. In contrast, the northern economy was industrialized and had little need for slave labor. Instead, Irish immigrants provided cheap labor in factories, but they were not slaves. The South, as a whole, struggled economically. Aside from a few wealthy plantation owners, most of the population consisted of poor, subsistence farmers. They had few railroads, limiting trade, and the use of free, slave labor prevented the South from industrializing, which caused the economy of the South to fall behind that of the North. While the northern economy was

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