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Slavery DBQ Essay

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Between the years of 1820 and 1865, the debate of slavery was vivid to the American people and the main focus was on what the economic, political and moral gains were. This period of forty-five years were critical in the development towards the American Civil War. With the hardships in Congress and the happenings in the South, it was no surprise that this issue was so controversial and personal. The supporters of slavery argued that despite the current ideas of what slavery was, there were a multitude of political, moral and economic gains from this institution. Supporters of slavery argued that slaves provided cheap labor and a powerful workforce, while also serving as a source of currency for Southern farmers and that it provided a better life than those who worked in a factory. To begin, pro-slavery groups argued that one of the best reasons behind slavery was its contribution to the economy. Slavery provided cheap labor to the Southern plantation farmers. The farmers just had to purchase the slave at an auction — there was no payroll or need to pay hourly wages. This benefit was invaluable to the struggling farm. When the slaves had children, that child was already owned by the slave masters and therefore provided a free, new worker in a couple years. The groups also argued that the …show more content…
They argued that slaves were like a source of currency — owning more slaves was like a display of a slave master’s wealth. With wealth, came power in the American government. Slave master’s could look back on several of the past President’s lives as examples and models to what owning slaves could add to your political career. Some of the Presidents who owned slaves included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Munroe, amongst several others. Having these role models, plantation owners saw the slaves as a token of their individual

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