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The arrival of permanent colonies in North America meant that colonists had to establish a
new way of life, mostly through agriculture. Although many colonists did not own land in their
mother country, the expanse ‘unsettled’ land of North America gave colonists the opportunity
to settle land for themselves. As most colonists were unwanted in their mother countries
because lack of education/trade, the colonists relied on familiar practices in order to survive.
This resulted in North America being established as an agrarian nation, possessing large
quantities of cotton and tobacco. Under Britain’s crown, the colonists had to supply the mother
country with extensive amounts of raw materials, making it difficult for colonists to keep up
with Britain’s demands. With demands for raw materials so high, colonists needed laborers to
help their farms. Thus, colonists were introduced to the institution of slavery, a practice which
would propel southern economy forward. By the turn of the seventeenth century, colonists
were reliant on slaves to keep up with the demands for work. Despite the need for labor being
prevalent in both the north and south, the institution of slavery slowly developed into a
distinctly agrarian practice, while northern beliefs shifted from slavery being necessary to it
being unjust.
As colonies began to prosper, the need for slaves and indentured servants grew rapidly,
however ideals began to shift as the regions developed distinct economic differences. An ad for
slaves in the was published in Philadelphia, boasting of the new slaves which would soon be up
for sale in Delaware. The advertisement described the 170 slaves as “Gold Coast negroes” (Doc
1.) which were the ‘best’ type for sale. The advertisement went on to explain that in the West
Indies these were most sought after type of slaves, which colonists should want. Document 1’s
purpose of stating that the slaves were highly sought after in the tropical islands points out the
large need and sale of black people in southern climate. The fact that there were actual
merchants whose job was to sell slaves in Philadelphia meant the demand for slaves was
growing, otherwise the merchants would not be profiting. Although the advertisement
attempted to sell slaves in the north, colonists soon discovered slavery could not be easily
practiced in the northern climate. Northern, found out that the climate was not adequate for
farming, and instead turned their economy towards manufacturing, while colonists in the south
discovered that their climate would support agriculture and thus became an agrarian society.
Hammond, a southern congressman advocating for the continued practice of slavery, states
that the northern economy did not rely on slavery due, while southern economy relied on
laborers, to farm the land. Hammond(Doc 5). had distinct reasons for which he advocated for
slavery, the institution which had been practiced for nearly a century in North America, needed
to continue or the entire economy of the south would collapse. However, as Hammond noted,
the north did not rely on slavery, thus they could look at the ethical delima which slavery
possed and case judgements without thinking of the effects that would occur to the people
who relied on slavery(Doc 5) Hammond’s view shows the growing practice and reliance of
slavery in southern states. New York, a northern state, was one of the first states to pass an act
that aimed to end slavery. Document 2, describes New York’s proposal, stating that “any child
born of a slave” (Doc 2) would be set free after a certain date. Most of New York citizens would
not be financially hurt from the gradual ending of slavery, so the legislation passed easily. While
southern states who had only saw slavery as an economically profitable practice could not open
their eyes to the same viewpoints as New Yorkers. As the united states grew in territory, the
space available for farming expanded, with the Louisiana purchase, the United States doubled
in size and thus allowed for more agrarian society, meaning a higher need for slavery.
As society in the north began reforming society in the early 1800s, abolitionists sparked
sympathy in northerners. Black abolitionists like Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison
who were only free in the North, wrote books and shared their experiences of slavery with
whites who in turn sparked reform. Jacobs, who escaped bondage and fled to the north, shared
her specific accounts of life in slavery. Along with religious reform, education reform, and
temperance movements which were also sparked in the era, abolitionists in the north banded
together with women to fight for equal rights. Document 4, which depicts the emblem of the
Female Anti-Slavery Society, illustrates the message that African American women fight for, the
message asked, “am I not a woman and a sister.”(Doc.4) The deeper meaning behind the
emblem of the Anti-Slavery Society points out that, the difference in skin color does not change
the anatomy of a human being, much less the equality of a human. The Anti-Slavery Society
which wanted to end slavery, shows the growing difference in opinion between southern slave
holders and northern abolitionists, as the Female Anti-Slavery Society had already progressed
to modern ideas that black people are human and deserve equal treatment to that of white
people, whereas southerners saw black people as a tool they could utilize to better their land.
Although slavery was practiced throughout the east coast, the institution greatly
became an identifying factor for southern agriculture. As the south expanded, so did the
institution of slavery, and as slavery became unnecessary in the north, northerners began to
see the evils behind the bondage of African Americans. The institution of slavery changed
drastically between 1754 and 1850 as northern developed a moral conscious and southern
defended their way of life, the difference in beliefs led to many conflicts in the era such as the
Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 which eventually led to the Civil War, that
finally ended the institution of slavery in the United States.