Chapter 10: The Debate over Slavery
Summary
Though repugnant, immoral and sometimes inhuman, slavery is an important institution to understand
for it is a permanent part of the U.S. fabric. By studying slavery, we learn about human beings, their
behaviors, their motivations in different time periods, and their imperfections throughout history. This
study of slavery, why it persisted and how it ended can help us guarantee justice to all minorities,
minimize corruption in places where people may face discrimination, and avoid making mistakes similar
to those made during slavery in the future.
In the period leading up to the Civil War, slaves were the main labor input used in the
production of cotton and cotton was king in the U.S. economy on the eve of the war. Until the
Thirteenth Amendment, the U.S. Constitution supported and legitimized slavery. Taking this background
into account, this chapter presents the study of slavery as an economic institution – one in which all of
the actors are directing resources into those uses and activities promising the highest net benefits –
even the slaves. Through these economic lenses, the work leading up to and following Time on the Cross
is highlighted. Each of the main 10 theses offered by Fogel and Engerman is featured. Rebuttals and
debates to each thesis are threaded throughout. Discussions concerning the persistence of slavery
follow, and explanations as to why the slaves did not fiercely resist this immoral institution are
mentioned. This chapter concludes with a summary of the strengths and weaknesses of using economic
theory to explain the behaviors of those individuals involved in U.S. slavery.
Key Terms and Concepts
Capital
Free labor
Indentured servitude
Involuntary labor
Labor
Slave labor
Voluntary labor
Teaching Tips
1. Discuss the role of labor in a growing and developing economy. Explain that free, wage labor
competed effectively with white, indentured servitude, and open competition for labor
eventually led to the demise of indentured servitude. Use economic theory to explain why
slavery continued to grow while white servitude eventually died out in colonial America.
2. Explain that the nonagricultural divisions of the Southern economy included lumber, textiles,
and iron work. The cotton industry absorbed a lot of labor – free (voluntary) vs. slave
(involuntary). Consequently, slaves were also used in nonagricultural or urban work. Since
there were close labor substitutes for slave labor, the demand for urban slaves was more
sensitive to price changes than the demand for rural slaves in the nonagricultural sector of the
economy. Consequently, changes in demand in the urban areas were greater than on the
plantations when slave prices fell.
3. Compare and contrast the average farm size of the North to the South in 1860. Discuss the
differences in slave ownership on each. Use Wright’s work to explain that the South was more
labor intensive than the North, in part, because soil and climate conditions were more
conducive to growing cotton. Since cotton production benefited from slave labor, the demand
for naturally born slaves increased on Southern plantations. By contrast, the conditions of the
North made grain and livestock production profitable, benefiting largely from the use of free
labor and the utilization of different types of capital.
4. International trade was alive and well in Antebellum America. Explain that the U.S. needed
more economic resources to grow and develop than it produced. One way to acquire them was
by importing them. The imports required payment and one way of paying for U.S. imports was
through its exports. Explain the South’s role in international trade during the antebellum period
of its history. Link the exportation of surplus cotton to the growth of U.S. manufacturing, a
sector dependent on imports.
5. Explain that the ability to maximize profits influences production decisions. Changes in relative
prices and costs lead producers to divert resources into their most productive uses among
various production alternatives. Ask students to use their reading to explain why plantation
owners invested in slave labor and diverted resources leading up to the Civil War to protect the
political power held by the land-owning aristocracy.
6. Break students up into groups. Assign each group one or two of the main 10 theses offered by
Fogel and Engerman in Time on the Cross. Ask the group to research each thesis, present both
sides of the controversy surrounding the thesis, and draw a conclusion after weighing the
evidence.
7. Ask students to explain how profits and losses contributed to economic progress in the U.S.
economy during the antebellum period? How did the “pursuit of profit” influence cotton
producers’ incentives to (a) produce efficiently, (b) provide consumers with goods and services
that they value highly relative to cost and (c) continue with slavery?