Discussion Question

Hi!

In the South, slavery fueled an agricultural revolution. Cotton, cultivated by enslaved people, became king, boosting the region's economic power but hindering diversification and industrial growth. This reliance on slave labor created a stark social hierarchy, with wealthy planters at the top and a large population of poor whites dependent on the system, even if they didn't own slaves themselves. Politically, the issue of slavery became increasingly divisive. The North, with a growing industrial economy and free labor, clashed with the South's desire to expand slavery into new territories. This fundamental conflict over states' rights and the very meaning of freedom ultimately tore the nation apart and lead to the inevitable civil war.