Final answer:
The southern colonies had a greater reliance on slavery due to their agricultural-based economy which required a large labor force for plantation work, whereas the northern colonies had a smaller number of slaves employed in a variety of industries. The economic success and legal structures in the South deeply rooted slavery into the regional society, leading to a larger enslaved population in comparison to the North.
Step-by-step explanation:
The prevalence of slavery in the southern colonies compared to the northern colonies is rooted in various factors, including the economic and social structures of the time. The southern colonies' dependence on agriculture, particularly the cultivation of crops like tobacco and rice on plantations, necessitated a large, inexpensive labor force, leading to an increase in the number of slaves. Slavery was an integral part of the southern economy, creating a class of wealthy plantation owners and a political elite that thrived on the profits generated by slave labor. In contrast, the northern colonies had more diverse economies with industries such as shipbuilding, carpentry, and printing, where slaves were employed, but on a smaller scale. The sectional differences in economic development meant that the labor of slaves in the North was more varied compared to the large-scale agricultural work in the South.
By the late eighteenth century, the southern states had developed a legal basis for slavery that further entrenched the practice, as seen in South Carolina's use of Barbados slave codes. The successful American economy at this time was heavily reliant on slave labor, not just in agricultural production but also in industries that benefited indirectly from the slave trade, such as shipping and building. This economic dependency led to a significant disparity in the slave populations of the North and South, with the South having a much higher number of enslaved people.