Question

How was the economy of the south in the 1850s connected to culture of.slavery

Answer 1

The economy of the South in the 1850s was deeply connected to the culture of slavery. Slavery played a key role in the economy as southern planters relied on enslaved people to produce crops like cotton, which was the main commodity of the South. Slavery also shaped the culture and society of the South, with a racial ideology of White supremacy and values of protection and domination.

Step-by-step explanation:

The economy of the South in the 1850s was deeply connected to the culture of slavery. Slavery played a key role in the economy as southern planters relied on enslaved people to produce crops like cotton, which was the main commodity of the South. The profitability of cotton depended on the institution of slavery, and the South became the epicenter of cotton production.

Additionally, slavery shaped the culture and society of the South. It was built on a racial ideology of White supremacy, and the dominant culture valued the protection of southern White womanhood and the domination of others, particularly enslaved individuals. Slavery also decreased class tensions among White people, binding them together on the basis of race.

Enslaved people, on the other hand, endured the traumas of slavery but created their own culture, using Christianity and community networks to find hope and solace.

Answer 2

Most of this has to do with what is known "King Cotton" or the "Cotton Kingdom". Cotton was an extremely valuable product; it helped the North's manufacturing, it helped increase the North's capital from shipping the cotton to Europe, and it is estimated that 1/5 of jobs in Britain at the time were dependent on cotton. Back in the South, the invention of the cotton gin helped increase cotton output astronomically. Cotton picking and cleaning is an extremely timely and laboring process, and the need for cotton was still high, so slavery was the obvious answer. Slaves were also growing in population due to their own reproduction rate, perhaps the only time in history this has occurred. All of this had heavily tied slavery to the Southern economy on the eve of the Civil War.