Final answer:
The U.S. was shaped by slave labor through its impact on the Southern economy and the production of cotton, which had extensive economic repercussions in pre-Civil War banking and global financial systems. The commodification of enslaved people as assets both fed into and fueled these systems, significantly contributing to the sectional tensions that led to the Civil War.
Step-by-step explanation:
The U.S. economy was significantly shaped by slave labor, particularly through the production of cotton in the South. Cotton, known as "King Cotton," became a global commodity, and the profitability of Southern plantations that produced this crop was inextricably linked to the institution of slavery. Enslaved people were considered valuable property and were used to generate immense wealth for their owners while suffering from daily traumas and dislocation.
Before the Civil War, pre-Civil War banks made sizeable investments in slavery, directly financing plantations and indirectly by accepting slaves as collateral for loans. This intertwining of finance and slavery had a significant impact on the American financial system and also resonated on a global scale, as the demand for cotton fueled economies overseas as well.
Slavery's impact on financial systems included the creation of credit instruments that supported plantation economies, the commodification of enslaved people as assets, and the fostering of economic conditions that would eventually lead to sectional divisions and the Civil War. After the international slave trade was outlawed, the domestic slave trade continued to flourish, providing economic opportunities for White people involved in the trade and enabling the South's reliance on slave-produced cotton.