Final answer:
New Orleans became the center of the slave trade in the Southern United States during the Antebellum Period. It had the largest slave market in the country and served as a hub for the buying and selling of enslaved people from different states.
Step-by-step explanation:
New Orleans became the center of the slave trade in the Southern United States during the Antebellum Period. It had the largest slave market in the country and served as a hub for the buying and selling of enslaved people from different states, such as Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The city's strategic location, cotton boom, and steam-powered river traffic contributed to its rise in prominence and importance. The domestic slave trade was a major business enterprise, and enslaved people were transported by ship or made overland treks to be sold in New Orleans and other southern commercial centers.