Question

The importation of new slaves into the United States was banned in 1808. How did the ban impact Georgia's trade relationships with other states?

A) It led to an increase in the trade of other goods such as cotton and tobacco
B) It caused a decline in Georgia's overall trade as it heavily relied on the slave trade
C) It strengthened trade partnerships with Northern states
D) It resulted in Georgia becoming less reliant on trade with other states

Answer 1

The 1808 ban on the importation of new slaves transitioned Georgia's trade toward a strong domestic slave trade, with an increase in trade of agricultural goods like cotton, as the state became more reliant on the internal supply of enslaved labor from the Upper South.

Step-by-step explanation:

The ban on the importation of new slaves in 1808 had a significant impact on Georgia's trade relationships with other states. Initially, it may have diminished Georgia's trade in human cargo, but it also led to a proliferation of the domestic slave trade. States like Virginia and Maryland, which had excess of slaves due to shifts in their economies—moving from tobacco cultivation to wheat—became key players in this domestic trade, as they began to sell their surplus of slaves to states in the Lower South, such as Georgia, where demand for slave labor continued to grow due to the cotton boom. Thus, rather than leading to a decline in Georgia’s overall trade, the ban resulted in a shift where Georgia's trade with other states involved more domestic slave trading and indirect importation through smuggling, ensuring the continuation of a slave-based agricultural economy, particularly around the production of cotton and other labor-intensive crops.