Final answer:
Slavery contributed significantly to early American economic growth, especially with the 'Cotton Kingdom' in the South. However, the later success of the United States can be attributed to factors like technological advancements and vast natural resources. The exact impact of the absence of slavery on America's rise to power is speculative.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question concerns whether America would have become one of the most powerful countries without the economic prosperity of slavery. This is a complex historical issue that encompasses various factors including economics, social structures, and moral considerations. Slavery was not only a southern institution but also intertwined with the broader American economy, where slaveholders and industries such as merchants and shipbuilders benefitted from the slave trade.
The massive production of cotton in the South, dubbed as the "Cotton Kingdom," was directly tied to slave labor. While the North did not economically benefit from slavery to the same extent, creating an economic disparity between the North and South, it cannot be denied that the entire country was implicated in the intricate economic web that slavery created. It is challenging to confidently predict an alternate history, but the institution of slavery significantly shaped the economic and political landscape of the United States, contributing to the Civil War and leaving enduring impacts on the nation's development.
After the abolition of slavery, the United States continued to grow economically through a variety of factors such as a large unified market, productive farmlands, vast natural resources, and an entrepreneurial spirit. Technological and industrial developments also played a critical role. Consequently, while slavery undoubtedly contributed to the early economic foundation of America, the country's later success can be attributed to a multitude of other factors. Whether America would have prospered to the same degree without the historical reality of slavery remains a subject of speculation and scholarly debate.