Final answer:
Democratic workers feared abolishing slavery due to economic, social, and political reasons.
Step-by-step explanation:
Democratic workers feared abolishing slavery for several reasons. Firstly, they were concerned about the economic impact of abolishing slavery on the labor system. Slavery provided a cheap and abundant labor force that benefited the Southern economy, and Democratic workers feared that without slave labor, their comfort and prosperity would be compromised.
Secondly, Democratic workers feared the social and economic consequences of abolishing slavery. They believed that ending slavery would lead to mass poverty and hinder social mobility for both slaves and non-slaveholders. They worried that poor whites in the South would have limited opportunities to improve their economic standing.
Lastly, Democratic workers were influenced by the dominance of powerful Southern slaveholders in national political institutions. This influence, referred to as slave power, prevented the adoption of government actions that could promote a free labor system in the South, which Democratic workers feared would undermine their interests.