Final answer:
Southern states felt threatened by being surrounded by areas with low slave populations due to fears of weakening political power and the spread of anti-slavery sentiment.
Step-by-step explanation:
Why Southern States Felt Threatened by Low Slave Populations
During the mid-19th century, southern states relied heavily on the institution of slavery for economic stability and social order. Planters, merchants, and politicians feared that being surrounded by states with low slave populations would weaken their power in the Union and potentially lead to the spread of anti-slavery sentiments and policies. The South boasted about the superiority of the plantation economy and the role of cotton in saving the North from financial crisis. However, northern efforts to impose higher tariffs and promote land grant measures, among others, were seen as a direct attack on the southern economy and a move towards an anti-slavery agenda.
An anonymous writer in an 1852 issue of De Bow's Review declared, "The South cannot recede," suggesting that the choice was to fight for or against slavery, as cowardice would not save the South. Additionally, there were concerns that without slavery, African Americans would become uncontrollable and violent. The cost of slaves had increased since the ban on the international slave trade in 1807, which put additional pressure on the slaveholding states to seek new territories where slavery could be expanded. Southerners also yearned for more territory, including Latin America and Kansas, and even considered acquiring "apprentices" from Africa, sometimes in defiance of federal laws.
The tariff of 1828, known to southerners as the Tariff of Abominations, and other federal initiatives were seen as a northern attempt to undermine the southern economy. Indeed, figures like John C. Calhoun argued that states had the right to nullify federal laws that unfairly affected them, such as those impeding the slavery-dependent southern economy. This sentiment reflected the adherence to states' rights and the willingness of the South to unify against perceived northern aggression.