USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Slavery was so profitable, it sprouted more millionaires per capita in the Mississippi River valley than anywhere in the nation. With cash crops of tobacco, cotton and sugar cane, America’s southern states became the economic engine of the burgeoning nation. Their fuel of choice? Human slavery.

Detailed explanation-2: -The importance of slavery in the Southern Colonies changed over time. In the early 1600s, indentured servants did much of the hard work on plantations. As the number of plantations grew, however, southern planters began to use enslaved Africans as laborers.

Detailed explanation-3: -The South relied on slavery heavily for economic prosperity and used wealth as a way to justify enslavement practices.

Detailed explanation-4: -Tobacco and cotton proved to be exceptionally profitable. Therefore, cheap labor was used. Initially, indentured servants, who were mostly from England (and sometimes from Africa), and enslaved African and (less often) Indigenous people to work the land.

Detailed explanation-5: -Slavery was an economically efficient system of production, adaptable to tasks ranging from agriculture to mining, construction, and factory work. Furthermore, slavery was capable of producing enormous amounts of wealth.