Question

Answer the following question briefly:

One of the great changes that took place in the United States of America in the first half of the 19th century was industrial growth and development. In this context, discuss:

The anti-slavery movement leading to the growing tensions between the slave states and the abolition states

Answer 1

An anti-slavery movement began in the northern states of America. The industrialized northern states did not need slave labour in their industries and, on the whole, did not approve of slavery. The southern states, on the other hand, claimed that they needed slaves for their cotton and sugar plantations. Thus, slaves who provided cheap labour were considered a ‘necessity’ in the predominantly agricultural southern states. The southerners were often needlessly cruel and harsh in their treatment of slaves. This outraged many northerners and the tension between the slave states of the South and the abolition states of the North began to grow.