Slavery in the South
Slavery was the main source of economic prosperity in the antebellum South. Large plantation owners relied on slaves for the harvesting of crops, and did everything in their power to ensure the institution would last. Despite the efforts of the federal government, the slave trade prospered and the number of slaves in the United States continually increased. The salary of a slave trader was high above those of industrial workers, and the business prospered until its end in 1865. Without slave labor, it is doubtful that the South would have prospered so well, and for so long. The production of goods such as tobacco and cotton would have never been as successful without the innumerable slaves that harvested them. For a period of time, slaves outnumbered whites in the South. The credit for the success of the South goes to the slaves alone.