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Slavery began in Virginia and Maryland on tobacco farms. Slavery became more and more important as farms became bigger. That divided the Southern whites into two classes.
Short-Staple Cotton
The interstate slave trade flourished when cotton became popular among the colonies.
Slavery meant a cheap labour force for their large plantation bases economy.Slavery was legal when the United States was formed. The southern states became dependent on slavery for cultivating, especially harvesting cotton, when the cotton gin was invented. Because the southern states suffered financially with international debt more than the northern states it was an economic issue that turned into a moral issue.
How did slave rebellions affect slavery? Well, it forced the slave owners to use more punishment for disapproved behavior from slaves. They also got more laws passed to protect their "peculiar institution." They used it as an example of why the colored peoples were inferior and therefore needed to be controlled. It became a political issue nationally. Attention given to the slave rebellions and the retribution given to those involved created much fervor in the Northern abolitionist movements. As people became more aware of what the institution of slavery had become in the South, they began to a social outrage toward slavery. The argument would solidify the differences between the two regions and lead to the Civil War.