late 1850s, many abolitionists took it a step further, and began to attack not just slavery’s conditions, but also because it enforced dependence upon slaves. Security was the most important consideration of slave ownership because slaves represented something that was highly valuable but still a risky asset. American abolitionists also began to look at the U.S. Constitution. They agreed that the framers contended with the snake of slavery that was coiled under the table at the constitution convention by writing into the United States Constitution implicit protection of the peculiar institution (Knowles, 2007). Some abolitionists were concerned about whether or not the Constitution was a pro slavery document. They avoided suggesting that slavery was unconstitutional; at the same time prudence dictated shying away from arguing that the federal government had the power to attack slaveholding in the states. Although the Fifth Amendment talks about the prevention of deprivations of …show more content…
Martin’s research supports three arguments: that mortgages on enslaved people allowed the resources so central to the expansion of local and regional economies to grow and to circulate more easily, that this circulation, whether of slaves, goods, cash, or credit, was especially important on agricultural frontiers; and that there were human as well as economic consequences of this practice (Martin, 2010). Because slave transactions during the boom phase of the economy increased, the breakup of families increased as slaves were sold and literally shipped down the river to the New Orleans slave market. Even during the bust phase of the business cycle, the number of slave transactions at public auctions also increased significantly, as bad debts and bankruptcies soared (Thornton, Yanochik, and Ewing,