The first slaves that were brought to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619, were African. After this occurrence, slavery spread throughout the American colonies. This marked the beginning of slavery. They were brought to Virginia to help with the production crops such as cotton and tobacco. African-American slaves helped build the economic foundations of the new nation. The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 resulted in the need for more slaves to pick crops (History.com Staff, 2009). The Northern states didn’t feel as though slavery was idealistic when it came to the Revolution. By 1820, there were about 3,000 slaves in the North and almost all of them were working on large farms in New Jersey. Slavery would’ve been easier to get rid of in the North …show more content…
In the upper South, where slaves living in urban communities were more common, this allowed slave owners to make a profit from their extra slaves. Industrialist ran into a problem because they didn 't want the burden of looking after their slave employees outside of the work they were hired for, and they often gave them allowances to pay for their own housing. This allowed slaves in the urban community to live in a diverse area that included blacks that were free, slaves and white people, some of whom might be against slavery (“Slavery in the Civil War Era,” …show more content…
Most Southern cities had ports that allowed access to the to places where slavery was generally banned. White ship captains that were sympathetic and black sailors that were free were infamous for helping slaves escape aboard their ship. Cities were considered opposed to effective slave control. Free blacks had persuaded slaves in the urban areas to join them in their schemes (History,com Staff, 2010). The rural society of slavery had negative effects on the Southern economy. The investment of capital in slaves and land disheartened the growth of the cities and redirected funds from factories. The South lacked what it needed for the industrial base to counter the North when the Civil War had begun. Indeed, in 1860, the South had about the same number of industrial workers, as the North had industrial plants. Other damaging effects arose from the South 's loyalty to rural slavery. Wealthy planters liked to claim they were living out Jefferson 's idea of a democracy. In truth, the South was agricultural because slave owners found that the best way to maintain their wealth and contain their slaves. The needs and beliefs of planters shaped politics in the South on the local, state, and national levels (“Slavery in the Civil War Era,”