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description=The outbreak of the Civil War forever changed the future of the American nation and perhaps most notably the future of Americans held in bondage. The war began as a struggle to preserve the Union, not a struggle to free the slaves but as the war dragged on it became increasingly clear to President Abraham Lincoln the best way to force the seceded states into submission was to undermine their labor supply and economic engine which was sustaining the south—slavery.;

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campaigns search search donate join see all results breadcrumb home learn a brief history of slavery in the united states my library civil war article a brief history of slavery in the united states updated january 16 2026 december 18 2008 share to google classroom added by 1041 educators when europeans first colonized the north american continent the land was vast the work was harsh and there was a severe shortage of labor white bond servants paying their passage across the ocean from europe through indentured labor eased but did not solve the problem tensions between settlers and former indentured servants increased the pressure to find a new labor source early in the seventeenth century a dutch ship loaded with african slaves introduced a solution and yet paradoxically a new problem to the new world slaves proved to be economical on large farms where labor intensive cash crops such as tobacco sugar and rice could be grown the slave market in atlanta georgia 1864 library of congress by the end of the american revolution slavery became largely unprofitable in the north and was slowly dying out even in the south the institution was becoming less useful to farmers as tobacco prices fluctuated and began to drop due to the decline of the tobacco market in the 1760s and 1770s many farmers switched from producing tobacco to wheat which required less labor leading to surplus of slaves however in 1793 northerner eli whitney invented the cotton gin this device made it possible for textile mills to use the type of cotton most easily grown in the lower south the invention of the cotton gin brought about a robust internal slave trade as the lower south became more established in cotton production the region required more slave labor which they received from upper south slaveowners looking to offload their surplus of slaves in 1808 the united states banned the international slave trade the importation of slaves which only increased the demand for domestically traded slaves in the upper south the most profitable cash crop was not an agricultural product but the sale of human lives although some southerners owned no slaves at all by 1860 the south s peculiar institution was inextricably tied to the region s economy and society torn between the economic benefits of slavery and the moral and constitutional issues it raised white southerners grew more and more defensive of the institution they argued that black people like children were incapable of caring for themselves and that slavery was a benevolent institution that kept them fed clothed and occupied and exposed them to christianity most northerners did not doubt that black people were inferior to whites but they did doubt the benevolence of slavery the voices of northern abolitionists such as boston editor and publisher william lloyd garrison became increasingly violent educated blacks such as escaped slave frederick douglass wrote eloquent and heartfelt attacks on the institution and spoke on abolitionist circuits about their experience enslaved anti slavery proponents organized the underground railroad to help slaves escape north to freedom although fictionalized harriet beecher stowe s 1852 immensely popular novel uncle tom s cabin opened northerner s eyes to some of the horrors of slavery and refuted the southern myth that blacks were happy as slaves in reality treatment of slaves ranged from mild and paternalistic to cruel and sadistic husbands wives and children were frequently sold away from one another and punishment by whipping was not unusual in 1857 the united states supreme court in the decision dred scott v sandford ruled that all blacks whether free or enslaved lacked the rights to citizenship and thus could not sue in federal court the supreme court took their decision a step further by deeming that congress had in fact exceeded its authority in the earlier missouri compromise because it had no power to forbid or abolish slavery in the territories the supreme court also ruled that popular sovereignty where new territories could vote on entering the union as a free or slave state lacked constitutional legitimacy thus slaves had no legal means of protesting their treatment due to the dred scott decision john brown s raid on harper s ferry and other earlier slave uprisings southerners feared servile insurrection above all else but this was rare instead as a form of resistance slaves would pretend illness organize slowdowns sabotage farm machinery and sometimes commit arson or murder running away for short periods of time was common enslaved persons on st helena island in south carolina library of congress the outbreak of the civil war forever changed the future of the american nation and perhaps most notably the future of americans held in bondage the war began as a struggle to preserve the union not a struggle to free the slaves but as the war dragged on it became increasingly clear to president abraham lincoln the best way to force the seceded states into submission was to undermine their labor supply and economic engine which was sustaining the south slavery many slaves escaped to the north in the early years of the war and several union generals established contraband policies in the southern land that they conquered congress passed laws permitting the seizure of slaves from rebellious southerners as the rules of war allow for the seizure of property and the united states considered slaves property on september 22 1862 following the strategic union victory at antietam president abraham lincoln presented the preliminary emancipation proclamation this document decreed that by the power of the united states armed forces all slaves in states that were still in rebellion one hundred days after january 1 1863 would be thenceforward and forever free furthermore lincoln established an institution through which free blacks could join the u s army an unprecedented level of integration at that time the united states colored troops usct served on many battlefields won numerous medals of honor and ensured eventual union victory in the war on december 6 1865 eight months after the end of the civil war the united states adopted the 13th amendment to the constitution which outlawed the practice of slavery sources patricia l faust ed historical times illustrated encyclopedia of the civil war harper perennial 1991 john s bowman ed encyclopedia of the civil war dorset press 1992 bruce catton the american heritage picture history of the civil war bonanza books 1982 further reading many thousands gone the first two centuries of slavery in north america by ira berlin closer to freedom enslaved women and everyday resistance in the plantation south by stephanie m h camp nothing but freedom emancipation and its legacy by eric foner soul by soul life inside the antebellum slave market by walter johnson battle cry of freedom the civil war era by james m mcpherson slavery a world history by milton meltzer the slaves cause a history of abolition by manisha sinha topic s slavery the gathering storm tags slavery related articles article historic hampton article slavery and the constitution article hampton ironworks plantation and summer home view all related resources add to my battlefields educators library related area of interest civil war area of interest the gathering storm explore more explore slavery in the united states civil war facts why non slaveholding southerners fought north and south the gathering storm the slavery issue trigger events of the civil war fugitive slave act shop and preserve show your pride in battlefield preservation by shopping in our store every purchase supports the mission show now give with confidence the majority of our funds go directly to preservation and education our financials join t he action get e mail updates about u s history and battlefield preservation news not ready to join stay connected instead you ll receive the latest news history and special updates from the trust 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