Antebellum Slavery

Slavery became economically entrenched in American society by the early 19th century. Both proslavery and antislavery activists had strong arguments supporting their sides which made this controversy even more difficult. Slavery was a huge part of the south's economy, especially since the demand for cotton was increasing during this time. The higher the demand for cotton, the more slaves were needed to grow and harvest the cotton. Not only was the south dependent on slavery, but the north also benefited from slave labor because of their booming textile industry that needed cotton in order to make their products. Slavery continued to grow in the U.S. to the extent that almost 4 million slaves lived and worked in the U.S. during the Civil War.

A system of slavery based on race directly affects human dignity based on the simple assumption that one race is superior to another race. A system of slavery hides individual characteristics of a single human and combines all individuals of one race into a single stereotype. This system hides all talents and strengths certain people of a specific race have just because of the color of their skin. This system also ignores the pride and freedom of these individuals that are being enslaved. The second these people of a certain race are forced into slavery, they are no longer treated like the equal humans they are but instead not like humans at all.