In the mid-19th century, the United States was deeply divided over the issue of slavery, particularly between the agricultural South and the increasingly industrial North. The Southern economy heavily relied on slave labor for the cultivation of cash crops, especially cotton, which was revolutionized by the invention of the cotton gin.
Cotton was by far the leading cash crop, but slaves also rised, corn, sugarcane, and tobacco. Many plantations raised several different kinds of corps.
Cotton gin revolutionized the cotton industry in the United States.
Plantations was primarily located in the South
Where did slaves come from?
Black slavery destiny
HISTORY
In the XVIII century slavery was the common way to exploit the fields in the southeast of North America.
People who lived in the north wanted to end slavery.
Abolitionists name was given to the people who lived in the north. This name was given to the northerners because they wanted to abolish slavery, which means "to get rid of".
In 1861 Abraham Lincoln was elected as a president.
The south broke away from the country and called themselves the Confederate States of America. Civil War was then fought between the North and the South. The North won.
The 14th Amendment said that every person born in the United States was a full citizen. Even former slaves were full citizens. The 15th Amendment made sure that black people could vote.
The underground railroad was a secret network of "stations" or safe houses that provided food, clothes, and shelter for scared and tired runaway slaves. They were guided by brave people who risked their lives to show the runaways the way to freedom.
The conductors risked their lives to help runaway slaves because they did not believe in slavery. They were black and white people. The most famous was Harriet Tubman.
Harriet Tubman led over 300 slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad.
Many of the songs also told of where the safe houses were. One famous spiritual song is "Go Down Moses".
President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 that declared all slaves to be free.