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Difficulty: EasySouthern Economy, Society, and the Defense of Slavery

Source: William Harper, South Carolina jurist, *Memoir on Slavery*, 18381838

"Slavery is coeval with society... [and] it is the order of nature and of God that the beings of superior intellect and sufficiency should control and dispose of those who are eminent in nothing but bodily strength... The Negro is untaught, uncultivated, and requires the constant control and guidance of a superior mind to preserve him from reverting to his natural state of barbarism."

The system of labor defended in the excerpt was most directly sustained by which of the following economic developments in the early nineteenth century?

  1. The expansion of a global cotton market that linked Southern plantations to Northern and British textile millsAnswer
  2. B
    The complete isolation of the Southern agricultural economy from Northern manufacturing and financial systems
  3. C
    The replacement of enslaved labor with a system of temporary European indentured contracts
  4. D
    The creation of mercantilist trade restrictions by the federal government to limit commercial enterprise in the South

Answer

The expansion of a global cotton market that linked Southern plantations to Northern and British textile mills
The correct answer stating the expansion of a global cotton market is correct because the introduction of the cotton gin and the expansion of textile manufacturing during the Market Revolution made Southern cotton highly profitable. This global demand linked the Southern economy to Northern and British markets, sustaining and expanding the system of chattel slavery.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus and identify the labor system it describes.
The excerpt by William Harper defends the institution of Southern slavery on paternalistic and racial grounds.
Understanding the core argument and context of the primary source is necessary to identify what sustained the system.
2
Connect the labor system to early nineteenth-century economic developments.
During the period from 18001800 to 18481848, the Market Revolution and the cotton gin led to a massive boom in cotton production, which relied heavily on enslaved labor.
This identifies the economic driver that directly sustained the expansion of slavery in the South.
3
Evaluate the answer choices to find the development that directly supported the plantation economy.
The rising global demand for cotton, which linked the South to Northern and British textile mills, was the primary factor sustaining the labor system.
This confirms the correct option based on historical evidence.

Key Concept

The cotton economy and its integration into global markets sustained and expanded antebellum Southern slavery.
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Southern Economy, Society, and the Defense of Slavery

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