Cotton, Slavery, and the Old South

Slavery was the dominating reality of all southern life because it built the south and was the reason why it thrived. Even though slaves were the ones building the south up, no the whites, socially slaves were inferior to whites. No matter what kind of life style the whites led, they were still superior to slaves because of the social system involving race. Slavers were at the bottom and the plantation owners were at the top. Slavery also afected the economy because it provided the labor source need for the south's expanding agricultural society. The the new cottom crop and other rising crops like rice and tabacco the increasing demands couldn't equal the production. In order for them to make more money the south used slaves as a labor source to produce crops. This in turn boosted the south's economy and made them the agricultural power house in the Americas. Thanks in part to slavery the southern life thrived and was set apart from the rest of the country because of their unique systems and way of life.