APUSH Essay

Submitted By grady97
Words: 752
Pages: 4

Rachel Grady
Mr. Smith AP Us History, Period 4
25 August 2014 Slavery in America In 1619, a ship carrying only twenty African slaves landed in Jamestown. This number would eventually rise, and some colonies, like South Carolina, ended up with a black majority in the eighteenth century. The favorable conditions in the southern American colonies encouraged the growth of slavery between 1607 and 1775, which clearly helped to boost the economy immensely. The economic, geographic, and social factors all spurred the importation of slaves. The economic aspects of the southern colonies caused for the increase of the slave trade. The economic factors in the southern colonies contributed to the advancement of slavery, ending with positive effect on the economy. For instance, the colonies used to use indentured servants from Europe to work for them. These workers were expensive for the farm owners. They needed to pay for the transportation on the servants to the colonies, and then pay them when their servitude was up. Buying the African slaves was a cheaper alternative, and they were laborers for life. In addition, the development of large plantations required workers. The owners of these plantations needed a lot of laborers to tend to the field. So, the plantation owner needed to continuously buy slaves to harvest and run the plantation year after year. The slaves would work on the fields for the rest of their lives tending to the crops all day long. Therefore, the large labor force helped increase production in these plantations. The crops were then exported, which in turn made the economy rise. Another example of the economic factors is the rapid production of tobacco. Tobacco was one of the main exports of America, and brought in the most money to the colonies. The high demand for the product resulted in the increase of production on farms, and the need for laborers. The slaves helped to increase this production as well, resulting in another economic boost. Another component of the southern colonies was the geographic location. The geographic factors in the south helped the economy of the colonies by increasing slavery. For example, the south had a very favorable climate for planting and harvesting crops. They had plentiful rain and a warm climate year-round. This allowed for farms to stay operational for the entire year. Therefore, slaves were needed year-round. The well-running farms made a lot of money for the economy. In addition, the climate of the south was the same as that of the African countries the slaves came from. This was beneficial for the farm owner, because the slaves were used to the heat, and could work all day without needing breaks like the indentured slaves from chilly Britain. Once again, this allowed for faster production of crops, and a boost in the economy. Furthermore, the location of the southern colonies was directly located in the path of the triangular trade. This brought even more slaves into the country to be sold and traded for work. Clearly, the