Slavery and the Economy essays

Slavery and the Economy essays Slavery was an economically viable institution between the years 1500 and 1860. When people started to come to America, they had to start an entirely new life, which took a lot of work. Some people looked towards slavery as a way to augment their workforce. Slavery proved important to the foundation of our country by providing those people with cheap labor, and instead of eventually being freed, like the indentured servants, citizens could keep slaves forever and treat them as property. During this time America needed help on the farms. Some citizens owned huge cotton fields, but did not have enough workers. At the time, most farmers were using indentured servants, but there was a fear of a poor landless class developing. Therefore, slaves were introduced into America. Slaves prevented this landless class from developing, while the Africans were also better workers than the indentured servants. The African slave trade was a very profitable business that sailed from England down to the African coast to pick up slaves, then brought them to America where the slaves were sold. The captains would buy the slaves with English textiles and then sell them in America for cash; they invested this money in colonial products, such as sugar and rice, and used the rest to buy more English textiles. These voyages lasted for a little more than  ¾ of a year and made a 30% profit. The slave trade was a very profitable business that shipped many slaves over to America, which helped farmers and the entire economy of the new world to develop. Their ships brought in over 5 million slaves and made a lot of money, while the investments made in the new world as a result of this trade helped it prosper and grow. Slavery provided very cheap labor for the American colonies, especially in the southern states. There were vast cotton fields that needed to be picked, and the slaves were a good source of cheap labor. Because the slaves were good ...