Many times in history classes, students have learned about the enslavement of Africans mostly in America, but not limited to the region. Mainly before now, it is taught that slavery is an evil practice that was nothing but wrong. While true, in the past week we have learned also that slavery also had its benefits. The southern economy was almost completely formed with the labor of slavery and with the booming cotton industry, more labor was needed to keep the industry afloat. Many Africans soon began taking a journey to America that was known as the Middle Passage. This journey was very long and harsh, and this was only the first step in the hardships that most slaves would endure for the rest of their lives. Slaves from Africa could be auctioned off to wealthy plantation owners after reaching America for very high prices, but while the prices of slaves were very high, it was an investment that would almost guarantee a profit in the future. Slaves did not have to receive a wage, and could be worked for long hours every day. This is no doubt an economic benefit that many wealthy landowners in the south took advantage of.

Of course, owning a slave may be morally wrong, but the southern economy at the time simply could not function at all without the existence of slaves to labor the plantation fields. No matter if most of the south thought slavery was terrible or not, if it were to just free all the slaves then the economy would have crashed and thrown the south into turmoil.