eating a great demand for cotton. Cotton production with slaves jumped from 178,000 bales in 1810 to over 3,841,000 bales in 1860. Within that time period of fifty years the number of slaves also rose from about 1,190,000 to over 4,000,000. Cotton became a cash crop for Southerners and slaves became a necessity for the cotton industry. The Southern slaveholders often found it perplexing that many Northerners had seen their treatment and use of these captive people as detrimental to society. Southerners compared it with the wage-slave system of the North. They said that the slaves were better cared for then the free factory workers in the North, and that slave owners provided shelter, food, care, and regulation for a race unable to compete in the modern world without proper training. Many Southern preachers proclaimed that slavery was sanctioned in the Bible. This is especially relevant when emphasizing the Northern opposition to the Southern ideals. Shortly after the American Revolution slavery virtually died in the North, just as it was becoming more popular in the South. By 1804, seven of the northern most states had abolished slavery. During this time a surge of democratic reform swept the North and West. There were demands for political equality and economic and social advances. The Northerners goals were free public education, better salaries and working conditions for workers, rights for women, and better treatment for criminals. The South felt these views were of minimal importance. All of these views eventually led to an attack on the slavery system in the South, and opposition to slavery spread into whatever new territories that were acquired. Northerners said that slavery repealed the human right of being a free person. Now with all these views the North set out on its quest for the complete abolition of slavery. When new territories became available in the West, the South wanted to expand and use slavery in the newly acquire...
