How did the cotton economy shape the Souths environment and labor Assignment

How did the cotton economy shape the Souths environment and labor system - Assignment Example How did the Lecompton Constitution and the Lincoln-Douglas debates affect the debate over slavery in the territories? Why did Lincoln’s election in 1860 cause the South to secede? Scholarly sources which were researched online were used in providing for the answers. a. The antebellum South was mainly agricultural with cotton as their main product and with the unprecedented growth of the cotton economy during that period, slave labor became the major capital investment. South remained agricultural and produced on site goods and services. It remained a largely closed society and only a few towns or villages emerged. (â€Å"The Cotton Economy in the South.† American Eras. 1997). Slaves were only regarded as properties by their owners and were often maltreated and oppressed. Though a few had the courage to fight back, their punishments were much more severe; they were whipped, beaten, drowned or hanged. Others resisted by slowing down in their work or feigning illness or breaking their tools. Others sabotaged their production like setting fire on the crops, and some resorted to theft of food, tobacco, liquor, and money from their slave masters. In the 1850s, slaves in plantations dwelt in quarters made up of crudely-made cabins. They lived together within the same homestead and this made the black communities flourish. Within these slave communities, they were able to retain their African culture with their folk tales, religion and spirituality, music and dance, and language, and they had their own families. These made their lives as slaves bearable. b. The Americans believed they had a â€Å"manifest destiny† to expand across the Pacific Ocean. After the election of James K. Polk in 1844, he at once initiated the annexation of Texas and he also eyed California and New Mexico. The Indians made it more difficult for the Americans in their war against Mexico. As U.S. was having war with Mexico, they were also having a cultural war