The practice of slavery refers to the system in which individuals are owned as property and forced to work without consent or pay, typically based on their race or ethnicity. Slavery was a foundational aspect of Southern society before the Civil War.
Related terms
Plantation Economy: This term refers to the economic system in which large agricultural estates, called plantations, were at the center of Southern society and relied heavily on slave labor.
Middle Passage: The Middle Passage was the brutal journey enslaved Africans endured across the Atlantic Ocean to reach America, where they were sold into slavery.
Cotton Gin: The cotton gin was an invention that revolutionized cotton production in the South. It increased demand for slaves since it made processing cotton faster and more profitable.