The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery
On the strength of its control of the transatlantic trade in cotton, New York City rose to commercial dominance. Even the abolition of the slave trade from Africa in 1808, a year before Lincoln’s birth, did not slow slavery’s growth. A flourishing domestic slave trade replaced the importation of slaves. By the eve of the Civil War, the slave population in the United States had reached nearly four million. The economic value of these men, women, and children when considered as property exceeded the combined worth of all the banks, railroads, and factories in the United States. In geographical extent, population, and the institution’s economic importance, the South was home to the most powerful slave system the modern world has known.Foner, Eric (2011-09-26). The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery (Kindle Locations 582-587). W. W. Norton & Company. Kindle Edition.
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