Key Ideas

1. Slavery was essential to the development of the American economy, particularly the cotton industry. Although the cotton gin is often credited with the expansion of slavery, it was the growth of the cotton economy that actually fueled the demand for enslaved labor.

2. Slavery was an incredibly violent institution, with enslaved people being subjected to brutal punishments and dehumanizing treatment.

3. Enslaved people played a vital role in building the wealth of the United States, but they did not benefit from their labor. Instead, the profits from the cotton economy flowed to slaveholder....
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Quiz