Process Paper
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I chose to research whether the abolition of slavery was good or bad for the southern economy, because it is an important event in American history and I have an interest in economics. Either way, abolition definitely had a huge impact on the south, since its many plantations were all slave dependent.
The first step in my research process was to take some background notes from broad context sources about slavery. However, I could not find anything directly relating abolition and the economy. Instead, I looked for sources that connected slavery and the economy, so I could see before and after abolition and create my own cause and effect. Soon, I found several sources on the topic. Together, they had a good analysis of economic relations within slavery, and made me change my original opinion that abolition was completely terrible for the economy. While it did create a caste system in the job market, which deprived blacks of certain jobs, it also forced former slaveowners to advance technologically, instead of relying on slaves. Once I knew this, I wanted a sense of what happened after abolition, so I used an interview to find why Lincoln opposed slavery. His concern was that free blacks could lead them to worse conditions than before, since nobody would want them for work. However, a book told me that it was actually whites who had difficulty finding work, as well as much more. Some claims were that slaves were more productive when supervised, and that the absence of slavery led to the business-centered market we have today. I wanted a primary perspective, so I looked at a book from the time, which was all about how slavery was bad due to inefficiency and low industrialization. Other sources helped expand on those views, and showed that slavery put many planters into debt, since they borrowed to make future profits, although this means that with more time the Southern economy may have grown even with slavery. Whatever the case, two more sources showed that the economy after abolition boomed from widespread industrialization, although the former slaveowners suffered economically for some time.
For my website, I made a page for each body paragraph and used bullets to outline the information. I also made a page for the thesis.
The abolition of slavery in 1865 was one of the most influential turning points in American history. Since the colonial era, slavery had been an integral component of the economy, especially in the South. Once abolished, though, many planters suddenly had no way to run their massive plantations, and had to find new alternatives. In the short term, many former slaveowners had trouble keeping their livings, but in the long run the southern economy made tremendous progression as jobs were made available and industrialization boomed. Additionally, commercial trading became an option and the market economy emerged. The availability of new railroads had made trading over long distances easier and made people think more about their economic opportunities. However, it would be a while before the plantation economy completely disappeared, with the popularization of tenant farming and sharecropping as a replacement to slavery.
The first step in my research process was to take some background notes from broad context sources about slavery. However, I could not find anything directly relating abolition and the economy. Instead, I looked for sources that connected slavery and the economy, so I could see before and after abolition and create my own cause and effect. Soon, I found several sources on the topic. Together, they had a good analysis of economic relations within slavery, and made me change my original opinion that abolition was completely terrible for the economy. While it did create a caste system in the job market, which deprived blacks of certain jobs, it also forced former slaveowners to advance technologically, instead of relying on slaves. Once I knew this, I wanted a sense of what happened after abolition, so I used an interview to find why Lincoln opposed slavery. His concern was that free blacks could lead them to worse conditions than before, since nobody would want them for work. However, a book told me that it was actually whites who had difficulty finding work, as well as much more. Some claims were that slaves were more productive when supervised, and that the absence of slavery led to the business-centered market we have today. I wanted a primary perspective, so I looked at a book from the time, which was all about how slavery was bad due to inefficiency and low industrialization. Other sources helped expand on those views, and showed that slavery put many planters into debt, since they borrowed to make future profits, although this means that with more time the Southern economy may have grown even with slavery. Whatever the case, two more sources showed that the economy after abolition boomed from widespread industrialization, although the former slaveowners suffered economically for some time.
For my website, I made a page for each body paragraph and used bullets to outline the information. I also made a page for the thesis.
The abolition of slavery in 1865 was one of the most influential turning points in American history. Since the colonial era, slavery had been an integral component of the economy, especially in the South. Once abolished, though, many planters suddenly had no way to run their massive plantations, and had to find new alternatives. In the short term, many former slaveowners had trouble keeping their livings, but in the long run the southern economy made tremendous progression as jobs were made available and industrialization boomed. Additionally, commercial trading became an option and the market economy emerged. The availability of new railroads had made trading over long distances easier and made people think more about their economic opportunities. However, it would be a while before the plantation economy completely disappeared, with the popularization of tenant farming and sharecropping as a replacement to slavery.
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