Question

How did the practice of using enslaved workers support the Southern economy? A. Enslaved workers tended factory machinery, which helped the South’s manufacturing-based economy. B. Enslaved workers harvested crops on plantations, which helped the South’s agriculture-based economy. C. The use of enslaved workers allowed white Southerners to follow the Southern Code, which promoted manufacturing. D. The use of enslaved workers led to the creation of corporations in which Southerners could invest.

Answer 1

Enslaved workers supported the Southern economy because they harvested crops on the southern plantations, and this helped the South's agriculture-based economy.

Answer 2

The correct answer is B. Enslaved workers harvested crops on plantations, which helped the South’s agriculture-based economy.

Ever since the middle of the 1600's, the Southern economy was based on harvesting crops. It started with the cash crop of tobacco in the colony of Virginia in the 1600's and changed to cotton during the late 1700's and early 1800's thanks to the invention of the cotton gin. Throughout these eras, Southerners relied on slaves from Africa or ones born in the United States to develop these cash crops. From there, Southerners would sell these crops. This sytem would work well for plantation owners, as they made significant profit without having to do the hard manual labor that slaves were forced to do.