The Transformation of the Defense of SlaveryBy the early 1800s, the demand for cotton had increased and it was now the "king" of the plantations in the southern region of the United States, where the climate was best suited. . Today more than ever, slavery had become an essential component of almost all cotton plantations. Southerners knew slavery was wrong, but they justified it; within 30 years, these justifications had changed due to abolitionist movements (in the northern half of the county) and economic reasons that made cotton and slavery more profitable than ever. In the 1830s, Southerners believed, or were made to believe, that slavery was a necessary evil. They believed that black people were as helpless as children, lacking the foresight and faculties that would enable them to depend on anyone other than the white race. Southerners saw themselves as the great people who had helped hasten the process of transition of this inferior tribe; the process from barbarism to civilization. They believed that slavery benefited the slaves; God forbid, the slaves were free,...