Slavery is a form of forced and free labor in which one human being is the property of another. Nearly two million slaves were brought to the southern United States from Africa and the West Indies during the Atlantic slave trade. The American South was more than 20% African American. As late as 1900, 9 out of 10 African Americans lived in the South. Slavery supported the economic structure of the planter aristocracy. By 1850, only 1,773 families each owned more than 100 slaves, and this group provided political and social leadership for the section and the nation. Like it or not, slavery was the moral evil that marked history in the United States. Slavery did not only exist in the South, it even extended to the English colonies and dominated agricultural production in the Southern colonies. South America thought slavery was bad but necessary. However, this belief changed around 1830 as southerners felt it was a moral, social, and political blessing for slaves and their masters. Most changes in opinion toward slaves were largely due to economic advancement...