The first successful oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania one year before the Civil War.
Perhaps if slavery had not been outlawed it would have died a natural death as machines replaced slaves.
In the South, slaves were more valuable than the land itself. Put yourself in the shoes of a Plantaton owner faced with having to give up his expensive "farm equipment" and replace it with newer equipment all at once. It would have ruined them financially and that is why they opted for secession.
Sympathizing with a slave owner is not a popular sentiment, but it is worth doing for the sake of historical perspective.
In the end, more advanced people knew that machines would replace slaves and the carpet baggers were ready to pounce when the war ended. Many Southern families still harbor bad feelings over the loss of great grandpa's plantation.
The advance of civilization can be cruel. Ask the Native Americans.
The first successful oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania one year before the Civil War.
Perhaps if slavery had not been outlawed it would have died a natural death as machines replaced slaves.
In the South, slaves were more valuable than the land itself. Put yourself in the shoes of a Plantaton owner faced with having to give up his expensive "farm equipment" and replace it with newer equipment all at once. It would have ruined them financially and that is why they opted for secession.
Sympathizing with a slave owner is not a popular sentiment, but it is worth doing for the sake of historical perspective.
In the end, more advanced people knew that machines would replace slaves and the carpet baggers were ready to pounce when the war ended. Many Southern families still harbor bad feelings over the loss of great grandpa's plantation.
The advance of civilization can be cruel. Ask the Native Americans.