Slavery was the "peculiar institution" in the South and it defined the very meaning of their economic and social bases. It was how the South was able to stay economically stable and socially balanced, and it defined the very bit of manys" lives. .
The South's economic base was highly dependent on the use of slaves; as it was almost their complete labor force. One of the most crucial parts to the South's success was Eli Whitney's cotton gin. Made in 1793, it allowed cotton to become the dominant Southern crop, and had more profits than other previous crops like rice, sugar, and tobacco. Due to cotton's huge profitability it caused planters to buy more slave and more land to take advantages of this highly potential crop. In 1800, 18 million pounds of cotton were export, which was 7 percent of total exports. This however would change as in 1830, 300 million pounds of cotton were exported which was 41% of the total exports. This number would increase again by 1860 as in reach 1.7 billion pounds of cotton exported; 57% of total exports. Cotton was the underlying crop in the south as 80% of the world's cotton came from the South in 1860; as they went to factories in England. (Yetman, 101).
While a small number of whites owned slaves, their power socially and economically was enormous in the South. Basically there was a dominance by the aristocracy, which was undemocratic. Thus this widened the gap between the rich and the poor. Along with that, it hampered the state-support public education and it was an attempt to preserve the cavalier tradition which was to be courteous, hopistable and chivalrous. Beneath the plantation slave owners were poor whites with less status; the lowland whites were usually mechanics, tradesmen, small cotton farmers, and owning no slaves they were strong defenders of slavery. The poor whites however weren't as fortunate as they suffered from malnutrition and intense poverty.
