ABSTRACT
In the early nineteenth century, many Americans began to refer to slavery as the South's "peculiar institution". Indeed, a labor system that once spanned the thirteen colonies had become confined solely to the Southern states. The growth of slavery resulted from the new demands of the Industrial Revolution. The emergence of mills in England and New England created heightened demands for raw materials from the South. The demands of the textile mills seemed insatiable. As cotton cultivation moved westward onto vacated Indian lands, slaves performed the backbreaking work required to turn cotton into "white gold". Most slaves lived on large plantations with a dozen or more other slaves. Large plantations also demanded that slaves perform multiple functions. Slavery continued to defy simple characterization, but the connection between the "peculiar institution" and the South was undeniable. Only a bloody war would bring that relationship to an end.
