Question

Who Profited?

The business of the domestic slave trade permeated every aspect of the American economy. The profits from the trade in enslaved people flowed to many places. Traders were not the only ones to profit from America's internal slave trade. Slave owners in the Upper South profited because they received cash for the people they sold. Slave owners in the Lower South profited because the people they purchased were forced to labor in the immensely productive cotton and sugar fields. The merchants who supplied clothing and food to the slave traders profited, as did steamboat, railroad, and ship owners who carried enslaved people. Capitalists in the North profited by investing in banks that handled the exchange of money for people or in insurance companies who provided insurance for the owners’ investments in enslaved people. So did foreign investors in southern securities, some of which were issued on mortgaged slaves. Ironically, the hotbed of American abolitionism—New England—was also the home of America's cotton textile industry, which grew rich on the backs of the enslaved people forced to pick cotton. The story of America’s domestic slave trade is not just a story about Richmond or New Orleans, but a story about America.

Upper South
Lower South

Merchants
Capitalist in the North

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

Foreign investors in southern securities

Answer 2

Who Profited?

Upper South-
Lower South-
Merchants-
Capitalist in the North-

Answer 3

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

Upper South: Slave owners who sold their enslaved people for profit.

Lower South: Slave owners who purchased enslaved people to work in cotton and sugar fields.
Merchants: Those who supplied clothing and food to the slave traders.
Capitalists in the North: Investors who profited from banks and insurance companies involved in the trade of enslaved people.

Answer 4

more

Answer 5

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

It's important to note that while these groups and individuals profited financially from the domestic slave trade, the true cost was the immense human suffering and exploitation of enslaved people. The profits made by these groups were built on the brutal and inhumane system of slavery that tore families apart, subjected individuals to violence and exploitation, and denied basic human rights. The legacy of the domestic slave trade continues to impact American society today, highlighting the deep-seated inequalities and injustices that persist.