Themes in American History

Slavery existed in both cities -New York and South Carolina. During 19th century, cities are growing in the North. The slaves in northern cities like New York worked primarily as domestic servants, while the slaves in the South Carolina were working in the plantations. In 1810 African American had constituted over 10 percent of the population in New York City. (Chudacoff p66) Agriculture was very important to the South’s economy. In South Carolina, most of the plantations grew cotton and those plantations required large numbers of slaves. Compared to the South Carolina, the North’s economy was based on trade and merchandising. The households in New York City were wealthier so they could hire one or two slaves as servants. In New York City there was more numbers of slave-owners but in South Carolina there was more numbers of slaves working there. Slavery was officially abolished in New York in 1827. On the other hand it became nearly impossible to free a slave in South Carolina after 1820. The state had one of the most stringent slave codes in the country. The slavery even kept expanding in South Carolina in 1840s. (Lesesne p457) Slavery existed in America for more than 200 years, until the thirteenth amendment to the U.S. constitution was passed in 1865. After that, slavery was definitely abolished throughout the country.

The photograph was taken on Smith's Plantation, Beaufort, South Carolina.

Lesesne, H. (2003). South Carolina. In S. I. Kutler (Ed.)Dictionary of American History, (Vol. 7). (3rd ed., pp. 453-457) New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons Retrieved June 16, 2011,
from Gale Virtual Reference History Collection

Tags: New York City, slavery, South Carolina

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