In 1848, most slaves lived in states that had not existed before the adoption of the United States Constitution. Annual cotton production was estimated at nearly 5 million bales in 1860. This was t...

"I hold it a paramount duty of us in the free States, due to the Union of the States, and perhaps to liberty itself (paradox though it may seem), to let the slavery of the other states alone; while...

Immigration and TerritoryBetween 1840 and 1860, estimated number of people that entered the United States: 4 millionOf those that immigrated to the U.S. between 1840 and 1860, the percent that head...

abolitionist, abolitionists A radical reformer who demanded immediate emancipation (an end to slavery). Usually associated with the post-1831 period, although one could argue that certain groups or...