> Don't forget that westward expansion meant that more people could get
> in on slavery.
>
Yes, the continual expansion was necessary for the profitability.
> Another thing that people like to forget about is that the southern
> states were rapidly industrializing in the 20 years prior to the civil
> war.
Not true. There were some factories, but ...
> These were industries that relied primarily on slave labor, even in
> skilled positions
They were not particularly profitable. There was also some serious contradictions by having slaves run capital intensive equipment and expecting free labor to work alongside slaves. .
> There are a couple of interesting studies of the iron and steel
> industry in the ante-bellum south that come to mind.
there are others that contradict these studies that you are reading. --
Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901