Slavery is of great concern to many people today, as it always has been. Any type of slavery is considered immoral and unjust in today's society and standards. However, before the Civil War, slavery was as common as owning a dog is today. Many in the United States, particularly in the South, viewed slavery as a "positive good" and owned slaves essential to their business and income. However, the Civil War later changed the way of life of many southerners in negative ways. After the Civil War, slavery was abolished and any man who owned a slave had to free him and consider him his equal. This was a difficult thing to do and ultimately led to the downfall and destruction of the American South economy. The abolition of slavery was hurting the country economically and socially at the time and slavery was socially acceptable. For example, the abolition of slavery in the United States was unfair to the South. The economic situation of the South depended on the backs of slaves. After all, slavery was a form of free labor that provided Southern plantation owners with an affordable way to mass produce. Slavery became so common that it became a dependency of the South (Arrington). In the 1800s, slavery was as important to Southern plantations as cars are to most people today. Without his slaves, there was almost no way to make a profit and achieve success for some. When President Lincoln and Congress proposed the abolition of slavery, many people in the South were unhappy. After all, who was a white Northerner to tell a Southern plantation owner what he can and cannot do on his land hundreds of miles away? The North did not understand the importance of slavery to the Southern economy. Elimination of slavery would soon destroy the South'...... middle of paper ......rt Sonkin. The Library of Congress. American Memory, nd Web. May 4, 2014. .Richie, Alexander H. Destroying the Railroads While Atlanta Burns. 1864. Sherman's March to the Sea: Total Warfare. Internet. May 4, 2014. “The Slavery Debate in the United States.” The African American Years: Chronologies of American History and Experience. Ed. Gabriel Burns Stepto. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 108-149. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Internet. May 3, 2014. “The Southern Argument for Slavery.” Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, 2008. Web. May 3, 2014. West, Elizabeth J. “Slavery.” American history through literature 1820-1870. Ed. Janet Gabler-Hover and Robert Sattelmeyer. Flight. 3. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006. 1092-1100. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Internet. May 3 2014.