From the late 1700s, right up until the end of the Civil War, slavery was the most important and influential issue in the United States. For both slave owners and non slave owners alike in both the north and the south, slavery remained a vital piece of the economy with the production of cotton, and virtually dictated the aristocratic structure of southern society. The culture of the south, of the rich and the poor, was …showed first 75 words of 1007 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1007 total…it was the driving force behind the American economy. The production of cotton created the planter aristocracy of the south, with only 1,733 families owning more than 100 slaves in 1850, meaning that the south was essentially ruled by an oligarchy of wealthy planters. A great deal of conflict, however, was generated between the strong proponents of the system and those who despised it for its terrible humanitarian implications, dividing the nation for the entirety of its duration.