What social, legal and economic status did slaves have in antebellum south? Support your response by referencing primary source material. Slaves in the pre-war South had very few rights. They were considered hardly human, second class citizens in comparison to their free, white counterparts. This culture of racism and p rejudice was embedded into sout hern society, and this made it very dicult for the abolitionist movement to take hold, unlike in the northern states, which abolished slavery long before the south. The dramatic dierences in points of view on the subject are demonstrated in the article SLAVERY AND TRUTH !" igure #$, which states that slavery should be tolerated by all %hristians and is also an institution in their country which states have the right to hold di erent views on, and in Susan & 'nthony(s speech MAKE THE SLAVES CASE OUR OWN !"igur e )$. This speech argues that if the roles were reversed and if white people saw from the slave(s perspective, that * how very easy would be he as! o" #o$ver%$& us all o Abol%%o$%ss' . "igur e # was written in the +eep South at the beginning of the civil war, whereas "igur e ) was written in pre-war ew ork the cultural capital of the orthern States. This e/hibits the vast cultural dierences between the geographical regions of the 0nited States, which would ultimately clima/ in the %ivil 1ar. &ecause of the South(s agricultural f ocused economy, Slavery was a key factor which drove their economic success. 1ithout it, they would have to rely on the industrial prowess of the north, diminishing their strong economies. &ecause of this economic signi2cance, the 3uestion of abolishment turned from one of morals to one of economics, which diminished slaves( rights in the south even more. 4n pre-war 0nited States, measures were taken by the federal government in order to keep the union together, and prevent the inevitable war. This included the fugitive slave act of #567, which re3uired all escaped slaves to be returned to their masters, even in non-slave states. 4t was nicknamed the 8bloodhound law( by abolitionists, and is pictured in 2gure 9: a satirical cartoon drawn in #5;7. This controversial law did not prevent the civil war, and further cemented the southern view of slaves as only property, and not as <uman &eings.