Slavery is a big concern to many people today, just as it always has been. Any type of slavery is considered immoral and unfair in today's society and standards. However, before the Civil War, slavery was as common as owning a dog today. Many in the United States, particularly in the South, viewed slavery as a “positive good” and owned slaves crucial to their business and income. However, the Civil War then negatively changed the lifestyle of many Southerners. After the Civil War, slavery was abolished and anyone who owned a slave was forced to set him free and consider him his equal. This was a difficult thing to do and ultimately led to the downfall and destruction of the economy in the Southern United States. The abolition of slavery damaged the country economically and socially at the time, and slavery was socially acceptable. For example, abolishing 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 offered Southern plantation owners a convenient way to mass produce. Slavery became so common that it became dependent on the South (Arrington). Slavery in the 1800s was as important to Southern plantations as automobiles are to most people today. Without their slaves, there was almost no way for some to earn a profit and succeed. When President Lincoln and Congress proposed the abolition of slavery, many in the South were shocked. 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 how important slavery was to the Southern economy. Abolishing slavery would soon destroy the South'...... middle of paper ......rt Sonkin. The Library of Congress. American Memory and Web. May 4, 2014. Richie, Alexander H. destroys railroads while Atlanta burns. 1864. Sherman's March to the Sea: Total Warfare. Network. 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: Sons of Charles Scribner, 2003. 108-149. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Network. May 3, 2014. “The Southern Argument for Slavery.” Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, 2008. Web. 03 May 2014.West, Elizabeth J. “Slavery.” American History Through Literature 1820-1870. Ed. Janet Gabler-Hover and Robert Sattelmeyer. vol. 3. Detroit: Sons of Charles Scribner, 2006. 1092-1100. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Network. May 3 2014.