Influence of Inheritance Laws on Southern Slavery

Key Insight

The law of inheritance played a significant role in the South's adherence to slavery. When unequal division of estates was common, each family was represented by a wealthy man, surrounded by other idle family members legally barred from a share of the common inheritance. This created an aristocratic social structure where the entire white race formed an 'aristocratic body,' maintaining prejudices against labor and valuing idleness.

Within this aristocracy, poor men existed, but not workers, as 'misery seemed preferable to industry.' Consequently, Negro workers and slaves faced no competition, making their employment necessary regardless of the perceived utility of their efforts. This system perpetuated the reliance on slave labor, as there was no other available workforce for many tasks.

However, with the abolition of the law of inheritance, fortunes began to shrink, forcing families to confront the necessity of work for existence. This led to the emergence of a class of free workers, directly competing with slaves. This competition revealed the slave's inferiority, attacking slavery at its root: the self-interest of the master. As slavery became less economically viable, it began its 'retrograde march,' with the black race following it, often returning to the tropics from which it originated.