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Article: Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History
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FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT OF 1850
The roots of the American Civil War (1861
–
1865) were complex, but the conflict-ridden issue of slavery is rightly given prominence by most scholars. At its base, the Civil War pitted fundamentally different regional and socio-economic forces against each other. Although agriculture had dominated the economy of the early American republic, its importance varied by region. Farming defined the economy of the South, which evolved into an agricultural aristocracy based on slavery. The states of New England, however, were shaped by very different natural forces. Deprived of fertile soil, society in New England developed an energetic mercantile culture in ...