The book by Hinton Rowan Helper condemned slavery because of its effects on the lives of many blacks in the south. In fact, he argued that slavery was not beneficial to slaves as many thought since it was expensive to maintain the system that was inhuman in nature. In this regard, the author argued that many whites in the south were unable to develop economically since it was difficult to manage people forcefully.
However, he Hinton never supported abolitionism since it could result to major conflicts that would lead to loss of life and property. He urged whites to be rational in their attitudes and actions towards blacks instead of being driven by altruism and selfish interests. With slavery, helper noted that the south could not achieve its economic ambitions as desired since it was an enemy of industrialization. He based his analysis on the census report released in 1850, which showed that development in the north was twice that of the south. He complained about slavery policies because it supported only the rich who had the capability to own slaves.
The majority, including ordinary whites and blacks, never saw the benefits of slavery, as the law required that only the aristocrats could own slaves. He claimed further that those who supported abolitionism and freedom were the friends of the south while slaveholders and slave-breeders were the real enemies of the south. Those that advocated for slavery were doing so because of their own selfish interests while those who advocated for abolition aimed at promoting development in the south. They were the real patriots who understood what economic development was.
The south and the north had various differences in terms of political and social-economic development. As Helper noted in his analysis, the north was far much ahead in terms of industrialization since it attracted foreign capital. The south was well known for its agricultural economy, which was unstable. Factories and industries developed in the north, but this could not be replicated in the south because of the issue of slavery. Socially, people in the south did not have access to job opportunities since they were semi-skilled. Others were even illiterate given the fact that few institutions of high learning were established in the region.
The north enjoyed some social services, such as quality healthcare and advanced levels of education. Even the modern America, the south is still regarded as a backward society, with uneducated people when compared to the north. The living standards of the northerners were high as compared to those of the southerners, who relied on slavery for production. Politically, the north had an advantage in the senate since people from the region were investors. The revenues collected from the north were relied in funding government operations. In this regard, the north had to have many senators as compared to the north.