CONCLUSION
Leading up to the Civil War, New York was divided when it came to the question of slavery. There was no general sentiment of New York when it came to the question of slavery due to the many contrasting opinions which split the city into different perspectives. On one side, there were those who supported slavery for reasons both economic and social. The other side of the argument consisted of abolitionists who wanted the end of slavery in New York and across the nation.
The economy of New York greatly benefited from the strong relationship between NY and the Southern states. This relationship was one of the reasons behind New York's support of the South. New York benefited from things as simple as Southerners spending money on Broadway shows to the extensive transatlantic cotton trade that, in some cases, was even illegal. New York was at the center of the cotton trade, as many steps were in some way connected to NY. Although cotton was grown in the South, NY businessmen primarily invested in plantations through loans and insurance, which led to them supporting slavery because they wanted to protect their money. Merchants and businessmen from New York remained mostly pro-southern and pro-slavery at the tide of the civil war, which was shown by the resolution drafted by NY merchants. This resolution was intended to convince southerners that New York was on their side, and they even went to the lengths of begging President Lincoln to compromise with the South and avoid war and protect their sources of wealth.
The economic connection between New York and the Southern states played a significant role in New York's attitude to slavery and even led to New York threatening to secede from the Union out of fear of losing their most favorable trade partner. Despite the pro-slavery attitude of NY merchants and politicians, New York ultimately did not secede, showing that the support for the South was not enough to overcome the overwhelming majority who sympathized with the Union, and wanted an end to slavery.
The economy of New York greatly benefited from the strong relationship between NY and the Southern states. This relationship was one of the reasons behind New York's support of the South. New York benefited from things as simple as Southerners spending money on Broadway shows to the extensive transatlantic cotton trade that, in some cases, was even illegal. New York was at the center of the cotton trade, as many steps were in some way connected to NY. Although cotton was grown in the South, NY businessmen primarily invested in plantations through loans and insurance, which led to them supporting slavery because they wanted to protect their money. Merchants and businessmen from New York remained mostly pro-southern and pro-slavery at the tide of the civil war, which was shown by the resolution drafted by NY merchants. This resolution was intended to convince southerners that New York was on their side, and they even went to the lengths of begging President Lincoln to compromise with the South and avoid war and protect their sources of wealth.
The economic connection between New York and the Southern states played a significant role in New York's attitude to slavery and even led to New York threatening to secede from the Union out of fear of losing their most favorable trade partner. Despite the pro-slavery attitude of NY merchants and politicians, New York ultimately did not secede, showing that the support for the South was not enough to overcome the overwhelming majority who sympathized with the Union, and wanted an end to slavery.