How did changes in abolitionism affect the proslavery argument?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

As a result of the market revolution, abolitionists were able to more aggressively promote their cause through advancements like improvements in printing. Abolitionists started papers (such as The Liberator), formed societies, and inundated the South with antislavery literature. Pamphlets, songbooks, and almanacs dramatically publicized the conditions in which slaves lived and the evils they endured. Hiram Powers's statue, The Greek Slave, drew even more attention to the institution of slavery and the abolitionist cause.

The proslavery argument attempted to counter this powerful wave of antislavery sentiment. Thomas R. Dew wrote in defense of slave owners and argued that slavery was a biblical institution that had existed since ancient times and was divinely sanctioned. The movement also argued that the conditions in which slaves lived were far better than those of the very poor in England and even of the poor workers in the North. This active defense of slavery as an institution that was good for masters, slaves, and the nation replaced the opinions of the Founding generation that slavery was a complex issue and a necessary evil.