9. Northern Everyday Goods Were Tied to Slavery
The Northern economy was deeply intertwined with slavery, as investments, textiles, rum, and sugar were directly linked to enslaved labor or Southern plantations. Northern merchants profited from the triangular trade by exchanging rum and manufactured goods for enslaved Africans, who were then sold in the Caribbean and Southern colonies. The molasses produced by enslaved labor in the Caribbean was imported to New England, where it was distilled into rum, further integrating Northern industries into the slave economy. Additionally, Northern textile mills processed cotton harvested by enslaved people in the South, highlighting the pervasive connection between Northern daily commodities and the institution of slavery (pbs.org).
