You can say the same thing about northern railroads west of the Appalachians; they are laid out east-west to get agricultural products to market and export. It’s just a lot more developed. Once again, the wealth supposedly created or held in the form of slaves does not translate into economic growth. Slavery is a bad business plan.
henkster:
"Once again, the wealth supposedly created or held in the form of slaves does not translate into economic growth.
Slavery is a bad business plan." Of course, but it's not that simple.
Remember that term "Jeffersonian democracy" and what it implied at the time:
"Jeffersonians were deeply committed to Republicanism in the United States, which meant opposition to aristocracy of any form, opposition to corruption, insistence on virtue, and equal rights for all white male citizens, with a priority for the "yeoman farmer", "planters", and the "plain folk".
They were antagonistic to the aristocratic elitism of merchants, bankers and manufacturers, distrusted factory workers, and were on the watch for supporters of the dreaded British system of government.
Jeffersonian democracy persisted as an element of the Democratic Party into the early 20th century, as exemplified by William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925), and its themes continue to echo in the 21st century.[1][2]"
In terms of our Founding ideals, the South in 1860 was closer to Jefferson's model than a more industrialized North.