Question

Why did freeing enslaved people hurt the Southern economy?


1.Because the freeing of enslaved people meant the landowners lost all their workers.


2.Because most of the richest landowners were killed during the Civil War.


3.Because the war had driven many landowners bankrupt.


4.Because Union soldiers had destroyed many plantations.

Answer 1

The statement that freeing enslaved people hurt the Southern economy primarily aligns with **1. Because the freeing of enslaved people meant the landowners lost all their workers.**

When enslaved people were freed, landowners in the South lost a significant portion of their labor force, which had been the backbone of the plantation economy. This loss made it difficult for many plantation owners to maintain their agricultural operations and resulted in a decline in productivity and profits.

While **2, 3, and 4** might also reflect some impacts of the Civil War on the Southern economy, the immediate economic effect of emancipation was the loss of a labor force. Thus, option 1 directly addresses the immediate economic repercussions of freeing enslaved individuals.