1808

By 1807, the need for slaves in the North was very low and many states outlawed slavery. However, because of the invention of the Cotton Gin in 1793, the need for slaves in the South was very great. At this time there were more than four million slaves in the U.S., mostly in the South. Because of the great number of slaves, it was thought that it was a self-sustaining number as the children of enslaved persons were also enslaved. Many in the South agreed to the end of the slave trade and by January 1, 1808, Congress passed an act which would “prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States…from any foreign kingdom, place, or country.”