Pro-slavery ideology in the United States
The prevailing view of Southern politicians and intellectuals just before the American Civil War was that slavery was a positive institution, as opposed to seeing it as morally indefensible or a necessary evil. They defended the legal enslavement of people for their labor as a benevolent, paternalistic institution with social and economic benefits, an important bulwark of civilization, and a divine institution similar or superior to the free labor in the North. This stance arose in response to the growing anti-slavery movement in the United States in the late 18th century and early 19th century. Various forms of slavery had been practiced across the world for all of human history, but during the American Revolution, slavery became a significant social issue in North America.
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