Answer one of the following. While your answer should draw on the Baptist reading, I encourage you to also use material from Empire of Cotton where relevant.

1. In the decades before the Civil War, there was a vast increase in the cotton trade, with huge new areas of the American south being turned to cotton and the value of cotton exports from the US rising dramatically. How was this growth in the cotton industry experienced by slaves? How did it affect their lives?

2. According to Bishop, many of the traits that we associate with modern business were actually found first on slave plantations. What are some of the modern, rational business practices that first developed on slave plantations?

3. Historically, most labor has been unfree to some extent. Even today, most people have to obey the commands of a boss or supervisor at work. But slavery seems like an extreme case of unfreedom. What made slavery unique? What made it different from other forms of bound or coerced labor?

Note: Make sure your answer is based on the reading and uses specific examples from the text; dont just answer based on your general knowledge of slavery.