Proslavery movement

Proslavery movement, U.S. movement to justify and expand the practice of slavery prior to the Civil War. It gained strength and prominence in the American South in direct response to the abolitionist movement that began to take hold in the northern states in the 1830s. Proslavery advocates used biblical and economic justifications for the ownership of slaves and they constituted a large and influential voting bloc in the United States Congress. The Civil War ended slavery and the proslavery movement.

See also: Abolitionism; Slavery.