In the late 18th through the mid-19th Centuries, what distinguished the United States economically from the European powers was the prominence of human slavery.
In 1800, slavery represented nearly 20% of the population of the United States: roughly 1 million slaves out of a total population of 5 million. In the South, where nearly all slaves were held, the proportion reached 40%: 1 million slaves and 1.5 million whites for a total population of 2.5 million…By 180s, the overall proportion of slaves in the overall population had fallen to around 15% (about 4 million slaves in a total population of 30 million), owing to rapid population growth in the North and West. In the South, however, the proportion remained at 40%. (Page 159)
