"They were richer and their more industrialized economy wasn't based on slavery. The Southern economy was (completely?) reliant on slavery,..." Note that the S

"They were richer and their more industrialized economy wasn't based on slavery. The Southern economy was (completely?) reliant on slavery,..." Note that the South was not poor. (I'm not sure how exactly they compared with the industrial northeast.) The South was responsible for 70% of US exports, with cotton being 75% of that. Now, most Southerners were poor...