Slaves aren't an effective asset in this century. True, 250+ years after slavery was abolished in the U.S., slaves are no longer an effective (or legal) asset.

Slaves aren't an effective asset in this century. True, 250+ years after slavery was abolished in the U.S., slaves are no longer an effective (or legal) asset. Companies like Apple, Google, etc., did not exist in the 1800s. Stock ownership did not become common until the 1900s, even amongst the wealthy, so there was no alternative for this hypothetical slave owner. Moreover, unlike the North, the South did not have easy access to shipping or to the raw materials for heavy industry. (For example: Pittsburgh didn't become the Steel City because it was a nice place to live; it became the center of the U.S. steel industry because of its proximity to the raw materials and the methods of transportation available at the time.)