[who_would_fardels_bear]

"large estates called latifundia that were owned by wealthy men who used slave labor. A farmer who had to pay workmen could not produce goods as cheaply"

Large corporate farms manned by illegal aliens would be a present day parallel.

[Wuli]

My relatives (early to mid 1800s), on my mother’s side, were farmers and ministers. The patriarch of the clan, took them (by covered wagon) to southern Illinois (near present day Olney) because he did not want to own slaves or compete with his Virgina (Culpepper County) farming neighbors who did. His sons and grandsons took up Lincoln’s call and joined the Union Army at the beginning of the Civil War.

Like Lincoln, they believed they were fighting to save the Republic.