Southerners also believed that the abolition of slavery would have a devastating impact on the economy, as many plantations and agricultural industries relied heavily on slave labor. They feared that Emancipation would lead to social chaos, labor shortages, and economic decline, threatening the very survival of their society. These fears and the defense of slavery became central to the Southern identity and a rallying point for political unity, which ultimately contributed to the South's resistance to abolitionist movements and led to the outbreak of the American Civil War.