Dropping the stigma of slavery had more to do with global optics post french revolution, much like with the pro worker marxists who sank their fangs into US politics in the 1920s; british political expats influenced by the french revolution poisoned the unions state governments in the 1830s which later became the lincolnite republicans who hated the true americans down south. The north launched economic warfare on the south starting in the mid 1840s, demanded high tariffs and wanted to cripple their way of life. But essentially yes, what we did then and now is just a PC relabeling of slave labor. Carpetbagging and private prison's replaced plantations, wasn't that wonderful?

Lot of folx here point to the federal reserve being the beginning of the end but in reality it was the wigs taking over the house and congress a century before that time. George Washington tried to warn us about political parties, America as we think of it was killed in it's infancy.