Pam, With only 8 % of US families owning slaves in 1860 it's simply amazing that we can contribute slave labor for just about everything that was built, picked, pulled, driven oh and invented in the USA up through that period of our history.

Total - 1860 CENSUS

Total Population
31,183,582

Free Colored Persons
476,748

Total Free Population
27,233,198

Total Number of Slaves
3,950,528

Slaves as % of Population
13%

Total Number of Families
5,155,608

Total Number of Slaveholders
393,975

% of Families Owning Slaves
8%