Slavery was introduced to the United States in 1619 and existed as a cruel institution where people of African descent had no rights. Slaves faced inhumane treatment and brutal violence on plantations in the South, where the economy depended on slave labor, while indentured servants and paid workers dominated the North. Abolitionist movements sought to end slavery, causing conflict between the North and South, which was only resolved after the Civil War with the passage of the 13th and 14th Amendments abolishing slavery and granting citizenship and rights to freed slaves.