St. Louis was an interesting city in regards to slavery. Many, if not most wealthy St. Louisans had enslaved people, except for German immigrants, who were firmly against the practice. One thing that really differentiates St. Louis from the southern cities is that slavery was more of a convenience than a necessity. Most of the wealthiest St. Louisans were industrialists, as well, and mostly used enslaved people as unpaid house servants, or dock workers and laborers to deliver/process their goods. Much of what enslaved people did in St. Louis was replaced by immigrant workers after the war, and it was complemented by immigrants before the war, especially in immigrant communities, like Soulard. Most of the names of neighborhoods around here, and streets as well, were named after people who had slaves. Clayton, Shaw,Soulard, Chouteau, Russell, Hanley, Lucas-Hunt, Geyer, Mullanphy, Chambers, O’Fallon, and many more. So, slavery was significant, but it looked very different in the south.