Southern plantations could be very profitable. Sources differ as to just how profitable they were. Between 1770–1860, land was abundant and easy to obtain making it virtually worthless by itself. It was hard to get rich by just owning land. The Southern elite got very wealthy by owning the labor force that produced the crops on the land. The value of the slaves themselves was between one and two years of the entire national income of the United States. Only a small minority held slaves and it was limited to the Southern United States. Slaves were the real wealth.