Hinton Rowan Helper was born on December 27, 1829 in Mocksville, North Carolina. He graduated from Mocksville Academy in 1848. In 1851, Helper moved to California but was unsuccessful in becoming wealthy and eventually moved back to North Carolina. Helper published The Impending Crisis of the South in 1857. The book used statistical facts to prove that slavery was not only harmful to the economic stability of non-slaveholders but also destructive for the south as a whole. Helper’s book was banned in the south, but was used as a campaign document by the Republican Party from 1857 until 1861. Even though Helper did not believe in slavery, he was not a friend to the African Americans living in the country. He believed that the races should be kept separate at all costs. Hinton Rowan Helper died on March 8, 1909.