Fleisig's article "Slavery, the Supply of Agricultural Labor, and the Industrialization of the South" argues that it was the North that had to turn to industrialization because of the limited source of labor.  He mentions the numerous attempts of the North to create another way of pulling labor sources without using slavery, as the South had done to avoid the problem.  The South then continued to rely heavily on slavery, while the North began to industrialize.

Fleisig, Heywood. “Slavery, the Supply of Agricultural Labor, and the Industrialization of the South.” The Journal of Economic History 36.3 (1976): 572-597.