What slavery meant to America

Document Type:Research Paper

Subject Area:History

Document 1

Slavery started in 1619 in America, when African slaves were shipped ashore to the British colony. Europeans who settled in Northern America termed African slaves to be plentiful, cheap and provided more labor compared to the indentured servants. Slavery meant a lot to Americans. During the 18th century, an approximate of 6 to 7 million African able and healthiest men and women were imported as slaves. The slaves were forced to work in the rice, indigo and tobacco plantations. They also pleased the obedient slaves with favors and severely punished the rebellious slaves. There existed a hierarchy in ranking the slaves, from the highly privileged skilled artisans and slave house helps to the lowly graded fields’ men and women. This helped separate the slaves which gave them less or no opportunity to plan against the masters.

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Marriage among the slaves was illegal, though the slaves did marriages and managed to raise large families. The slave owners encouraged them to have families but they later divided the families by removal or sale. In 1830-1860, Harriet Beecher Stowe, contributed in finishing slave publishing novel on antislavery4. William Lloyd Garrison, a white and Frederick Douglass, a free black led a movement to put an end to slavery. While some abolitionists held a belief that slavery was a sin, others held onto the free labor non-religious argument. Basing that slave holding was inefficient, regressive and of small economic sense. The Underground Railroad practice, by the antislavery northerners and free blacks helped the slaves to escape to the North from the southern plantations to safe houses.

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The insurrection uncovered the North rift to slavery7. After the election of Abraham Lincoln as the president, the south was able to reach its breaking point. Three months after his election, 7 southern states merged to form the Confederate States of America. The Central Union aimed at preserving the nation of United States and not to eliminate slavery8. Though Lincoln’s had well established anti-slavery views. Earlier slaves were allowed to receive rights of equal protection and citizenship from constitution (in the 14th Amendment), right to voting (in 15th Amendment). Though such provision in constitution was ignored this made difficulty for the slave in have a grip in past-war economy. But the regressive contractual and black codes made arrangements to ensure there was crop sharing.

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