The History on Slaves - Powerpoint

History of Slavery

Introduction

Slavery is the ownership of one human being by another and it has existed throughout history and thus it is by no chance people are found mistreating others. The issue of slavery began in the 1960 where Africans were being transported to North America as slaves. On arrival, they would then be forced to work on plantations or mines while there are those who were forced to be servants in homes. Additionally, most of the slaves could money which they used to buy their freedom, other could get married, while there are those who could testify in courts and as a result they would earn land illegally. In 1600, the African American also started becoming slaves in the American colonies and most of the laves were found in the south due to the fact that this is where land plantations of cotton were found as well as other crops that were grown here and needed people to take care of the land(Davis, 2016). However, the north did not need many slaves. This essay will examine the history of slaver, where it began and how the slaves were treated and finally when it came to an end.

In 1800, the plantation workers were referred to as the field hands since their duties including picking and planting cotton. This was among the most tiring and longest job because they picked cotton form morning to evening. Moreover, the slaves that worked in the homes of their master were called servants and their duties included cooking and doing laundry(Eltis, Engerman, Drescher, & Richardson, 2017). On the other hand, other slaves were trained to do different kinds of jobs and they were only trained as the white people did not want them to learn how to read and write because they thought that when the black learned, they would be encouraged to run away.

Additionally, there were the slaves’ masters who supervised the slaves and the works that they used to do. Some of the masters were very kind and they could even reward the slaves for the good job by giving them money and gifts while other masters were very cruel since they could punish the slaves and treat them very poorly(Gaffield, 2016). To add to that note, the slaves who worked in the mines and in the cotton plantations were treated very poorly as they were most of the time punished. However, the servantsin the homes were treated as one of the members of the family that they were serving. Some of the slaves could sometimes be lucky due to the fact that they could be freed upon the death of their master who could leave behind a will that led to the freedom of the slaves. Once they were free, the slaves created their own common language as well as music and their religion assisted them to get through the rough times and most of the religion that was used by the slaves was the African and the Christian beliefs. The African continued worshipping as they did while they were in their homes.

Moreover, there was the Underground Railroad which the slaves tried to use to escape so that they can earn their freedom. The Underground Railroad was only known by the slaves and they used it as a code name and they used it to try and get their freedom. The slaves used to hide during the day and could only move at night so that they were not caught. Majority of the slaves escaped to the north and once they were found they could be sent back to their masters (De Groot,2016). The states that had the slaves had one third of the south’s population and this was about four million slaves by 1860. Notably, one economic benefit of the slaves is that it had created incentives for the farmers in the south as theyhad found substitutes for free labor as well as mechanize agriculture. Individualism, capitalism as well as racism were economic factors and the slaves were very profitable during the years that slavery was exercised. There were also the sugar plantations where more than the African Slaves were employed. In 1793, cotton gin was invented and this gave most of the slaves a new life. The slave shift economy from the upper south to the lower south that is from Virginia and Maryland was given by a comparable shift of the enslaved African population to the lower south as well as the west. Thus, every plantation is part of the larger national as well as international political economy. The American andtheir shipping industries depended on the cotton that was being produced by the slaves. Cotton plantation economy continued to expand throughout the south region where slaves could be used to purchase items and one of them was that they were used in the payment of debts. The ownership of slaves allowed the British men to have more power as well as wealth. With slavery, there was political power which was used to define the political interests for the individuals and also for the states.

In South Carolina, African slaves were 3000 while the NativeAmerican slaves were 1400. Unfortunately, there was an outbreak of small pox and yellow fever which killed most of the Native Americans and there wasn’t a way of getting enough servants who would provide the colony with the needed labor. In 1777 however slavery was banned by Vermont and in 1779, New Hampshire also banned slavery Goff et al. The antislavery movement was formed and it was funded by John Hopkins and most of the people who believed in religion joined in the movement. During the late 1700, the south lessened theirenthusiasm regarding slavery. Legal individual strength on individual manifestation was removed in Virginia in 1787. Additionally, the cotton gin was invented in 1773 by Eli Whitney. As a result of the industrial revolution, the cotton gin was produced which was responsible for separating the seeds from the fiber. As a result, the economics changed the policy and thus slavery was starting to be favorable.

By 1819, Free states were eleven and so was the slave states and by 1860, there were over 3.9 million slaves in America. However, in august 1791, the black slaves turned on their captors and many of the white planters were killed on Island San Domingo. Additionally, during the industrial revolution in 1776, many people living in the north outlawed slavery. On the other hand the African slave trade happened in 1788 where they would be kidnapped and eventually be sold to become slave (Taussig, 2018). In the process of being bought, the buyer would examine them and ensure that they were healthy and free from any disease and upon acceptance by the buyer they were boarded in the ship. In the ship, the buyers would sometimes be in shortage of food and they would pick the weak slaves and throw them overboard. The weak ones would not be fed but instead they were left out and would just watch others eat. The African slaveswere taken against their will and were taken to work on the plantation or they would become indentured servants. Most of them were beaten to death and they were also mistreated. While on board, they were chained from neck to toe without clothes and luckily, in 1820, the American colonization established a colony to free all the slaves and Hedi is the only successful slavery in the world.

In 1800, there was so much controversy regarding the issue of slavery and since the beginning of America, slavery was an industry that was thriving so well. However, many were made so as to stop or decrease the issue of slavery in the country and in 1807, an act that was prohibiting the importation of slavery was passed and that means that there were so slaves that were allowed to be brought in the United States. This was one of the ways that was used to control the issue of slavery in America. There was also another effort to end slavery that was proposed by Thomas Jefferson. He aimed at ending slavery with his idea (Cowling, 2014). The idea would release the slaves that would be born at a certain day would have them deported back to Africa and other slaves would then die off naturally but unfortunately due to the absence of one person this bill failed to be passed. With time, citizens in America banded together so as to promote the end of slavery. These people were known as abolitionist and they include Tubman and Fredrick. The two made so much effort towards the end of slavery and luckily their efforts were noticed by the government with their challenge for the government and new laws were passed that aimed at counteracting the work done by the abolitionist.

In addition, the abolitionist in 1800 made so many contributions towards the movement to end slavery. First they took a prominent role in the society by establishing American Anti-Slavery movement. The group attracted so many people who were interested in ending slavery. The most important of the entire abolitionist was Harriet Tubman who was born into slavery and when she was at the age of 25 she married John Tubman who was a freeman and used to live in his log cabin but still worked for her master (Miller, 2013). Harriet Tubman ran away from her plantation in 1849 and followed the North Star to Pennsylvania. While at Pennsylvania, she found herself some work to do and she also became one of the abolitionists and got involved with the antislavery movements within Philadelphia. It is here that she met Thomas Garret and she could use her house as a pinpoint. During the years of her escape and the civil war Harriet had taken more than 20 trips in the Underground Railroad and she had also helped more than 300 slaves escape to the north and sometimes even as far as Canada.

To add to that note, the Underground Railroad was one of the most important dominant forces for the abolitionist movement. This was one of the major contributions that were made by the abolitionist. A second key abolitionist was Fredrick Douglas who was also born into slavery in Maryland (Thurston, 2017). The man was cared for by his grandparents until he was able to work. at the of 6 he started working in a plantation and was eventually transferred into another plantation. It is while working in this plantation that the wife of his mater noticed him and she started teaching him how to read. However, the master founded out and scolded the wife and she had to stop her teaching lessons to Douglas. However, he did not give up on reading since he continued with his lesson by getting them from the white kids and he traded the lessons with pieces of bread. With the money the he got form the plantation; he could buy newspapers where he was especially interested with the Columbian Orator (Roitman, 2016). This was due to the fact that, the articles emphasized on liberty, democracy as well as courage. Douglas was seen to be uncontrollable by his master since he could hold church service for the slaves and at the age of 16 he was sent to another plantation. It is as this age that he got into a fight with his master when he could not take the beatings anymore. Instead of killing, his master opted to take him to another plantation and here he was treated better.

In addition, 1800s was also a time of expansion. This is due to the fact that, while the United States expanded, the issue of slavery also became a very interesting topic. The government was doing all that it can to liberate the number of slaves but the people were not ready to for the entire abolition of the slaves. During the time that Harriet Tubman was working in the Underground Railroad, there was also a bounty that put out of her of $ 40,000 and this was one way that indicated that the government was trying all that it could to put an end to the efforts of the abolitionists. Additionally, a law was passed which put the work of the abolitionist in the Underground Railroad into danger. Among the abolitionist that were endangered include Harriet Tubman and Fredrick Douglas (Thurston, 2016). The law was referred to as Fugitive Slave Act. the law allowed the federal government to get capture all the runaway slaves and later send them to their masters in the south. However, most of the northern states were against the law and they wanted to protect the free black slaves. This law put it clear that any US field Marshal that did not send a slave back to their master would have to pay a fine of 1000 dollar. Many other attempts were also made to stop the abolitionist. After Douglas wrote his autobiography, he was forcefully moved to Europe so that his freedom could be protected as his book gave so many details on his escape as well as his life as a slave. Thus, Harriet Tubman and Fredrick Douglas are good examples of what the abolitionists went through and what they did and the response of the government for their actions.

In conclusion, 1800 the end of slavery was the major concern and slavery was a major issue which took many years to control. However, abolition was a social reform movement which took Americans by surprise since abolitionist made many contributions to the society which was not taken kindly by the government in the south (Suess, 2016). This is why laws such as the Fugitive Slave Act were set up so that they can protect the institution of slavery in America. That is why Fredrick Douglas and Harriet Tubman are the two abolitionists whose contributions to America changed history. Tubman succeeded in leading 300 people to freedom and on the other hand Douglas was a very good speaker who managed to speak out against slavery and it is through their contributions made by the abolitionists that led to the creation of an equal and free America.

References

Cowling, C. (2014). The Hierarchies of Slavery in Santos, Brazil, 1822–1888. Slavery & Abolition, 35(1), 181-183. doi:10.1080/0144039x.2013.878616

Miller, J. C. (2013). The History of Slavery. Slavery & Abolition, 35(1), 170-179. doi:10.1080/0144039x.2013.814350

Roitman, J. V. (2016). Land of hope and dreams: slavery and abolition in the Dutch Leeward islands, 1825–1865. Slavery & Abolition, 37(2), 375-398. doi:10.1080/0144039x.2016.1140457

Suess, B. A. (2016). Colonial bodies and the abolition of slavery: a tale of two Cobbes. Slavery & Abolition, 37(3), 541-560. doi:10.1080/0144039x.2016.1208916

Thurston, T. (2016). Slavery: annual bibliographical supplement (2015). Slavery & Abolition, 37(4), 773-902. doi:10.1080/0144039x.2016.1248153

De Groot, J. (2016). Consuming History: Historians and heritage in contemporary popular culture. Routledge.

Goff, P. A., Eberhardt, J. L., Williams, M. J., & Jackson, M. C. (2008). Not yet human: tacit knowledge, historical dehumanization, and contemporary consequences. Journal of personality and social psychology, 94(2), 292.

Taussig, M. (2018). Mimesis and alterity: A particular history of the senses. Routledge

Davis, K. C. (2016). In the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents, and Five Black Lives.

Eltis, D., Engerman, S. L., Drescher, S., & Richardson, D. (2017). ˜Theœ Cambridge world history of slavery: Volume 4.

Gaffield, J. (2016). The Haitian Revolution: a documentary history. Slavery & Abolition, 37(1), 228-229. doi:10.1080/0144039x.2016.1132611