Free Essays on Slavery

The issue of slavery has been touched upon often in the course of history. The institution of slavery was addressed by French intellectuals during the Enlightenment. Later, during the French Revolution, the National Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which declared the equality of all men. Issues were raised concerning the application of this statement to the French colonies in the West Indies, which used slaves to work the land. As they had different interests in mind, the philosophes, slave owners, and political leaders took opposing views on the interpretation of universal equality. Many of the philosophes, the leaders of the Enlightenment, were against slavery. They held that all people had a natural dignity that should be recognized. Voltaire, an 18th century philosophe, pointed out that hundreds of thousands of slaves were sacrificing their lives just so the Europeans could quell their new taste for sugar, tea and cocoa. A similar view was taken by Rousseau, who stated that he could not bear to watch his fellow human beings be changed to beasts for the service of others. Religion entered into the equation when Diderot, author of the Encyclopedia, brought up the fact that the Christian religion was fundamentally opposed to Black slavery but employed it anyway in order to work the plantations that financed their countries. All in all, those influenced by the ideals of the Enlightenment, equality, liberty, the right to dignity, tended to oppose the idea of slavery. Differing from the philosophes, the political leaders and property owners tended to see slavery as an element that supported the economy. These people believed that if slavery and the slave trade were to be abolished, the French would lose their colonies, commerce would collapse and as a result the merchant marine, agriculture and the arts would decline. Their worries were somewhat merited; by 1792 Fr... Free Essays on Slavery Free Essays on Slavery The evolution of slavery is crucial to understanding the importance of currently standing issues. Slavery began in 1440 when Portugal started to trade slaves with West Africa. By the 16th century, Western Europeans developed an organized system of trading slaves. However, the slave trade did not run as smoothly as expected. Slaves were revolting and tried to flee the hardships of labor. Regardless of these attempts, slavery expanded, leading to the "Triangle Trade." This trade, between Europe, Africa and the Americas, is held responsible for the dispersal of Africans in the Western hemisphere. This organized system lasted until the 1800's. Shortly after the War of Independence there was an intended law to abolish slavery. This law was stalled when the United States allowed the slavery to continue until 1800. A federal law, which was passed in 1793, allowed for the Fugitive Slave Act, which continued the slave trade and prohibited the freedom of the Africans. In order to understand the origins of the Middle Passage one must know its purpose. The Middle Passage was a systematic process of retrieving Africans for the "Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade," as workers in the Atlantic world. This process combined the organization of voyages in Europe and the United States. In this time period, the slaves were transported to slave factories and were held captives of their own freedom. Before the Middle Passage began a slave trade already existed in Africa, but this slave trade was much different than the one that Europe would create for the Africans as the Atlantic World developed. The difference was, in Europe the slaves were dehumanized and viewed as property while in Africa, humans were still humans. Also some of the reasons that the Africans were enslaved in their own country traced back to their current status. If a person had committed a crime, were prisoners of war, or had a debt that was unpaid then they were enslaved by a greater force... Free Essays on Slavery The issue of slavery has been touched upon often in the course of history. The institution of slavery was addressed by French intellectuals during the Enlightenment. Later, during the French Revolution, the National Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which declared the equality of all men. Issues were raised concerning the application of this statement to the French colonies in the West Indies, which used slaves to work the land. As they had different interests in mind, the philosophes, slave owners, and political leaders took opposing views on the interpretation of universal equality. Many of the philosophes, the leaders of the Enlightenment, were against slavery. They held that all people had a natural dignity that should be recognized. Voltaire, an 18th century philosophe, pointed out that hundreds of thousands of slaves were sacrificing their lives just so the Europeans could quell their new taste for sugar, tea and cocoa. A similar view was taken by Rousseau, who stated that he could not bear to watch his fellow human beings be changed to beasts for the service of others. Religion entered into the equation when Diderot, author of the Encyclopedia, brought up the fact that the Christian religion was fundamentally opposed to Black slavery but employed it anyway in order to work the plantations that financed their countries. All in all, those influenced by the ideals of the Enlightenment, equality, liberty, the right to dignity, tended to oppose the idea of slavery. Differing from the philosophes, the political leaders and property owners tended to see slavery as an element that supported the economy. These people believed that if slavery and the slave trade were to be abolished, the French would lose their colonies, commerce would collapse and as a result the merchant marine, agriculture and the arts would decline. Their worries were somewhat merited; by 1792 Fr... Free Essays on Slavery The Slaves’ and the Slave owners’ Views of Slavery The slavery in the United States is no doubt a shameful history of our country. White people transferred the slaves living in Africa to the New Land and treated them as their property, not as human beings. The living and working conditions of slaves and their food were extremely poor. Those were inhuman conditions in which the slaves had to survive. Endless executions of the slaves made the situation even worse. Slavery was a period of time when one race treated the other race as animals, things, property, but not as people. Unfortunately, not everyone saw the situation as it was in reality at that time. As we can see from many different sources available today, the points of view of slaves and slave owners on slavery were the opposite of each other. That can be seen in various slaves’ and slave owners’ descriptions of slavery. Slaves described their dwellings, food, clothes, labor, and the terrible treatment of slaves by their masters. On the other hand, slave owners described the relationships between slaves and their masters in a very positive way. They argued that slavery is very beneficial for the slaves and the slaves are very happy to live with their masters. Let us now consider both these points of views in details. First of all, let us look at the slaves’ description of the cloth they wore. The clothes supply was as minimum as possible and the quality of the clothes was very bad. Here is how one of the slaves describes it. â€Å"Our dress was of tow cloth; for the children nothing but a shirt; for the older ones a pair of pantaloons or a gown in addition, according to the sex. ... In winter, a round jacket or overcoat, a wool hat once in two or three years, for the males, and a pair of coarse shoes once a year†(Lester 65). This scanty list of items was the only things available to the slaves. Certainly, it was not enough for the people who worked ver... Free Essays on Slavery Reading Response on: â€Å"Black Masters† and â€Å"The Slaveholders Dilemma† When the â€Å"Old South† in taken into consideration, generally one may think of large plantations, cotton, and African slaves that worked the land. Many people only associate the cruel treatments and slave holdings with the white plantation owners and white slave traders. Very rarely, if ever, does one hear about any slave holders or slave traders being of black or mulatto skin. This fact, however, seems to be a relevant part of history that is neither taught nor brought into the public eye. However, during the period of the â€Å"Old South†, although not as widely spread as white plantation owners with slaves, there were blacks that indeed did own slaves themselves. If fact in Charleston during 1860, 125 freed black slaves owned black slaves themselves; and six of them owning 10 or more. In fact, it is also said that of the $1.5 million in taxable property owned by free Negroes in Charleston during this time, more than $300,000 of that land represented slave holdin gs (Black Masters 62). During the period of the Old South, there is a very important story of a black man by the name of William Ellison. Ellison, which was initially named April (they were usually named after the month of the year in which they were born) was born in the late 1700’s, and was bought by a white slave owner, by the name William Ellison, between 1800 and 1802. April was of mulatto skin, so it is thought that his mother was black, and that is father was most likely a white slave owner (Black Masters 5). By the age of 12, April was taught the trades of carpentry, blacksmithing, and machining, as well as how to read, write, cipher, and to do basic book keeping. On June 8, 1816, when April was 26 years old, he and his owner, William Ellison â€Å"appeared before a Fairfield District magistrate and five freeholders from the neighborhood† in order to petition his freedom (Black Masters ... Free Essays on Slavery Faiths Role in Slavery â€Å"Ole Satan’s Church is here below; Up to God’s free church I hope to go.† Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the life of a slave girl. (205) These lines are taken from a song slaves used to sing. So powerful are these lines, yet simple. As you read Harriet Jacobs narrative, the subject of religion has a very broad underlying. The images she conveys are one of a sacrilegious nature in comparison to the white southerners, as opposed to reli- gious in respect to the slaves. Which is ironic, when supposedly the slaves are the heathen. Examples are given throughout the book as evidence of this strong view held by Harriet Jacobs. You have to look no further than the characters of Dr. and Mrs. Flint and Rev. Mr. Pike and their hypocritical behavior. There comes a point in the book when Dr. Flint joins the Episcopal church. One would assume this would have a beneficial affect on his character, but this made him more harsh. Harriet Jacobs describes that she endured the most persecutions after his communion. It seems the doctors main rea- sons for joining the church were because of his position in society and to stop the gossip in town about him. It was known around town, that Dr. Flint was pursuing Harriet. During a conversation he tells Harriet it would be good for her to join the church, her response was, that there are enough sinners in church already. Dr. Flint epitomizes all that is evil with slavery and the south at that time. Mrs. Flint, like most southern women, had no energy to take care of her own home; but had the nerves to watch her slaves take a whipping. Like her husband, she was a member of the church and was a woman of pure evil. The character of Mrs. Flint is a very unhappy one. If dinner was not served at the exact time, she would spit in the remains, to prevent the cook and her children from eat ing.... Free Essays on Slavery In the light of the following documents and your knowledge of the period 1775 to 1825, show specifically how the issue of slavery brought out the differences in the arguments concerning states rights and federalism. DOCUMENT 1 Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than these people are to be free; nor is it less certain that the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government. Nature, habit, opinion have drawn indelible lines of distinction between them. It is still in our power to direct the process of emancipation and deportation, peaceably, and in such slow degree that the evil will wear off insensibly, and their place be, pari passu, filled up by free white laborers. If, on the contrary, it is left to force itself on, human nature must shudder at the prospect held up. Thomas Jefferson 1804 DOCUMENT 2 Sec. 1. Be it enacted, That from and after the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and eight, it shall not be lawful to import or bring into the United States or the territories thereof from any foreign kingdom, place, or country, any negro, mulatto, or person of colour, as a slave, or to be held to service or labour.Sec.4. If any citizen or citizens of the United States, or any person resident within the jurisdiction of the same, shall, from and after the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and eight, take on board, receive or transport from any of the coasts or kingdoms of Africa, or from any other foreign kingdom, place, or country, any negro, mulatto, or person of colour in any ship or vessel, for the purpose of selling them in any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States as slaves, or to be held to service or labour,or shall be in any ways aiding or abetting therein, such citizen or citizens, or person, shall severally f! orfeit and pay five thousand dollars, one moiety thereof to the use of any person or persons who shall sue for and pro... Free Essays on Slavery Origins of Slavery in the New America The institution of slavery is dated back to the beginning of mankind. Many nations and empires were built by the muscles of slaves, including the foundation of America. Many people believe that slavery was a racist act against African Americans; however that couldn’t be more of a false statement. As the new American colonies were developing, many plantation owners needed help as their estates grew in size. Numerous plantation owners started looking for laborers who could help them with their large estates. These laborers were called indentured servants. In fact, the first indentured servants were usually poor white English people who were willing to work for a â€Å"master† that paid for their passage to the new world. The first black servants didn’t show up in the new world until 1619, two years after the first export of tobacco to England. The era of slavery was not started because of a prejudice against blacks but because of the need for laborers in t he new developing colonies of America. In Handlin’s article, â€Å"Origins of the Southern Labor System†, â€Å"An examination of the condition and status of seventeenth-century labor will show that slavery was not there from the start, that it was not simply imitated from elsewhere, and that it was not a response to any unique qualities in the Negro himself. It emerged rather from the adjustment to American conditions of traditional European institutions.†(Handlin, pg. 199). Handlin agrees that the theory of slavery was started as a prejudice against African Americans. Handlin believes that slavery was happening because of the need for labors to work on the large plantations in the new colonies of America. Many colonists were struggling to find ways to make money. As colonists were looking for various ways to earn money, many began to grow a variety of crops including tobacco. This popular item spread rapidly, earning farmers... Free Essays on Slavery Jefferson and Slavery The task of drafting the Declaration of Independence fell to Jefferson, who was known for his powerful writing style. Jefferson intended the document "to be an expression of the American mind," but the eloquence of the phrasing was his own. Thomas Jefferson claimed that he used "neither book nor pamphlet" when writing the declaration, but the document reflected a broad understanding of 18th-century political thought. Over time, the Declaration of Independence has profoundly affected American history. Phrases from the document such as "all men are created equal" quickly took on a life of their own or were applied to groups that the authors never anticipated, the ideal conflict being slavery. By Thomas Jefferson owning slaves, it made the Declaration of Independence false and hypocritical. On some level Thomas Jefferson is promoting the very thing he aims to destroy. He wants to rebel against King George the third for taking his very human rights while dehumanizing an entire race in his own household. Had it not been the common practice to have slaves in those days it would probably have destroyed his credibility and also ruined the strength of the document itself. This document, with a few words substituted, could very well be used to rally the black slaves against their owners. Blacks quickly used this language to challenge slavery in the United States. The ideal of equality led Northern states to free slaves within their borders in the 1780s, 1790s and early 1800s. Black and white abolitionists used the ideal that all men were created equal to attack slavery in the South before the Civil War. And civil rights supporters rallied behind Jefferson’s words in their fight against racism in the 1950s and 1960s....