Economic Effects Of Slavery In America
Introduction
In America, the problem of slavery began as an economic event which saw the affluent Europeans and Americans trade and own slaves who worked for them. The number of slaves that each person owned or commanded represented their wealth and the influence in the society. Coming from another country, I think America is all about liberty and rights. However, slavery is the opposite of the American concept. For me, Slavery was fairly new to me even though it is in the past. I didn’t know the impact or even any goodness it does to the United States. In addition, I think being an owned slave for the Africans and the few Americans held as slaves was in a way considered as a way of life and the master was supposed to be the god of the slaves …show more content…
and was relatively unquestionable. As we can see the prosperity in the United States, we can assume slavery had big impact in helping building this strong nation. I want focus on showing how slavery either supported or refuted the concept of liberty in America and the reconciliation of this contradiction, while delving deeper into the bad and good sides of slavery.
Background of Slavery and the Concept of Liberty in America
The concept of liberty was considered the way of life of many of other Americans who were held as captives in their land by the Europeans colonialists. Throughout this history of slavery in America, the liberty of the affluent and the rich was to own and master slaves. However, there were also free black people in the non-slave territory or even in the deeper south. Some of these black people could even own property. There are also politicians that supported slavery in American history. This is all very interesting to me. Like the Romans and the Greeks, China also had a long history of slavery. In China, slavery goes all the way back to 200 BC and it wasn’t until the 1900s banned by the law. The slaves were also asked to do what their masters told them to do in those dictatorship eras. The impact of slavery for China was not very significant. I think the long history of corruption is the biggest reason. There wasn’t anyone like Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson who would stand out and fight for the people. People were born different, it was considered natural. However, the impact of slavery is very significant in United States. Slavery was a social and economic institution that was practiced during the antebellum era in America. The transition from the indentured servitude of Europeans to chattel slavery in the colonial America was dragged for decades.
In my own opinion, the concept of liberty in America is that all people have the rights to free exercise of religion, movement and other freedoms enshrined in the constitution. This means that all Americans have all the freedom and ability to follow their ideas and conscience in matters that concern their religious beliefs and even economic activities. However, Slavery in America refuted the basic concept of liberty. First, it was through slavery that the masters sought and bought other people, both Americans, and foreigners to work on their farms and plantations and make money for them.
History of Slavery in American
In America, the enslavement of the Africans evolved out and expanded widely through the indentured European servitude system.
During the colonial period and the coming of European immigrants to the United States, there was a shortage of labor. The main economic production in the southern part was farming, particularly cotton that was exported to Europe and supplied in the Northern parts of America. The South thus required enough workers to yield more produce of the farms. In August 1619, the first twenty blacks were shipped to America in Jamestown, Virginia. These blacks were not labelled as slaves but as indentured servants, a condition which was to run for seven years. This was followed by other white people from the poor countries of Europe who also came as indentured servants. According to their masters, the indentured service was supposed to be taken as payment for the expenses of their journey across the seas to America. When the white people agreed to the terms that the African black people who had been released after the seven years of indenture service were brought back to work in the farms. For these newcomers from Africa, it was not an indentured service but a service with no payment or any specific term to release. (Edmund 34). This was the beginning of slavery in America. Larger numbers of Africans were brought to North America as slaves to work in the farms and large plantations established in South part of the United States. In the South, the slave owners would be entitled to the slave labor output, even without remuneration. In fact, the rights and protection of slaves would be regulated by laws and customs in particular time and place. (Goldfield
204)
In other words, the slaves themselves did not have rights that any White person was obliged to acknowledge or recognize. It was thus within the slaveholder’s mandate and liberty to own slaves as they were part of their properties. A day for the slave usually consisted of long hours packed with physical labor. The workday could typically begin before the dawn, and end well after the sunset, often with only two hours to rest. The slaves had no liberty, and worked under constant supervision, and regular threats of physical punishment by their overseers. The slave treatment was generally deplorable. The masters were more concerned with profit making, rather than promoting better treatment for the human race. (Turner 7)
“Positively good”
However, Slavery has always existed. As I mentioned before, the Geeks had slaves, the romans had slaves. They were the prime time of the history. Therefore, there is also a good side of slavery now when we look back. It definitely helped in the growth in economics development of this country. The defenders of slavery included economics, history, religion and even humanitarianism. For instance, John Calhoun who was the vice president of the United States made a speech in 1837 stating slavery was “positive good”. He explained the goodness of slavery in his speech. John Calhoun justified slavery as a way to maintain social and political stability. He believed that there must be a class for other classes to lean on in order to maintain this social and political stability. Basically, he stated that slaves were better off with their owner. They need food, clothes and a place to live. If their masters didn’t treat them so bad, they were better off being slaves. I can see that John Calhoun felt that black people were so inferior that they are better off being slaves to getting freedom. They were treated better than the free labors anyway. At the time, there was no war and everything was going stable. However, I would imagine the slaves didn’t think that way. Freedom means more than anything to them.
Solve the Issue
After the issue of slavery was so widespread in America especially the south, many people considered it not only as a way of life but as an institution on its own. Most white men believed it to be within their liberties and freedom to own and master to slaves. However, this infringed on the rights, freedoms and liberty of the slaves who were denied their rights of association, movement and even the freedom of worship. How the Issue was Reconciled
However, Americans gradually reconciled this contradiction through antislavery movements and the emancipation of the slaves. Even though the economic status of the South was booming as a result of slavery, movements to eliminate the slave labor system gained momentum before the civil war. Therefore, antislavery northerners plus other free blacks would help slaves to escape from their masters and the southern plantations. Torn between the economic importance and moral issue of slavery, the white southern farmers defended the institution, and presented that the blacks were individuals who had no ability to take care of themselves as they can provide them clothing and food. On the other hand, the abolitionists expanded and vehemently refuted slavery. The voices of some abolitionist such as President Frederick Douglas and William Lloyd Garrison continued to against slavery. (Mitchell 82)
This was a very important consideration for America after the civil war to reconcile the contradiction and come out as a new and stronger nation.
Conclusion
Overall, it would be concluded that the owners of slave, inspired by their power and wealth pursuit, set aside their moral conviction to execute the slavery institution as a powerful socioeconomic tool. While the South drew some economic gains from slavery, the merchants benefited themselves, without being cognizant of the slaves’ freedoms. There is no doubt that slavery derailed the African-Americas of their political, cultural, religious, economic, and education powers, which demeaned their liberty. However, through emancipation, the rise of abolitionists, and the civil rights movements, slavery was halted and the freedom and human rights of slaves promoted.
In America, the problem of slavery began as an economic event which saw the affluent Europeans and Americans trade and own slaves who worked for them. The number of slaves that each person owned or commanded represented their wealth and the influence in the society. Coming from another country, I think America is all about liberty and rights. However, slavery is the opposite of the American concept. For me, Slavery was fairly new to me even though it is in the past. I didn’t know the impact or even any goodness it does to the United States. In addition, I think being an owned slave for the Africans and the few Americans held as slaves was in a way considered as a way of life and the master was supposed to be the god of the slaves …show more content…
and was relatively unquestionable. As we can see the prosperity in the United States, we can assume slavery had big impact in helping building this strong nation. I want focus on showing how slavery either supported or refuted the concept of liberty in America and the reconciliation of this contradiction, while delving deeper into the bad and good sides of slavery.
Background of Slavery and the Concept of Liberty in America
The concept of liberty was considered the way of life of many of other Americans who were held as captives in their land by the Europeans colonialists. Throughout this history of slavery in America, the liberty of the affluent and the rich was to own and master slaves. However, there were also free black people in the non-slave territory or even in the deeper south. Some of these black people could even own property. There are also politicians that supported slavery in American history. This is all very interesting to me. Like the Romans and the Greeks, China also had a long history of slavery. In China, slavery goes all the way back to 200 BC and it wasn’t until the 1900s banned by the law. The slaves were also asked to do what their masters told them to do in those dictatorship eras. The impact of slavery for China was not very significant. I think the long history of corruption is the biggest reason. There wasn’t anyone like Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson who would stand out and fight for the people. People were born different, it was considered natural. However, the impact of slavery is very significant in United States. Slavery was a social and economic institution that was practiced during the antebellum era in America. The transition from the indentured servitude of Europeans to chattel slavery in the colonial America was dragged for decades.
In my own opinion, the concept of liberty in America is that all people have the rights to free exercise of religion, movement and other freedoms enshrined in the constitution. This means that all Americans have all the freedom and ability to follow their ideas and conscience in matters that concern their religious beliefs and even economic activities. However, Slavery in America refuted the basic concept of liberty. First, it was through slavery that the masters sought and bought other people, both Americans, and foreigners to work on their farms and plantations and make money for them.
History of Slavery in American
In America, the enslavement of the Africans evolved out and expanded widely through the indentured European servitude system.
During the colonial period and the coming of European immigrants to the United States, there was a shortage of labor. The main economic production in the southern part was farming, particularly cotton that was exported to Europe and supplied in the Northern parts of America. The South thus required enough workers to yield more produce of the farms. In August 1619, the first twenty blacks were shipped to America in Jamestown, Virginia. These blacks were not labelled as slaves but as indentured servants, a condition which was to run for seven years. This was followed by other white people from the poor countries of Europe who also came as indentured servants. According to their masters, the indentured service was supposed to be taken as payment for the expenses of their journey across the seas to America. When the white people agreed to the terms that the African black people who had been released after the seven years of indenture service were brought back to work in the farms. For these newcomers from Africa, it was not an indentured service but a service with no payment or any specific term to release. (Edmund 34). This was the beginning of slavery in America. Larger numbers of Africans were brought to North America as slaves to work in the farms and large plantations established in South part of the United States. In the South, the slave owners would be entitled to the slave labor output, even without remuneration. In fact, the rights and protection of slaves would be regulated by laws and customs in particular time and place. (Goldfield
204)
In other words, the slaves themselves did not have rights that any White person was obliged to acknowledge or recognize. It was thus within the slaveholder’s mandate and liberty to own slaves as they were part of their properties. A day for the slave usually consisted of long hours packed with physical labor. The workday could typically begin before the dawn, and end well after the sunset, often with only two hours to rest. The slaves had no liberty, and worked under constant supervision, and regular threats of physical punishment by their overseers. The slave treatment was generally deplorable. The masters were more concerned with profit making, rather than promoting better treatment for the human race. (Turner 7)
“Positively good”
However, Slavery has always existed. As I mentioned before, the Geeks had slaves, the romans had slaves. They were the prime time of the history. Therefore, there is also a good side of slavery now when we look back. It definitely helped in the growth in economics development of this country. The defenders of slavery included economics, history, religion and even humanitarianism. For instance, John Calhoun who was the vice president of the United States made a speech in 1837 stating slavery was “positive good”. He explained the goodness of slavery in his speech. John Calhoun justified slavery as a way to maintain social and political stability. He believed that there must be a class for other classes to lean on in order to maintain this social and political stability. Basically, he stated that slaves were better off with their owner. They need food, clothes and a place to live. If their masters didn’t treat them so bad, they were better off being slaves. I can see that John Calhoun felt that black people were so inferior that they are better off being slaves to getting freedom. They were treated better than the free labors anyway. At the time, there was no war and everything was going stable. However, I would imagine the slaves didn’t think that way. Freedom means more than anything to them.
Solve the Issue
After the issue of slavery was so widespread in America especially the south, many people considered it not only as a way of life but as an institution on its own. Most white men believed it to be within their liberties and freedom to own and master to slaves. However, this infringed on the rights, freedoms and liberty of the slaves who were denied their rights of association, movement and even the freedom of worship. How the Issue was Reconciled
However, Americans gradually reconciled this contradiction through antislavery movements and the emancipation of the slaves. Even though the economic status of the South was booming as a result of slavery, movements to eliminate the slave labor system gained momentum before the civil war. Therefore, antislavery northerners plus other free blacks would help slaves to escape from their masters and the southern plantations. Torn between the economic importance and moral issue of slavery, the white southern farmers defended the institution, and presented that the blacks were individuals who had no ability to take care of themselves as they can provide them clothing and food. On the other hand, the abolitionists expanded and vehemently refuted slavery. The voices of some abolitionist such as President Frederick Douglas and William Lloyd Garrison continued to against slavery. (Mitchell 82)
This was a very important consideration for America after the civil war to reconcile the contradiction and come out as a new and stronger nation.
Conclusion
Overall, it would be concluded that the owners of slave, inspired by their power and wealth pursuit, set aside their moral conviction to execute the slavery institution as a powerful socioeconomic tool. While the South drew some economic gains from slavery, the merchants benefited themselves, without being cognizant of the slaves’ freedoms. There is no doubt that slavery derailed the African-Americas of their political, cultural, religious, economic, and education powers, which demeaned their liberty. However, through emancipation, the rise of abolitionists, and the civil rights movements, slavery was halted and the freedom and human rights of slaves promoted.