Slavery Issue in American History - Essay Example

During the revolutionary period, thirteen North American colonies joined together to break free from the British Empire. The colonies rejected the authority of the British parliament and expelled all royal officials. By 1774, each colony had formed its own provincial congress to govern itself. The British army sent troops to combat the situation. The revolution ended by the Americans’ victory as the Americans, despite of their lacks in the arms and food were fighting more heartedly than the British.

Even if we neglect the shorter outcomes of the issue of slavery during the revolutionary process, we have to admit that the slavery issue did have an effect on the revolutionary process. Slavery was a burning issue of that time; therefore there was a need to settle this major dispute among the colonies. Southern colonies were the colonies in which the slaves outnumbered the white. These colonies were in favor of enslaving Black people for their work. While the northern colonies constituted anti-slavery people in greater numbers.

Thus the slavery issue became a dispute in the process of union and in turn, the revolution. The colonists dealt with this issue nicely. In their sight, union was much more important than this issue. If the United States of America was to be formed, this issue was to be settled. In order to make the union possible, slavery was reconciled with the council in South, whereas it still remained outlawed in Northern America. The issue was apparently settled in this way. Strictly speaking, the colonists were able to form the new republic of the United States of America by passively neglecting the slavery issue in a way.

This is because, the issue still persisted while the colonists only turned their eyes away from it. The United States of America was formed as result of a compromise. “This compromise in 1776 was necessary to form the nation in the first place, but it almost destroyed the Union in 1861.” (Xenakis) Thus, the prior union of the colonies was possible and the United States of America came into existence. The colonists were desperate to be united and break free from the British rule. Therefore, their method of dealing with the slavery issue was an amateur solution of the dispute.

The union was a more important issue in the eyes of the colonists. This is why, they had to turn their eyes from the issue of slavery and settle it somehow. They chose their method of dealing with the slavery issue, because it was the only quick and possible solution of the problem. The union was much more important and they needed it to be quick. Therefore, they adopted this method to deal with this issue. The slavery was reconciled with the constitution in such a way, that it was made legal in the southern colonies while it was outlawed in the northern colonies.

Just after the revolution, when the colonies gained independence, each colony had its own provincial congress to govern itself. Each colony had its own laws and currency and was independent of the other. In the year 1775, representatives were sent to the Second Continental congress and the states joined to defend their self-governance and to combat against the armed British forces. In their attempt to do so, slavery was partially reconciled with the constitution. Thus, the southern colonies were allowed to enslave men and women while the northern colo