The Importance of Slavery in the Development of Early America - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages They started to transport slaves from Africa to America during the sixteenth century. In the subsequent years, slavery became an economic, political and social factor in the development of early America, which resulted in the American Civil War or the American Revolution. This paper analyses the importance of slavery in the political and social development of early America and its contribution to the civil war. South America and North America were entirely different as far as the prominence of slavery was concerned. Negro slavery was absent in the North, whereas it occurred in many forms in the Southern parts of America in the last few centuries. “There has been one school of thought which regards presence of Negro slavery in the south and its absence in the north as the essence of sectional controversy” (Potter 30). From the onset, slavery had been the most serious cause of sectional conflict (Potter 52). In other words, the views and attitudes of the people in the southern and northern parts of America were different. People in the North were more liberal in their nature, attitudes and beliefs, whereas people in the South were more conservative in their thoughts. It should be noted that European countries such as Britain were in control of Southren America in the eighteenth century. Britain had colonies in most parts of the world during this period. Africa was in control of Britain during this period, which made the slave transportation from Africa to America an easier task. Howe pointed out that “almost 14 million Negros were held in hereditary slavery during this period in America” (Howe 52). Slavery in the eighteenth century has created many social changes in America. Exports of slaves from Africa to America happened frequently during this period. Even though an independent American state was established in the eighteenth century, the process of exportation of slaves from Africa to America has not stopped. Americans were not in a mood to give the luxury they enjoyed due to slavery. To sustain slavery as much as possible, they prevented black people from getting education, income and opportunities for employment. Even though human right issues were discussed very seriously in America during this period, nobody took slavery as a serious human right violation issue until the 1780s. In fact, the black community was not much interested in avoiding slavery in the eighteenth century. They were particular about improving their economic conditions rather than avoiding slavery or acquiring equal status with whites. Poverty was the biggest problem faced by the negros during this period. “For Negros, economic circumstances were more important than legal status (Slavery) in shaping their conditions of life” (Potter 31). It should not be forgotten that the negros were deprived of opportunities for education and, as a result of that, they were unaware of the things like human rights. For them, acquiring enough food at any cost was the major objective of their life. Even though dominant white people did everything possible to sustain slavery in America, they failed to prevent black people from becoming aware of freedom and liberty. For example, black people were used extensively for maritime employment by the white people in the eighteenth century. It was impossible for white people to execute maritime works without slaves. Maritime works were often done without much supervision from the ...Download file to see next pagesRead More