History of Racism and Slavery in America - Essay Example

Role of Race and Slavery in the 19th Century American History The 19th century American history to a large extent hinged on issues related to race and slavery. Issues such as racism, racial segregation, slavery prompted 11 southern states to secede from the United States which resulted a devastating civil war in 1861. The results of the civil war were the abolition of slavery and the destruction of the 11 confederate states. Due to racism and slavery, the relationship between the blacks and white remained cold throughout the 19th century. Let us discuss the role of slavery in the 19th century American history. Slavery is a socio-economic system in which slaves are deprived of their personal freedom and are forced to perform services or labor. It also refers to status of certain persons who has been treated as the property of another person. Slaves are kept against their will from the time of their capture or birth or purchase and are not allowed to leave or refuse to work. Generally, they are not given any wages for their labor and generally considered as things or property. (Regine Pernoud, pp. 86-87). After America was discovered, there was a need for large number of workers as land is quite abundant over there. So slavery had to be introduced in United States. It is generally believed that all slave owners were white. But this is not true. (Grooms, Robert. M. 1997). The United States had banned the importation of slaves in 1808. It is believed that by then more than 30, 0000 slaves were imported. Rests of the slaves were all born in United States and their population rose to 4 million by 1860. In 1800, slavery was abolished all the northern parts of the United States, mainly due to the mass industrialization. However, this situation was different in south with the invention of cotton gin in 1793. The new invention made possible the amount of cotton which could be processed in a day by fifty-fold which resulted explosive growth of cotton industry and proportionate rise in the demand for slaves. In the 17th century Native Americans were also enslaved. They were mainly sent to Caribbean islands. According to historian Allan Gallay, between 24,000 to 51,000 native Americans sold in the slave trade from 1670 to 1715. (Gallay, Alan. 2002). Many northerner, during the westward expansion of United States, due to their hatred for slavery tried to prevent new states joining the union. Moreover, attempts by the north to abolish slavery led to the American Civil War in 1861. Slavery has played a significant role in the economic development of United States. Keeping slaves were highly beneficial because they provided cheap source of labor. Most of the slaves had their origin in West Africa and were accustomed to infectious diseases and hot climates and were effective workers. They participated in the construction activities such as building of roads and houses, but their main area of engagement was in agriculture. They were also supposed to do domestic duties. The sugarcane, tobacco and cotton, planted and harvested by the slaves became important exports for united states.. Southern parts of United States benefited heavily by slavery due to shortage of plantation workers there. The wealth produced by the unpaid labor of slaves guaranteed America’s industrial revolution and ensuing economic strength. That wealth gave incredible political power to slave owners and their agents. Moreover “African slaves brought with them their many cultures, languages, and values, which helped to shape America and its unique culture. Enduring a brutally oppressive system, African slaves developed a deep commitment to liberty and became a living testament to the powerful ideal of freedom.” (The Study of Slavery and Freedom in American History). To some extent, slavery was counter productive to some sections of the society. Harsh treatment of slaves led to lower productivity and it necessitated higher levels of supervision. After the abolition of the slavery, many plantation owners found other productive ways, without the help of the slave labor. By studying the economic growth of America during the period of slavery and after would substantiate it. Another effect of slavery on society was to degenerate the human character. In order to produce hard work from slaves, constant supervision was required which resulted a slave owning aristocracy. It also created a source of suspicion, fear and hatred between slaves and slave masters. Occasionally, these feelings culminated into revolts against slave owners and resulted destruction of property, rape, murder, desertation and incarceration. These conflicts led to cost of business increase and often required judicial intervention to maintain a balance between an economy based on slavery and the society. The imanicipation proclamation during the civil war and the 13th amendment abolished slavery in America. Abolition of slavery led to large number of black people without any house, or work. To solve these problems, Liberia and Sierra Leone were established for slaves from United States as well as from British Empire. Advocates of these efforts believed that return of former slaves to their colonies would be the best solution to solve the problem as well as it would be correcting the injustice done their ancestors. But it had several other motives as well. For example, racism played a huge role. They just wanted to get rid of the blacks. Moreover, trade union did not want cheap labor from jobless freed slaves. American Civil War The American Civil War was a war between ‘union’ (United States) and 11 southern states. The latter declared secession from the union and formed confederate states of America which was led by Jefferson Davis. The union rejected the right of secession and was against expansion into the areas owned by United States. (The Civil War: A Narrative. 1958. p.34). In the civil war, union defeated the confederate armies, there by saved the country from disintegration. Reconstruction In American history, reconstruction was an attempt to solve the issues of the American Civil War, after union defeated confederate states and had abolished slavery. It starts from 1865 and lasted till 1877. Reconstruction had tried to address the issues such as the status of former confederate leaders, the return of southern states which had seceded from the union and the legal and constitutional status of the freed slaves. There were huge disagreements between political parties how to achieve these tasks and it was very clear by late 1870s that reconstruction had failed. (A. A. Taylor, 1938. pp. 16-34). Race History of America in the 19th century to a large extent related to race. The relationship between two major races i.e. blacks and white remained very cold throughout the century. Even after the abolition of slavery and granting political rights to blacks, racism was manifested in all walks of life. According to Illustrated Oxford Dictionary, racism is “a belief in the superiority of a particular race; prejudice based on this, antagonism towards, or discrimination against other races.” (Illustrated Oxford Dictionary, 1998). There are many who believe that the issue of racism is a cultural phenomenon and that effective education and the promotion of various ethnic identities can create better understanding and respect for others in the minds of people. “Racism has always been both an instrument of discrimination and a lot of exploitation. But it manifests itself as a cultural phenomenon, susceptible to cultural solutions such as multi-cultural education and the promotion of ethnic identities.” (Anup Shah. 2004). Racism in the 19th century in America was the history of racial segregation of services, facilities, education, housing, transportation and employment along racial lines. It also means physical separation and arrangement for separate facilities. Some other manifestations of racism such as separation of roles within an organization can also be included in it. For example, separation of Negro units from white units but the former was commanded by white officers. In United States, after the ratification of 15th amendment to the constitution which provided right to vote, federal troops guaranteed the blacks the right to vote and elect their leaders. But in the southern states, former slave owners unleashed a reign of terror to discourage black from casting their votes. In America, even after the abolition of slavery, there were separate facilities for African-American and European- American i.e. the former received lower quality of services and facilities etc. Racism is no better evil than slavery and it is high time it is wiped off. In America, the difference between the haves and the have-nots create a lot of imbalance and these results in apparent inequality. Everyone should feel that he is respected and is not inferior or marginalized in anyway. Equal opportunities should be provided to every one. Racism is a social issue and so families and teachers can play important roles in educating children, the new generation, the need to socialize with everyone. The media, the governments and the people all over the world should come to bear this collective responsibility. Works Cited Pernoud, Regine. Those Terrible Middle Ages: Debunking the Myths trans. Anne English Nash. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2000, pp. 86-87. Grooms, Robert. M. Dixie’s Censored Subject. Black Slaveowners. 1997. 12 May, 2007. . Alan, Gallay. 2002. The Indian Slave Trade: The Rise of the English Empire in the American South 1670-171. New York: Yale University Press. The Study of Slavery and Freedom in American History. 12 May, 2007. . The Civil War: A Narrative. Vol. 1. Fort Sumter to Perryville. New York: Random House, 12 Nov. 1958. p.34. A. A. Taylor. 1938. Historians of the Reconstruction. The Journal of Negro History. Vol. 23, No.1 pp.16-34. Shah, Anup. Racism. 12 May, 2007. . Read More