Measures to Eradicate Slavery in America - Report Example

Slavery in America of the of the Contents 3 Introduction 4 Origin of slavery in America 5 Trade of Slave in America 7 Race and ideology 8 Custom and laws 9 Effect of slavery 10 Measures to eradicate slavery in America 11 Conclusion 12 References 13 Abstract The evolution of slavery and America has been developed side by side and the history that is shared by them can be defined with reference to its edicts and constitutions and also the reactions and actions of the individuals. The life of America has been framed by the migration of the people from Africa. The forceful migration of the people from Africa, the practice of slave trade in Africa leads to the transfer or trade of black people to America. Slavery started in America with the intention of providing cheap labor for the benefit of the colonies. The effect of slavery can be observed from the practice of racism or the discrimination between the white and the black people and the social conditions that prevailed in America. The study emphasizes the origin and the impact of slavery in America. The practice of slavery is not a new concept its roots are intact and developed from the ancient civilization. Introduction Slavery in America started from the early age of the 17th century and the practice of slavery in America continued for the following 250 years by the states and colonies. The slaves of America were mostly the people from Africa and they were engaged in the production of tobacco crops and then in the later years they were engaged in the production of cotton. And in the year 1793 with the invention of cotton in America along with the increase in the demand of the product in the countries of Europe, the practice of slaves in South America became popular and they were considered as the foundation of the economy of America. Figure 1: Slavery practice in America The rights of the people were not considered or recognized, the people had to work under adverse working conditions and often the people had to work without receiving any pay for their work. The people were classified on the basis of their races. The origin and the development of slavery in America and the effect or the impact of the practice of slavery on the black people of America and its influence on the region has affected the social, economic, political, religious and cultural development of America. Though the practice of trade of slavery at the international level was prohibited and restricted from the year 1808 but there was the rapid continuance of internal trade practice in America which forced the people to migrate to South America for the practice of slavery. Origin of slavery in America The practice of slavery in America mainly deals with holding a person for the labor. The concept of slavery originated from the past civilization. The practice of slavery has undergone different phase throughout the history. In many societies the slaves were treated and regarded as the servants by many of the wealthy households and the slaves were forced to work in the mines and also in the fields. Slavery began and started to change with the increase in the plantation of sugar (Joel, 2011). According to the researcher (Fields) in his research paper has highlighted on the fact that the Europeans has engaged this slave for the production of sugar in the eastern part of the Mediterranean since the period of 1100s. Then in the period of 1400s and 1500s, the Portuguese and the Spanish has introduced the plantation of sugar on the islands that is situated in the eastern Atlantic region and for the plantation of this sugar they bought the slaves from Africa and the Portuguese and the Spanish has introduced there colonies in America and along with them they bought the concept of sugar plantation in America. Therefore they for the first time tried to engage the native of America for the plantation but the Native Americans could not perform and many of them died due to overwork and many suffered from diseases therefore they started trading the slaves from Africa. The main reason for engaging the slaves from Africa is that they are more immune to diseases, they work with lower pay, the Africans do not have any friends or relatives in America and they have the experience in working on farms in their respective native lands in Africa (Fields, 2014). Trade of Slave in America In America debtor and prisoners of war were forced to become slaves. Slowly this practice started to grow more. The rich Americans started purchasing those people for keeping them as their slaves. African people were brought to American. They were sold in American market. Throughout 17th and 18th century slave trade was practiced in America. This business became so much popular that in early 18th century export of slaves grew to 36000 and in late 18th century it increased to 80,000 in a year. For this slave trade large numbers of Africans were shipped to America. Population of slaves increased day by day for this trade. Price of slaves is fixed by their capacity follow orders of their masters and does every kind of difficult tasks. Maintaining large number of slaves became a status for American people. Slave trade was predominant among influential and wealthy people of the country. Day by day with increase of slavery trade the torture on slaves also increased. For this system slaves were brutally tortured by Americans. In 1808 United States of America banned slaves’ importation from Africa. By high demands of slaves was present in the country. It influenced to grow domestic slave market of America. In next fifty years the domestic slave trade was practice in the country. People were forcibly transferred to become slaves and they were brought and sold in market. Slave traders earned a huge amount of money by trading this people. They enslaved many people and transferred them to different places. Transport facilities of railroad and steamboat influenced to increase this trade in large scale. In 1860 Montgomery became one of the important slaves trading community of America. Slave traders were given license for performing their business. The trade of slave in America has grown slowly and the trade of slave has increased with the increase in the demand for the slaves to work in the American colonies. The author (Sweet) has emphasized that the slave traders of Europe carried out there shipment of the people of Africa to America. The practice of this trade has made the coastal kingdom rich and thus weakening the societies of Africa. The slaves were accommodated together in a space where there was not enough space for the slaves even to stand up. By the end of 1700 all the American colonies that included the European countries had slaves from Africa (Sweet, 2003). Race and ideology Racial discrimination was one of the vital things in slavery. In America people were made slaves on the basis of racial discriminations. People of black complexion were considered as slaves. They were tortured to the extreme level by white people. Historians think that slavery in USA was originated for racial discrimination. For a long time American people maintain a strong difference between black and white people. The white Americans had a conception that black people are inferior to them. So they are the appropriate people for becoming their slaves. The Americans brought Africans people as they are black and they were able to perform tough physical work. At that time in American society inequality was very significant. Poor people who were unable to pay taxes and repay debts were forced to become slaves. This process was socially acceptable by the country. Slavery of this country developed as hereditary, permanent status associated with race. The rich people of America maintain this racial discrimination very strictly. They believed in the idea that it is the duty of Negro people to serve them and do their work. The black slaves were brutally treated by the white rich Americans. They were tortured both mentally and physically. The social and political structure of America was initially comfortable with this racial discrimination and slavery system. Society at that time was dominated by white Americans. But as the torture on slaves increased the black Americans started revolting against this system. They tried to abolish this racial discrimination but the white American people were against them. They continued their slavery trade and brutal treatment on black people. Slowly the revolt became very strong. America was forced to stop slavery system and racial discrimination. Custom and laws America faced many strong rebellions for continuing slavery system in the country. A large number of people were torture and also killed in this system. There were many laws implemented by the country for performing slavery. The law of slavery is known as Slave Code. Slaves of different American colonies have different ideas regarding right of slaves. But there were few common laws in slave codes which were same in all areas where slavery exists in America. Slaves were not allowed to have their own property (Sacerdote, 2005). The laws do not permitted them to assemble together without the presence of white American. Curfews were implemented on those slaves who were living of outside the plantation. Slaves were not permitted to accuse any white people against any crime. They also can make any testimonials against their masters. The slave code had a strong impact on American society. According to those laws many customs were formed to continue the practice of slavery. At that time the government of America allowed the slaves to receive educations regarding reading and writing. In the Christian laws marriage between slaves were not permitted. With the pass of time slaves became violent on the white people. They started rebelling against extreme bad treatment they received from their masters. With every rebellion slave’s code became very strict. It limited the rights of the slaves and gave facilities to white man for oppressing the blacks. Slave code gives white man all the power of controlling the slaves (Berkowitz and Clay, 2006). The laws in the code were made in favor of the masters. If a slave makes an attempt to leave the colony or run away then the slave was given a death penalty. Absenteeism of slave from their work for a long time was considered as a big mistake. Cruel punishment like cutting off one ear was implemented on them. Effect of slavery Slavery had a strong effect on America and its society. It has several negative effects and few positive effects on the country. For continuous practice of slavery for a long time America was able to make its economic power very strong. Huge number of men, women and children worked in the country almost without any wages. They contributed a lot in making the American people rich. The White people did not have to invest much on their labor. This factor influenced to improve the economic condition of the country without making much investment. There are many negatives of slavery (Nunn, 2009). It highlighted racial discrimination in the country. Distinction between black and white became very prominent. Social rules and regulations were formed on the basis of such discriminations. It damaged the social structure of the country. Numerous black people received very bad treatment from the white people which compelled them to hate the white Americans. This feeling of hate rate was present among the blacks for many years. The countries have faced many strong and big rebellions for slavery. Increase of slavery resulted in social unrest in America (Schneider and Schneider, 2007). White American did many criminal activities on their slaves. In the present world American feels ashamed of their behavior which they had showed in performing the system of slavery. Measures to eradicate slavery in America Slavery was practiced for a long time in America. Slaves faced extreme bad condition for slavery system. Day by day white Americans started torturing the slaves more brutally. Slaves formed different rebellions against their torture. Major social unrest occurred in the country for this reason. Finally in 1808 the government of America abolished the system of slavery and slave trade (Wright, 2006). Many leaders of the country played a vital role to stop this system. In1926 United nations and some other organizations formed a global treaty on abolishing slavery. This agreement declared that all the slaves are free to go everywhere. Another important measure was taken by the country was that America took part in the agreement of Universal Declaration of Human Right which made slavery as an illegal activity in all over the world. The King Martin Luther played an important role in prevent slavery. Through various reforms and movements he established legal equality among all people in America. The movement of Civil Right helped a lot in establishing equality. Slaves of America performed various campaigns and revolutionary activities for eradicating slavery (Buell, 2003). Lincon also made a strong contribution in abolishing this system. Amendment of American constitution was done to stop slavery and consider it as an illegal activity. Conclusion Slavery is one of the important chapters in the history of America. The practice of slavery was present in the country from early 17th century and lasted for a long time. America made many places as their colonies and forced the poor people to become their slaves. Most of the African people became slaves of American. The white people of the country considered black people as inferior to them. Americans tortured black people to the extreme level for performing different works. Various brutal punishments were given to the slaves. They did not have any rights of their own. They had to depend on their master for their basic things. Slave trade became an important business at that time. After many rebellions slavery was abolished from America by the government and some leaders. References Berkowitz, D., and Clay, K. (2006). The effect of judicial independence on courts: Evidence from the American states. The Journal of Legal Studies, 35(2), 399-440. Buell, T. (2003). Slavery in America: A Primary source history of the intolerable practice of slavery. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group. Fields, B. J. (2014). Slavery, race and ideology in the United States of America. Retrieved from: http://www.ccscambridge.org/sites/default/files/proebuckfiles/3_11_14%20Fields%20race%20and%20ideology(1).pdf. Joel,O. (2011). Slavery in the United States. Retrieved from: http://www.sagepub.com/healeyregc6e/study/chapter/encycarticles/ch04/OLSONJ~1.PDF. Nunn, N. (2009). Institutions and economic performance. Havard: Harvard University Press. Sacerdote, B. (2005). Slavery and the intergenerational transmission of human capital. Review of Economics and Statistics, 87(2), 217-234. Schneider, D and Schneider, C. (2007). Slavery in America. New York: Infobase Publishing. Sweet, J. H. (2003). Spanish and Portuguese influences on racial slavery in British North America. Retrieved from: http://www.yale.edu/glc/events/race/Sweet.pdf. Wright, G. (2006). Slavery and American economic development. Louisiana: LSU Press. Read More