Former slave Olaudah Equiano presented both a moral and an economic case for abolition, in the latter sounding a great deal like Adam Smith. Religious groups such as the Providence Society presented a fiery moral case based on their interpretation of the scripture. One of the most important questions surrounding the abolition of the slave trade is this one: why did it happen? Was it the intellectual climate of the Enlightenment or the new economic fields that were opening up in India, or in the textile mills of Manchester, providing alternatives to British entrepreneurs and investors? CLR James argues in his book The Black Jacobins that, despite all the soliloquies in Parliament on the "immorality" of the slave trade, only economic necessity that brought about abolition.
The United States changed dramatically in a very short time after the Revolution, the transition was not an easy one, militarily, politically, and culturally. Socially, the new emphasis on egalitarianism and individual rights changed the relationship and roles. America’s call for freedom from British oppression while still being a slave society was undeniably ironic, yet, the Revolutionary movement initiated serious consideration of the issue of slavery. Both Americans and the British made various arguments concerning the irony. As slave-owning and slave trading were accepted routines of colonial life, slavery would play a central part in the language of the revolution.
A People’s History of the United States: Reflection Chapter 9 Slavery Without Submission, Emancipation Without Freedom To summarize this chapter, it covers the aftermath of the Emancipation Proclamation as well as the slaves’ points of view. He explains that in the same way that having slaves grew the economy and advanced technology and society, the freeing of slaves by Abraham Lincoln also was a decision which bettered the American way of life. Zinn explains, “Thus, while the ending of slavery led to a reconstruction of national politics and economics, it was not a radical reconstruction, but a safe one—in fact a profitable one,” (Zinn 172). My reaction is similar to my reaction on the numerous other chapters that cover the subject of slavery. I still stand amazed at the conditions the slaves had to live in and the crowd of politics that surrounded the issue.
Sadly it is here where things went wrong, and the ugly side of human nature reared its face. The residents of the colonies came to the realization that these Africans were a “great” source of cheap labor, thus constituting the institution of slavery. With this by the end of the seventeenth century, the colonies began to establish laws that stated these people that were originally indentured servants were to be slaves for life as well as their children. And this is how slavery got its start in what was to become the “great” country, The United States of America. Not too
While many disregard this system as cruel and unfair, in reality it helped to shape America as it is today. Without the help of this system, economies would not be as developed as they are now. Unfree labor played a very important role in shaping the economy and society of colonial American through the use of indentured servants and slavery. The system of temporary servitude in the New World was established out of practices used in New England. In short, indentured servants were mainly poor British people without jobs.
Because in my perspective, this contradictory proclamation seems to be a political propaganda to support only the whites. Today I stand, as a runaway slave who escaped the grasp of slave owners and harsh Fugitive Slave Laws presented in the Compromise of 1850. However, tension has finally reached a peak between the North and the South due to the secession in 1860. I believe that several key events from 1845-1861 caused all this turmoil and crashed the regional differences between the Union and the Confederacy together. Eventually leading to the outbreak of the Civil war in 1861.
In fact, the common idea that the Civil War was fought over slavery is in great part a falicy. While being a portion of what was fought over, the abolition of slavery which was not a moral dilemma in society at the time seem small when compared to things like expansion westward and cession of the southern states from the Union, forming their own constitution, printing currency and even electing their own president, were much bigger issues, which without ironing out, would have made the US much smaller and arguably weaker than it is
Southern states believed that their way of life was being infringed, meaning that slavery was an important institution for their mainly agricultural based economy. The infringement of their way of life was what really caused the succession of the Confederate states and the Civil War. It has been said that the Civil War is the second American Revolution. In many ways, this statement is accurate. The American Revolution was fought because colonists felt the tyrannical government of Great Britain was abusing their authority, and directly affecting their way of life and happiness.
‘The work of the white, middle-class campaigners was the main reason why the slave trade was abolished’ The slave trade was abolished as an act of parliament, passed on the 25th March 1807 with the title-‘An act for the abolition of the slave trade’. This abolished the slave trade in the British Empire but not slavery itself; slavery was not completely abolished until 1833. A number of groups helped immensely to get the slave trade banned in the British Empire, and these groups were; the white middle class, the white working class and the ex-slaves themselves. The white middle-class campaigners consisted of many different people, some in parliament, and some with other high positions. There is one in particular who is recognised, called William Wilberforce, who campaigned against slavery in parliament.
Overall, the trade brought about unceasing insecurities, economic disorder, and political chaos in the African continent. It blocked its socio-economic development by exploiting its technological, agricultural and human resources for the benefit of Europe only. It damaged Africa's mercantilist economy and prevented its evolution into a capitalist economy. On the long run, the Atlantic slave trade was the starting point of a process of socio-economic exploitation and political fragmentation that was later institutionalised by Europeans through colonisation and neocolonisation. In the end, only Europeans benefited from the trade.