As slave-owning and slave trading were accepted routines of colonial life, slavery would play a central part in the language of the revolution. The perseverance of the legalized institution of slavery until 1865 is unquestionably the most controversial aspect of all American history. The hypocrisy of the new republic dominated the spotlight of the global stage. The US cultivated and advocated philosophy of the Enlightenment while continuing to legitimize the evil of slavery amongst countless innocent souls. As the European lands were building powerful states on the foundations of revolutionary ideas, and dismantling the whole system, the United States forged a strong central government to deal with the political and social issues that divided the American republic.
Some anti-abolitionists have argued that by abolishing slave trade and slavery, the freedom and liberty of individuals who are benefiting from slavery will be taken away. Merchants were seen more important than slaves. Others believed that if slave trade will end in Britain, other countries such as Spain and France will benefit from it because they will continue with the trading. But the opposition have failed, as slave trading was officially illegal from 1807 and slavery was illegal from 1833. Dundas was removed for mismanagement of funds, which benefited Wilberforce; he was able to continue with his speeches and acts without interruption.
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.
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.
It was all a plot to dehumanise us, to allow our oppressors to rationalise their actions, and reduced us slaves to animal property- as implied by the term “ chattel slavery. " This made our masters perceive us as inhuman property, and made us perceive ourselves as inhuman property as well. I still wonder, why must the southern states of America’s economy revolve around agriculture and slavery? Even after the industrial revolutions impact on the Northern states, why must the Southern state appear oblivious to the urbanisation. Was it because Thomas Jefferson heavily idealised agrarian farming, or is it impudence?
Assess the factors that led to the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 The main factor that caused the American Civil War in 1861 was slavery as it was the underlying fundamental division between Northern and Southern societies that made living in harmony impossible. However, we must also examine the economic disparity between the North and South, political failure to manage the situation and the impact of the election of Lincoln in 1860. Although slavery is the underlying reason, the civil war would not have happened if it were not for the financial divide that developed because of slavery. These core factors were exacerbated by political mismanagement, a catalyst for the outbreak of the Civil War and Lincoln’s election in 1860, the trigger factor. Despite this, had it not been for slavery, there would have been no initial divide between North and South which created economic disparity and led to Southern paranoia over Northern expansionism which led to war, thus the most important factor.
The reasons for this were the new intellectual ideas coming out of Britain during the industrial revolution, mostly ideas from humanitarian philosophy. Contained in the new, rapid influx of late enlightenment philosophies was this new humanitarian philosophy that all men are created equal. While essentially reiterating most of the Lockian philosophy which dominated pre-slavery times, this put a great emphasis on combating the trend of slavery and breaking down all other barriers that limited any culture of man. The British government eventually came under this philosophy when they officially banned slavery in their country in the early 19th century. This put a huge damper on the triangular trade that put slavery in many other countries and thus led to the downfall of slavery in all modern countries.
He created his own anti slavery paper called “The Liberator.” He used moral suasion to persuade reader that slavery was wrong. He also founded the American Antislavery Society. The Abolition movement was bound to end at sometime. Soon enough the south began to fight back. They argued that the north depended on the south for cotton and other supplies.
He was mainly driven by his hatred with slavery and the Mexican-American War. The Mexican-American War, 1846-1848, which extended slavery into new US territories was arranged by a small selected group of individuals who manipulated government to their advantage against popular will. Thoreau emphasizes that government as an establishment impedes the success of the work for which it was created. It exists for the sole purpose of guaranteeing individual freedom. A man has an obligation to act according to the commands of his conscience, even if it goes against majority opinion, the reigning leadership, or the laws of society.
Slavery even begins to affect the slaveholders’ own religion and shows how ignorant they really are. Douglass says that by allowing themselves to commit such acts of cruelty, the slaveholders would begin to validate their actions by saying that the Bible gives them the right to treat slaves this way. This kind of hypocrisy is to a degree that shows how manipulated the slaveholders really were. It is clear that Douglass is making a point that through slavery, identity is lost in more than just