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Slavery in the US
Slavery and human trafficking have been there in practice for a long time, even up to date. The victims of slavery often are the poor and the less fortunate. Most of the people are taken as slaves for several reasons, based on their masters. The 19th century was marked with massive slavery, especially in the United States, taking slaves from Africa. This was the time when industrialization and mechanization were taking ground. Large scale production both in the industries and in farming had begun. The Americans, therefore, took slaves for themselves for cheap labor in the farms and the trades. With civilization and the drafting of human rights at the end of the World War One, there have been massive campaigns against slavery, and countries being demanded to pay back the slaves for everything done to them. The response of every country has been different. The purpose of this paper is to discuss why did Americans fail to resolve their differences over slavery peacefully and the reason that made the issue difficult.
The states to the south of America were the ones known mostly for slavery. Slavery began as early as 1700, during the civil wars that existed in the united states. The Americans to the south, in countries like Texas and New Oreland, were large scale farmers, and they used slaves to do the faring. Commerce in these states grew so widely that they began to rule every to the north of America. Owning a slave was prestigious and consider one to be productive and gained state respect. This is what accelerated the slave trade as man people were willing to pay a fortune to own a slave.
In the antebellum, the American planters who lived in the south mainly planted tobacco and Carolina rice (Corbet, 1). This continued until the introduction of cotton. The demand for cotton increased in both American textiles and those of Great Britain. This, therefore, meant getting more slaves. It was during the industrial revolution of the 19th century. Looking at this time, the fact is that the Americans could have worked, but the problem is that they wanted cheap labor. The racial nature of the then Americans is what made them enslave other races, the Africans in particular. They were being seen as inferior, and therefore, even the wages are given to them were just to enable them but food for sustained.
In 180, the United States passed a bill that abolished the foreign slave trade and only allowed the internal slave trade (Corbet,5). This was the onset of the end of slavery. The domestic slave trade began where people would sell their slaves. The demand for most of the cash crops like tobacco which required much labor started going down. This meant that most of the slaveholders had to sell their slaves. The reason is that they wanted to cut down on the cost of feeding, clothing, and shelter. Internal immigrations made most of the slave’s move, explain the current day positioning of the African-American citizens.
The abolition of the foreign slave trade also stirred up the removal of the slave trade thoroughly. This is because it made it clear that there was a chance of appealing due to the treatments they were experiencing. Also, the drop of crop production made most of the slaves to be idle and most of their owners begun freeing them. Most of the abolitionists rose from the northern states, wanting the southerners to free their slaves. This brought about division, creation of two groups, the abolitionist and the slave owners. There is only one reason that can explain the reason for resistance to abolition, power. Owning a slave gave extraordinary power and a voice in the state. Losing them, therefore, meant that they were consequently going to lose their control and thus the reason for resistance.
The great awakening with the introduction of Christianity also stirred up the abolition of the slave trade (Corbet, 30). This is because the gospel would advocate for love and freedom, which comes from independent salvation, as per the decision of the person. This was a challenge for the slave owners since the principles of the new religion would require that they free their slaves. The problem that made it even more difficult is the fact that a large number of people accepted the message and bought it, including some of the slave owners. It further strengthened the abolitions and, therefore, saw the slave trade die slowly. What made the situation, however painful, was the passing of the fugitive act. This act required people found with fugitive slaves to be given hefty fines, among other punishments. It, therefore, frustrated the efforts of the abolitionists and the religious group.
In conclusion, the Americans clear failed to resolve their differences over slavery solely due to power. The slave owners would want to retain the power and the prestige they had while the abolitionist wanted slavery to end as it was dehumanizing. What made the situation difficult was the economy that depended on the slave trade and the fugitive act, which denied people to host fugitive slaves.
Work Cited
Corbett, P. Scott, et al. US history. OpenStax, Rice University, 2017.