essay on impact on slavery

What Is a Legacy of Slavery?

An essay by david blight.

Because slavery is so central to the history of the United States—its origins, economic development, society, culture, politics, and law—it has left in its wake a wide array of legacies that seem ever-present yet ever-changing in our world. Sometimes the question of slavery’s legacy seems out-of-focus, inaccessible, or expressed in fuzzy language. Other times the legacy of slavery and emancipation may confront us when we least expect it. In 1961, in an essay in the  New York Times  titled “As Much Truth as One Can Bear,” James Baldwin observed that when Americans reflect on their history, the “words are mostly used to cover the sleeper, not to wake him up.” Indeed, the living meanings, surviving challenges, and sometimes seemingly intractable problems born of great events or vast human practices and systems from the past are what make history matter. This is why legacies matter. And that is why the Council of Independent Colleges and the Gilder Lehrman Center have launched the Legacies of American Slavery project….

What then is a legacy? A historical legacy can be an idea or an eternally recurring question at the root of a dream—for example, “Why is human equality so hard to achieve?” A legacy can be emotional, manifesting itself in habits of thought, assumptions, behaviors, and lasting psychological patterns of struggle, action, or expectation. A legacy can be political, emerging in voting tendencies and recurring public policy issues. A legacy can be economic, evolving in patterns of growth and access or lack of access to material goods, services, human capital. A legacy can exist in law, in court decisions, in government policies that change when challenged or revert to older practices in times of reaction. Legacies can be laid down and commemorated in stone, in bronze, in musical traditions, in all manner of artistic forms. Legacies can be embodied in a very literal sense, as patterns of health and disease that can be traced to past experience through medical research. A legacy might be as local as a family story passed from generation to generation, or as big as a national origin narrative. Legacies can be institutional, growing as part of organizations that exist to educate, advocate, preserve, protest, or advance a set of ideas….

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Most Americans say the legacy of slavery still affects black people in the U.S. today

A U.S. House of Representatives committee plans to hold a hearing this week on the topic of reparations for slavery, the first hearing on the topic in more than a decade. The legacy of slavery still resonates for many Americans, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted earlier this year, with 63% believing it affects the position of black people in American society today either a great deal or a fair amount.

Black adults are particularly likely to say slavery continues to have an impact: More than eight-in-ten say this is the case, including 59% who say the legacy of slavery affects the situation of black people a great deal. By comparison, 26% of whites, 29% of Hispanics and 33% of Asians say slavery affects the position of black people in American society today a great deal, though majorities of each group say it does so at least a fair amount.

The survey also found that more than four-in-ten U.S. adults (45%) think the country hasn’t gone far enough in giving black people equal rights with whites, while 15% say it’s gone too far and 39% say it’s been about right. About eight-in-ten black adults (78%) say the country hasn’t made enough progress in this area, compared with 37% of whites and 48% of Hispanics. (Because this question was asked of a random half of the sample, the views of Asians can’t be analyzed separately; for more information, see “ A note about the Asian sample .”)

In addition to their bleak views about the country’s racial progress, black adults are also skeptical about the prospects for racial equality in the future. Among black Americans who say the country hasn’t gone far enough in giving black people equal rights with whites, 64% say it’s not too or not at all likely that the country will ever achieve racial equality. Whites who say the country still has work to do in this area are more optimistic: 80% say it’s very or somewhat likely that black people in our country will eventually have equal rights. Hispanics’ views are more mixed.

Democrats and those who lean to the Democratic Party (80%) are far more likely than Republicans and GOP leaners (43%) to say the legacy of slavery still affects the situation of black people in American society today. And while most Democrats (66%) say the country hasn’t gone far enough in giving black people equal rights with whites, just 18% of Republicans agree. About three-in-ten Republicans (28%) say the country has gone too far on this issue, while 53% say it’s been about right. These differences are virtually unchanged when looking only at white Democrats and Republicans.

For more on Americans’ views about the state of race relations and racial inequality in the U.S., see “ Race in America 2019 .”

• Black Americans
• Discrimination & Prejudice
• Economic Inequality
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• Racial Bias & Discrimination

Juliana Menasce Horowitz is an associate director of research at Pew Research Center .

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The Psychological Legacy of Slavery: Essays on Trauma, Healing, and the Living Past

Benjamin P. Bowser and Aimé Charles-Nicolas

This collection of essays surveys the practices, behaviors, and beliefs that developed during slavery in the Western Hemisphere, and the lingering psychological consequences that continue to impact the descendants of enslaved Africans today. The psychological legacies of slavery highlighted in this volume were found independently in Brazil, the U.S., Belize, Jamaica, Colombia, Haiti, and Martinique. They are color prejudice, self and community disdain, denial of trauma, black-on-black violence, survival crime, child beating, underlying African spirituality, and use of music and dance as community psychotherapy. The effects on descendants of slave owners include a belief in white supremacy, dehumanization of self and others, gun violence, and more. Essays also offer solutions for dealing with this vast psychological legacy.

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Slavery Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on slavery.

Slavery is a term that signifies the injustice that is being carried out against humans since the 1600s. Whenever this word comes up, usually people picture rich white people ruling over black people. However, that is not the only case to exist. After a profound study, historians found evidence that suggested the presence of slavery in almost every culture. It was not essentially in the form of people working in the fields, but other forms. Slavery generally happens due to the division of levels amongst humans in a society. It still exists in various parts of the world. It may not necessarily be that hard-core, nonetheless, it happens.

Impact of Slavery

Slavery is one of the main causes behind racism in most of the cultures. It did severe damage to the race relations of America where a rift was formed between the whites and blacks.

The impact of Slavery has caused irreparable damage which can be seen to date. Even after the abolishment of slavery in the 1800s in America, racial tensions remained amongst the citizens.

In other words, this made them drift apart from each other instead of coming close. Slavery also gave birth to White supremacy which made people think they are inherently superior just because of their skin color and descendant.

Talking about the other forms of slavery, human trafficking did tremendous damage. It is a social evil which operates even today, ruining hundreds and thousands of innocent lives. Slavery is the sole cause which gave birth to all this.

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The Aftermath

Even though slavery was abolished over 150 years ago, the scars still remain. The enslaved still haven’t forgotten the struggles of their ancestors. It lives on in their hearts which has made them defensive more than usual. They resent the people whose ancestors brought it down on their lineage.

Even today many people of color are a victim of racism in the 21st century. For instance, black people face far more severe punishments than a white man. They are ridiculed for their skin color even today. There is a desperate need to overcome slavery and all its manifestations for the condition and security of all citizens irrespective of race, religion , social, and economic position .

In short, slavery never did any good to any human being, of the majority nor minority. It further divided us as humans and put tags on one another. Times are changing and so are people’s mindsets.

One needs to be socially aware of these evils lurking in our society in different forms. We must come together as one to fight it off. Every citizen has the duty to make the world a safer place for every human being to live in.

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Background Essay: The Origins of American Slavery

How did enslaved and free blacks resist the injustice of slavery during the colonial era.

• I can articulate how slavery was at odds with the principle of justice.
• I can explain how enslaved men and women resisted the institution of slavery.
• I can create an argument supported by evidence from primary sources.
• I can succinctly summarize the main ideas of historic texts.

Essential Vocabulary

Written by: The Bill of Rights Institute

American Slavery in the Colonies

Throughout the colonial era, many white colonists in British North America gradually imposed a system of unfree and coerced labor upon Africans in all the colonies. Throughout the colonies, enslavement of Africans became a racial, lifelong, and hereditary condition. The institution was bound up with the larger Atlantic System of trade and slavery yet developed a unique and diverse character in British North America.

Europeans forcibly brought Africans to the New World in the international slave trade. From the fifteenth to the nineteenth century, European slave ships carried 12.5 million Africans, mostly to the New World. Because of the crowded ships, diseases, and mistreatment, only 10.7 million enslaved Africans landed at their destinations. Almost 2 million souls perished in what a draft of the Declaration of Independence later called an “ execrable commerce.”

Europeans primarily acquired the enslaved Africans from African slave traders along the western coast of the continent by exchanging guns, alcohol, textiles, and a broad range of goods demanded by the African traders. The enslaved were alone, having been separated from their families and embarked on the harrowing journey called the “ Middle Passage ” in chains. They were frightened and confused by their tragic predicament. Some refused to eat or jumped overboard to commit suicide rather than await their fate.

This diagram depicts the layout of a slave ship. (Unknown author – an Abstract of Evidence delivered before a select committee of the House of Commons in 1790 and 1791, reprinted in Phyllis M. Martin and Patrick O’Meara (eds.) (1995). Africa third edition. Indiana University Press and James Currey.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Passage#/media/File:Slave_ship_diagram.png

Most Africans in the international trade were bound for the European colonial possessions in the Caribbean and South America. The sugar plantations there were places where disease, climate, and work conditions produced a horrifying death rate for enslaved Africans. The sugar crop was so valuable that it was cheaper to work slaves to death and import replacements.  About 5 percent of the human cargo in the slave trade landed in British North America.

The African-American experience in the 13 colonies varied widely and is characterized by great complexity. The climate, geography, agriculture, laws, and culture shaped the diverse nature of enslavement.

Enslaved Africans in the British North American colonies did share many things in common, however. Slavery was a racial, lifetime and hereditary condition. White supremacy was rooted in slavery as its victims were almost exclusively Africans. It was a system of unfree and coerced labor that violated the enslaved person’s natural rights of liberty and consent. While the treatment of slaves might vary depending on region or the disposition of the slaveholder, slavery was at its core a violent and brutal system that stripped away human dignity from the enslaved. In all the colonies, slaves were considered legal property. In other words, slavery was a great injustice.

Differing climates and economies led to very different agricultural systems and patterns of enslavement across the colonies. The North had mostly self-sufficient farms. Few had slaves, and those that did, had one or two enslaved persons. While the North had some important pockets of large landowners who held larger numbers of slaves such as the Hudson Valley, its farms were generally incompatible with large slaveholding. Moreover, the nature of wheat and corn crops generally did not support slaveholding the same way that labor-intensive tobacco and rice did. Cities such as New York and Philadelphia also had the largest Black populations.

On the other hand, the Chesapeake (Maryland and Virginia) and low country of the Carolinas had planters and farmers who raised tobacco, rice, and indigo. Small farms only had one or two slaves (and often none), but the majority of the southern enslaved population lived on plantations. Large plantations frequently held more than 20 enslaved people, and some had hundreds. Virginian Robert “King” Carter held more than 1,000 people in bondage. As a result, in the areas where plantations predominated areas of the South (especially South Carolina), enslaved people outnumbered white colonists and sometimes by large percentages. This led to great fear of slave rebellions and measures by whites, including slave patrols and travel restrictions, to prevent them.

Robert “King” Carter was one of the richest men in all of the American colonies. He owned more than 1,000 slaves on his Virginia plantation. Anonymous. Portrait of Robert “King” Carter. Circa 1720. Painting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Carter_I#/media/File:Robert_Carter_I.JPG

The regional differences of slavery led to variations in work patterns for enslaved people. A few Northern enslaved people worked and lived on farms alongside slaveholders and their families. Many worked in urban areas as workers, domestic servants, and sailors and generally had more freedom of movement than on southern plantations.

Blacks developed their own cultures in North and South. Despite different cultures and languages brought from Africa and regional differences within the colonies, a strong sense of community developed especially in areas where they had greater autonomy. Slave quarters on large plantations and urban communities of free blacks were notable for the development of Black culture through resistance, preservation of traditions, and expression. The free and enslaved Black communities kept in conversation with each other to transmit news and to hide runaways.

Different systems of work developed on Southern plantations. One was a “gang system ” of labor in which planters or their overseers drove groups of enslaved people, closely watched their work, and applied physical coercion to compel them to work faster. They also worked in the homes, laundries, kitchens, and stables on larger plantations.

On the massive rice plantations of the Carolinas, enslaved people were often assigned tasks and allowed to stop working when they reached their goals. The “ task system ” could foster cooperation and provide incentives to complete their work quicker. Plantation slaves completed other tasks including cooking, cleaning, laundry, childcare, and worked as skilled artisans.

The treatment and experience of enslaved people was rooted in a brutal system but could vary widely. Many slaveholders were violent and cruel, liberally applying severe beatings that were at times limited by law or shunned by society. Others were guided by their Christian beliefs or humanitarian impulses and treated their slaves more paternalistically . Domestic work was often easier but under much closer scrutiny than fieldhands who at times enjoyed more autonomy and community with other enslaved people. Slaveholders in New England were more likely to teach slaves to read or encourage religious worship, but enslaved people were commonly restricted from learning to read, especially in the South.

Enslaved people did not passively accept their condition. They found a variety of ways to resist in order to preserve their humanity and autonomy. Some of the common daily forms of resistance included slowing down their pace of work, breaking a tool, or pretending to be sick. Some stole food and drink to supplement their inadequate diets or simply to enjoy it as an act of rebellion. Young male slaves were especially likely to run away for a few days and hide out locally to protest work or mistreatment. Enslaved people secretly learned to read and that allowed them to forge passes to escape to freedom. They sang spirituals out of religious conviction, but also in part to express their hatred of the system and their hope for freedom.

Slaves developed their own culture as a way to bond together in their hardships and show defiance to their owners. This image depicts slaves on a plantation dancing and playing music. Anonymous. The Old Plantation. Circa. 1790. Painting. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_United_States#/media/File:Slave_dance_to_banjo,_1780s.jpg

The enslavement of Africans in British colonies in North America developed differently in individual colonies and among regions. But, the common thread running throughout the experience of slavery was injustice. Blacks were denied their humanity and natural rights as they could not keep the fruits of their labor, lived under a brutal system of coercion, and could not live their lives freely. However, a few white colonists questioned the institution before the Revolutionary War.

Comprehension and Analysis Questions

• How did slavery violate an enslaved person’s natural rights?
• How did slavery vary across the 13 British colonies in North America?
• How did Blacks resist their enslavement?

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Essay on Slavery

Introduction to Slavery

Slavery, an abhorrent institution etched into the annals of human history, represents an egregious violation of basic human rights . Defined by the ownership and exploitation of individuals as property, its roots trace back to ancient civilizations, reaching a horrifying apex during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. To comprehend the profound impact of slavery, we must navigate through its intricate historical, economic, and social dimensions. One striking example that encapsulates the brutality of slavery is the plantation economy in the American South. Here, enslaved individuals toiled under the scorching sun, cultivating cash crops like cotton and tobacco that fueled the economic prosperity of their oppressors. The commodification of human beings for economic gain not only dehumanized an entire population but also left an indelible mark on societies, transcending generations. As we embark on this exploration, we unravel the layers of this dark legacy, seeking to understand its origins, consequences, and the ongoing struggle for justice and equality.

Origins of Slavery

The roots of Slavery extend deep into the historical fabric of human societies, with various forms of coerced labor emerging in different epochs. Understanding the origins of Slavery involves examining the ancient practices, the transatlantic slave trade, and the institutionalization of this dehumanizing institution.

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• Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt (c. 3500 BCE) : Slavery in Mesopotamia and Egypt originated in the earliest recorded instances, with prisoners of war and debtors frequently becoming enslaved.
• Classical Greece and Rome (8th century BCE – 5th century CE) : Slavery became integral to Greek and Roman societies, with slaves performing various roles, from household chores to agricultural labor.
• Islamic Caliphates (7th – 13th centuries CE) : Slavery was present in Islamic civilizations, with a significant number of slaves obtained through warfare and trade.
• African Slavery (pre-Transatlantic Slave Trade) : Slavery existed in various African societies, with individuals often enslaved due to factors like criminality, debt, or capture in conflicts.
• Medieval Europe (5th – 15th centuries CE) : Feudalism included serfdom, a system similar to Slavery, where peasants were bound to the land and under the authority of feudal lords.
• Exploration and Colonization (15th – 17th centuries CE) : The expansion of European powers into the Americas led to the forced labor of indigenous populations and the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade.
• Transatlantic Slave Trade (16th – 19th centuries CE) : The systematic transportation of millions of Africans to the Americas for labor, marking one of the darkest chapters in the history of Slavery.
• Colonial Legal Frameworks (17th – 19th centuries CE) : European colonial powers established legal systems to regulate and justify the enslavement of Africans, perpetuating the institution.

Impact of Slavery

• Dehumanization of Slaves : Slavery stripped individuals of their basic human rights, treating them as property rather than human beings, leading to profound psychological and emotional trauma.
• Economic Foundations : The institution of slavery laid the economic groundwork for the development of industries such as agriculture, mining, and manufacturing, particularly in the Americas, contributing to the accumulation of wealth for slaveholders.
• Cultural Disruption : Slavery disrupted and dismantled traditional African cultures, as enslaved individuals were forcibly separated from their families and communities, leading to the loss of language, traditions, and social structures.
• Impact on Family Structures : Families were torn apart by selling family members to different owners, causing enduring emotional scars and hindering the formation of stable family structures.
• Racial Hierarchies and Racism : The racialization of slavery entrenched discriminatory beliefs and practices, creating enduring racial hierarchies that persist to this day.
• Resistance and Rebellion : Enslaved individuals resisted their subjugation through various means, including acts of rebellion, escape, and preserving cultural practices, contributing to the eventual abolitionist movements.
• Abolitionist Movements : Slavery fueled the rise of abolitionist movements globally, as individuals and groups fought against the moral, ethical, and humanitarian injustices inherent in the institution.
• Legacy of Discrimination and Inequality : The legacy of slavery perpetuates systemic racism and socio-economic disparities, affecting descendants of enslaved individuals with enduring consequences in education, employment, and criminal justice.
• Psychological Trauma : The intergenerational impact of slavery has led to profound psychological trauma, with descendants grappling with the historical injustices and the persistent effects of institutionalized racism.
• Global Perspectives : Slavery’s impact extends beyond the Americas, influencing social, economic, and cultural dynamics in regions where different forms of slavery have existed, shaping contemporary understandings of race and power.

Economic Foundations of Slavery

• Plantation Economy : Slavery became essential to developing plantation economies, particularly in the Americas, where cash crops such as cotton, tobacco, sugar, and indigo were grown on large-scale estates by enslaved laborers.
• Labor Exploitation : Enslaved individuals provided a cheap and abundant labor force, allowing plantation owners to maximize profits by minimizing production costs, thereby fostering economic prosperity for slaveholders.
• Wealth Accumulation : The profitability of slave labor contributed significantly to the accumulation of wealth for slaveholders, shaping the economic foundations of entire regions and nations.
• Triangle Trade and Economic Networks : The transatlantic slave trade created sophisticated economic networks known as the Triangle Trade, which connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas. This trade route enabled the exchange of goods, including enslaved people, increasing economic interconnectedness among these regions.
• Role in Industrialization : Slavery played a role in the early stages of industrialization, providing raw materials and wealth that contributed to developing industries in Europe and North America.
• Banking and Finance : Banking and financial institutions became involved in slave-based enterprises due to their economic success, securing loans against the value of enslaved individuals and the products of slave labor.
• Infrastructure Development : The profits generated from slave labor contributed to infrastructure development, including ports, roads, and cities, fostering economic growth in regions dependent on slave-based agriculture.
• Global Economic Impact : Slavery had a global economic impact, influencing trade patterns, financial systems, and economic development in Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
• Dependence on Cheap Labor : Maintaining the institution of slavery became necessary due to the reliance on enslaved labor, as economic systems were structured around the availability of a low-cost workforce.
• Economic Disparities and Inequality : The economic foundations of slavery perpetuated profound socio-economic disparities, with the benefits disproportionately concentrated among slaveholders, contributing to enduring inequalities that persist in contemporary society.

Social Consequences

• Dehumanization of Slaves : Slavery systematically dehumanized individuals, treating them as property rather than as human beings with rights and agency. This dehumanization had profound psychological and social consequences.
• Impact on Family Structures : Slavery often disrupted and destroyed traditional family structures by separating families through sale or dispersal, leaving enduring emotional scars and challenges in forming stable family units.
• Cultural Disruption : Forcible separation from their native lands, languages, and traditions caused enslaved individuals to experience the loss of their cultural heritage, contributing to a cultural diaspora.
• Racial Hierarchies and Discrimination : The institution of slavery contributed to the establishment of racial hierarchies, fostering discriminatory beliefs and practices that persist to this day. The legacy of slavery has led to systemic racism and racial inequality.
• Social Stratification : Societies built on slavery were characterized by a rigid social hierarchy, with enslaved individuals at the bottom, reinforcing social stratification and limiting upward mobility.
• Education and Knowledge Suppression : Slavery often involved restrictions on education for enslaved individuals, suppressing knowledge and intellectual development to maintain control and prevent potential uprisings.
• Psychological Trauma : The enduring psychological trauma resulting from the harsh conditions of slavery and the dehumanization experienced by enslaved individuals has had intergenerational effects, impacting mental health and well-being among descendants.
• Cultural Adaptations and Resistance : Enslaved individuals demonstrated resilience by adapting and preserving cultural practices despite the challenges. Forms of resistance, such as maintaining oral traditions and creating distinctive art forms, became powerful expressions of cultural identity.
• Social Divisions among Enslaved Communities : Enslaved communities often developed social divisions, influenced by factors such as work assignments, skin color, and familial ties, contributing to internal conflicts and challenges to solidarity.
• Legacy of Discrimination : The social consequences of slavery continue to reverberate in modern societies, contributing to systemic inequalities in education, employment, healthcare, and criminal justice systems.

Resistance and Rebellion

• Day-to-Day Acts of Resistance : Enslaved individuals engaged in subtle acts of resistance in their daily lives, such as slowing down work, feigning illness, or purposefully damaging tools, to resist the dehumanizing conditions of slavery.
• Escape and Flight : Many enslaved individuals sought freedom through escape. They navigated dangerous routes using the Underground Railroad in North America or fled to maroon communities, forming autonomous settlements in remote areas.
• Slave Revolts and Uprisings : Some of the most notable resistance efforts were organized slave revolts and uprisings. Examples include Nat Turner’s Rebellion (1831) in Virginia and the Stono Rebellion (1739) in South Carolina, where enslaved individuals rose against their oppressors.
• Creation of Maroon Communities : Enslaved individuals formed maroon communities, establishing independent societies in remote areas. These communities served as havens for escaped slaves and became centers of resistance against slaveholders.
• Cultural Preservation : Enslaved communities preserved their cultural heritage through oral traditions, folk tales, music, and religious practices, resisting efforts to erase their identity and maintaining a sense of belonging.
• Legal Challenges and Court Cases : Some enslaved individuals sought legal means to challenge their status, bringing cases to court to contest their enslavement or gain freedom through legal processes.
• Participation in the Underground Railroad : Enslaved people might escape to free states or Canada with the aid of the Underground Railroad, a system of covert routes and safe homes. Abolitionists and free African Americans facilitated it.
• Leadership and Organization : Courageous leaders emerged within enslaved communities, organizing and leading rebellions. Figures like Denmark Vesey and Gabriel Prosser played significant roles in planning revolts, challenging the institution of slavery.
• International Abolitionist Movements : Enslaved individuals and free people of color actively participated in international abolitionist movements, contributing to the global effort to end the transatlantic slave trade and slavery.
• Legacy of Resistance in Abolitionist Movements : The spirit of resistance persisted in the abolitionist movements, where individuals like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, who had experienced enslavement, became powerful advocates for the abolition of slavery.

Abolitionist Movements

• Rise of Abolitionism : Motivated by the moral and humanitarian conviction that slavery constituted a flagrant violation of human rights, abolitionist groups gained ground in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
• Early Abolitionist Voices : Influential figures such as Quakers and religious leaders in the United States and Europe began speaking out against slavery, emphasizing all individuals’ inherent dignity and equality.
• Formation of Anti-Slavery Societies : During the late 18th century, individuals established several anti-slavery organizations. The Pennsylvania Abolition Society, established in 1775, and the British Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, founded in 1787, committed to immediately ending the transatlantic slave trade.
• Abolitionist Literature : Abolitionists used literature as a powerful tool to convey their message. Notable works like Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (1852) and Frederick Douglass’s narratives exposed the harsh realities of slavery to a broader audience, sparking empathy and outrage.
• Leadership of Former Slaves : Former slaves played a crucial role in the abolitionist movements. Individuals like Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, who had experienced enslavement, became eloquent speakers and advocates for the abolitionist cause.
• International Abolitionist Networks : Abolitionist movements spread across multiple regions. Networks of activists collaborated across borders, linking efforts in Europe, the Americas, and beyond to advocate for the end of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.
• Political Abolitionism : Abolitionist sentiments found expression in the political arena. Abolitionist parties, such as the Liberty Party and later the Free Soil Party, emerged in the United States, challenging the expansion of slavery into new territories.
• Underground Railroad : The Underground Railroad, a covert network of safe houses and secret routes, facilitated the escape of enslaved individuals to free states or Canada. Abolitionists and conductors, including Harriet Tubman, played key roles in this effort.
• Legal Challenges and Acts : Abolitionists worked to change laws and policies. The legal battles included cases like the Amistad trial and the landmark Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) case, which fueled the national debate on the institution of slavery.
• Emancipation Proclamation and Abolition of Slavery : The Emancipation Proclamation (1863) by President Abraham Lincoln marked a significant turning point, declaring enslaved individuals in Confederate-held territory free. The abolitionist organizations finally succeeded in outlawing slavery after the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution in 1865.
• Day-to-Day Acts of Defiance: Enslaved individuals engaged in subtle forms of resistance, such as slowing down work, feigning illness, or breaking tools, to resist the dehumanizing aspects of slavery.
• Escape and Flight : Many sought freedom through escape, navigating dangerous routes using the Underground Railroad, or finding refuge in maroon communities, which were autonomous settlements in remote areas.
• Slave Revolts and Uprisings : Notable revolts, like Nat Turner’s Rebellion (1831) and the Stono Rebellion (1739), demonstrated organized resistance as enslaved individuals rose against their oppressors.
• Maroon Communities : Enslaved people formed maroon communities, establishing independent societies in remote areas, providing both a refuge for escaped slaves and a center for resistance against slaveholders.
• Cultural Preservation : Enslaved communities preserved their cultural heritage through oral traditions, music, and religious practices, resisting efforts to erase their identity and maintain a sense of belonging.
• Legal Challenges and Court Cases : Some sought legal means to challenge their status, bringing cases to court to contest enslavement or gain freedom through legal processes.
• Participation in the Underground Railroad : Enslaved individuals actively engaged in the Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and safe houses facilitated by abolitionists, aiding escapes to free states or Canada.
• Leadership and Organization : Courageous leaders emerged within enslaved communities, organizing and leading rebellions. Figures like Denmark Vesey and Gabriel Prosser played significant roles in planning and executing revolts.
• International Abolitionist Movements : Enslaved and free individuals actively participated in global abolitionist movements, contributing to the broader effort to end the transatlantic slave trade and slavery worldwide.

Legacy of Slavery

• Lingering Racism and Discrimination : The legacy of slavery perpetuates racial hierarchies, resulting in systemic racism against people of African descent in areas such as education, employment, and the criminal justice system.
• Socioeconomic Disparities : The legacy of slavery has led to enduring economic disparities for communities descended from enslaved individuals, impacting income, wealth, and access to opportunities.
• Psychological Trauma : The dehumanizing experiences of slavery inflict psychological trauma that persists across generations, influencing the mental health and well-being of descendants.
• Impact on Family Structures : Slavery’s disruption of family structures continues to affect family dynamics in contemporary society, with enduring challenges related to identity, heritage, and connections to ancestral roots.
• Educational Inequalities : The historical repression of education for those enslaved has resulted in differences in the availability of high-quality education, resources, and opportunities.
• Cultural Disruptions : Slavery’s cultural disruptions have resulted in the loss of ancestral languages, traditions, and practices. Efforts to reclaim and preserve these cultural elements are ongoing but face challenges.
• Mass Incarceration : The modern phenomenon of mass incarceration is a legacy of slavery, with racial disparities in the criminal justice system reflecting historical injustices and contributing to a cycle of systemic disadvantage.
• Reparations and Calls for Justice : The demand for reparations for the descendants of enslaved individuals has gained traction, acknowledging the historical injustices and seeking redress for the economic and social impact of slavery.
• Symbolic Resonance : Symbols of slavery, such as Confederate monuments, continue to evoke controversy, reflecting the ongoing struggle to reconcile with a painful past and address its impact on present-day society.
• Activism and Advocacy : The legacy of slavery has fueled activism and advocacy efforts for civil rights, equality, and social justice. Movements like Black Lives Matter address the continued struggle against systemic racism and oppression.

Legal Framework

• Codification of Slavery : Various legal systems established regulations to legitimize and control the institution of slavery, including the Code Noir in French colonies and slave codes in the American South. These codes defined the status of enslaved individuals and reinforced their lack of legal rights.
• Fugitive Slave Laws : Enacted in the United States, fugitive slave laws allowed for the capture and return of escaped slaves to their owners, emphasizing the legal enforcement of property rights over the freedom of individuals.
• Three-Fifths Compromise (1787) : The United States Constitution included the Three-Fifths Compromise, counting enslaved individuals as three-fifths of a person to determine state representation in Congress, reinforcing the dehumanizing legal stance toward enslaved individuals.
• Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) : A landmark Supreme Court decision in the United States, this ruling declared that enslaved individuals were property without legal rights, further entrenching the institution of slavery and contributing to rising tensions between abolitionists and pro-slavery advocates.
• Abolitionist Legal Efforts : Abolitionists engaged in legal battles to challenge the legality of slavery. Court cases, such as the Amistad trial (1839), sought to grant freedom to enslaved individuals who had rebelled against their captors.
• Emancipation Proclamation (1863) : President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared enslaved individuals in Confederate-held territory free, marking a significant legal and executive measure to undermine the institution of slavery during the American Civil War.
• 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1865) : The Civil War led to the enactment of the 13th Amendment, officially outlawing slavery in the United States. The Amendment declares that the United States, or any place under their jurisdiction, must not have slavery or involuntary servitude, unless it is a punishment for a crime for which the party has been duly convicted.
• British Slavery Abolition Acts (1833) : The United Kingdom passed a series of Acts in 1833 that led to the abolition of slavery in most British colonies, marking a significant legal shift against the institution.
• International Abolitionist Treaties : International efforts against the transatlantic slave trade led to treaties and agreements, such as the Treaty of Ghent (1814) and the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842), which aimed to suppress the trade and hold nations accountable.
• Contemporary Legal Efforts : Efforts continue to address the legacy of slavery through legal means, including calls for reparations, affirmative action policies, and legal challenges against systemic racism and discrimination.

Global Perspectives

• Slavery Beyond the Americas : Slavery was a global phenomenon, extending beyond the transatlantic slave trade. Regions such as the Middle East, Asia, and parts of Africa had distinct forms of slavery with unique characteristics.
• Arab Slave Trade : The Arab slave trade predates the transatlantic slave trade and involves the enslavement of individuals from East Africa, transported across the Indian Ocean to the Middle East and parts of Asia.
• Indian Ocean Slave Trade : The Indian Ocean slave trade connected Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Traders exchanged enslaved individuals across this vast region, assigning them to labor in various sectors, including agriculture, mining, and domestic service.
• European Colonial Expansion : During their expansion into Asia, Africa, and the Americas, European colonial powers participated in various forms of slavery, which contributed to the institution’s worldwide interconnection.
• Abolitionist Movements Across Continents : Abolitionist movements spread beyond a single region. Activists for the abolition of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade were present in Europe, the Americas, and Africa.
• Impact on African Societies : The slave trade profoundly affected African societies, causing social disruption, economic changes, and depopulation in specific regions as traders captured millions of individuals and transported them to the Americas.
• Post-Emancipation Challenges : After the formal abolition of slavery, regions faced challenges in adapting to new labor systems, social structures, and economic models, contributing to long-term consequences and inequalities.
• Legacy in the Caribbean and Latin America : A complex racial and cultural tapestry with enduring influences on social hierarchies, economic structures, and cultural practices marks slavery’s legacy in the Caribbean and Latin America.
• Contemporary Forms of Slavery : Contemporary forms of slavery, including human trafficking, forced labor, and exploitative labor practices, persist globally, necessitating ongoing efforts for eradication.
• Efforts for Reparations : Calls for reparations and acknowledgment of historical injustices related to slavery are global phenomena. Activists and scholars advocate for addressing the lasting impact through reparatory justice.

Conclusion – Essay on Slavery

The stain of slavery on human history remains indelible, echoing through generations as a reminder of the darkest aspects of our shared past. The legacies of exploitation, suffering, and discrimination persist, shaping contemporary social dynamics. As we reflect on this painful history, fostering awareness, understanding, and empathy becomes imperative. Only through acknowledging the profound impact of slavery can we collectively work towards dismantling systemic inequalities and promoting justice. The journey towards a more equitable future demands a commitment to learn from the past, strive for inclusivity, and forge a path toward genuine reconciliation.

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Slavery in British and American Literature

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Slavery in British and American Literature by Judie Newman LAST REVIEWED: 19 March 2013 LAST MODIFIED: 19 March 2013 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199730414-0159

For some literary scholars, all literature that follows the establishment of Atlantic slavery is inflected by the existence of the “peculiar institution.” Toni Morrison has argued that the prevalence of gothic in 19th-century writing, particularly in America (not naturally a land of haunted castles and ruined abbeys), results from the repressed awareness of a dark abiding Africanist presence in American culture. Slavery thus underwrites the broad generic qualities of the national literature. In the view of Pierre Macherey, the silences and omissions in literature are as important as the presences. Slavery is a shrieking absence in many canonical works of American literature; “writing back “against such silences has become a major critical activity. White writers are now regularly examined in the light of the history of slavery: Emily Brontë’s Heathcliff as a black orphan from the slave port of Liverpool (in Wuthering Heights ) or the Caribbean estate in Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park , for example. Almost all writers from the American South (and especially William Faulkner) can be viewed in this light. If little space is given in the current bibliography to canonical English writers who engage at some level with slavery, it is because the critical literature on their work is already extensive. More narrowly, in the English-speaking world “slavery in literature” includes the writings of slaves and former slaves, as well as works written about slavery by non-slaves. Though the field is dominated by American works, British, Caribbean, and postcolonial writers are also significant. Temporally the field includes the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, with a significant engagement by later writers with the legacy of slavery. Only one later genre, however, the neo-slave narrative, is formally connected to the literary tradition of the 19th-century slave narratives. “Literature” is a capacious category in this field and is not confined to conventional belles lettres (novels, plays, poetry) but includes significant examples of oratory, addresses, letters, folk material, minstrelsy and life-writings. There is also a dynamic relationship between literary criticism and creative writing, and between popular blockbusters and the academy. Controversies over popular works have been a spur to the writing of both novels and scholarly works. Scholarship on slavery may appear in works concerning African American, Caribbean or English literature, and despite the exponential expansion of the field since the 1980s there is no single bibliography to be recommended. Nor is there a single journal devoted to slavery in literature.

The topic of slavery in literature is rarely the subject of a discrete work. More commonly it receives coverage in general overviews of African American literature or in discussions of race in literature. In one argument slavery inflects all American literature in a repressed subtext in canonical white writers ( Morrison 1992 ). Criticism also varies in the degree to which it takes into account Latin American and Caribbean elements ( Rosenthal 2004 ), African traditions ( M’Baye 2009 ) or white writers ( McDowell and Rampersad 1989 ). Recent scholarship such as Bruce 2001 has redressed the neglect of the early period and of the American North and there are now histories and companions that can be unequivocally recommended for their comprehensive coverage, including Andrews, et al. 1997 ; Graham 2004 ; and Graham and Ward 2011 . For the scholar of “slavery in literature” the best friend is often the excellent index to such overviews.

Andrews, William L., Frances Smith Foster, and Trudier Harris, eds. The Oxford Companion to African American Literature . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.

A thoroughly comprehensive volume with entries on more than four hundred writers, along with literary movements and forms, literary criticism, the novel, and a host of others. A broadly conceived image of African American literary culture allows for the inclusion of entries on iconic figures in African American literature.

Bruce, Dickson D., Jr. The Origins of African American Literature, 1680–1865 . Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2001.

Significant for its challenge to the idea that African American voices were silenced in the colonial and early national period. And includes an important reevaluation of the fiction of James McCune Smith.

Graham, Maryemma, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the African American Novel . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

DOI: 10.1017/CCOL0521815746

Fifteen essays by leading scholars arranged chronologically, covering the novel of slavery and its legacy, with particular attention to literary movements and periods, and an excellent bibliography.

Graham, Maryemma, and Jerry R. Ward, eds. The Cambridge History of African American Literature . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

DOI: 10.1017/CHOL9780521872171

At 860 pages, this volume offers a huge amount of material on the literature of slavery, with works discussed on their individual merits and in relation to events in American history. Features excellent essays on early print literature of Africans in America and the neo-slave narrative.

M’Baye, Babacar. The Trickster Comes West: Pan African Influence in Early Black Diasporan Narratives . Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2009.

Explores relationships between African American, African Caribbean, and African British narratives of slavery and African literary influences—particularly the use of the Trickster motif in such figures as Anancy (Spider), Leuk (Rabbit), and Mbe (Tortoise)—in slave writers, including Olaudah Equiano, Mary Prince and Phillis Wheatley.

McDowell, Deborah, and Arnold Rampersad, eds. Slavery and the Literary Imagination . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989.

The best starting point for any consideration of the impact of slavery on American literature, with all the essays by acknowledged authorities. Although the emphasis falls on African Americans, substantial attention is also paid to white writers. Hazel V. Carby provides a valuable essay on the historical novel of slavery.

Morrison, Toni. Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1992.

In this groundbreaking study, the Nobel Prize–winning novelist argues for a deep abiding Africanist presence in American culture, delineating the effect of a racialized history on Willa Cather, Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ernest Hemingway, and Mark Twain. The discussion of American gothic as a repressed awareness of dark others was highly influential.

Rosenthal, Debra J. Race Mixture in Nineteenth-Century U.S. and Spanish American Fictions: Gender, Culture and Nation Building . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004.

In a thoroughly transnational comparative study, Rosenthal broadens critical discussion of American literature to include Latin America, examining interracial sexual and cultural mixing, and fictional treatments of skin difference, incest, and inheritance laws, in major writers from the United States, Cuba, Peru, and Ecuador.

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Struggles for Freedom: Essays on Slavery, Colonialism, and Culture in the Caribbean and Central America

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Darién J. Davis; Struggles for Freedom: Essays on Slavery, Colonialism, and Culture in the Caribbean and Central America. Hispanic American Historical Review 1 February 1999; 79 (1): 110–112. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/00182168-79.1.110

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This important collection of essays brings together newly edited materials and previously published work by the author on the English-speaking Caribbean. Bolland, a sociologist, aims to look at the economic, political, and cultural forces that have shaped Caribbean societies from colonial times to the present day. Divided into four sections— “Colonial and Creole Societies,” “Colonization and Slavery,” “From Slavery to Freedom,” and “Class, Culture and Politics”— Struggles for Freedom is diverse in its approach and subject matter. In the introductory essay, “Creolization and Creole Societies: A Cultural Nationalist View of Caribbean Social History,” Bolland makes clear that “creolization” constitutes a central dynamic of Caribbean social history, and this assertion reverberates throughout the book.

Bolland begins part 2 by looking at the colonization of Central America and the enslavement of its inhabitants, while demonstrating the economic links that existed between Central America and the Spanish-dominated Caribbean prior to 1550. He focuses on indigenous slavery and offers the generally accepted argument that the impact of African slavery in any particular region was inversely related to the availability of indigenous labor. The chapter on Belize is more specific, as it examines labor practices related to timber extraction in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Bolland makes clear that Belize’s creole culture evolved from the complex interaction among slaves from different cultural backgrounds, slaves and their masters, and men and women who were not primarily engaged in plantation slavery. The final essay in this second section examines changing European perceptions of Amerindians in Belize, from the early European colonizers of the time of Columbus to the British overlords of the nineteenth century. Bolland surveys the perceptions of colonizers and chroniclers during the initial phase of contact and colonization, although he pays particular attention to the ethnocentric views of the British, a legacy that persists to this day.

In part 3 Bolland questions the notion that social relations changed after the abolition of slavery. He demonstrates that in many cases slaves had opportunities to engage in wage labor while so-called “freed men and women” were often coerced. This same theme is more specifically treated in chapter 6, which examines how after abolition the British ensured continued control over land and labor in the West Indies in general and Belize in particular. This section concludes with an essay on the politics of freedom in the British West Indies. Bolland tackles the complex question of how former slaves gave meaning to their freedom by examining issues of worker autonomy after emancipation. As he shows, the answer to this question varied, and must be interpreted within the complex relationship between “dominance, resistance and accommodation” (p. 187).

In part 4, Bolland analyzes four important West Indian novelists (Victor Stafford Reid, Ralph de Boissiére, John Hearne, and George Lamming). Although his frame of analysis is not as clear as in other chapters, he does offer us a glimpse into the cultural history of the region in the preindependence era of the 1940s and 1950s. As he searches for authentic articulations of “Creole culture,” Bolland offers little in the way of a historical or nationally-specific context for understanding the novelists and their novels. Moreover, the reader is never quite sure why the author has chosen to examine these four novelists. Nonetheless, Bolland makes us understand why he believes it is Lamming who best “makes the concept of an authentic Caribbean nation possible” (p. 256).

The final essay of the book focuses on the role of ethnicity in decolonization and political struggle in two English-speaking Caribbean nations on the mainland: Belize and Guyana. Both countries have remarkably similar histories and thus make for a superb comparison. Bolland forcibly argues that party politics, which many have analyzed through the prism of ethnicity, in fact cuts across ethnic lines. Moreover, in both countries, as in the region as a whole, cultural and ethnic identities are intimately related to class formation, emerging nationalism, and state formation.

This volume is an important contribution to the literature on the English-speaking Caribbean. It is particularly helpful in placing Anglophone communities in a context that extends beyond the island-nations (although comparative material from the major island-nations of Jamaica, Barbados, or Trinidad is minimal). Bolland inevitably faced the challenge of many Caribbean scholars who must balance broad regional trends with in-depth analysis of specific nation-states. In light of this, it is remarkable that one author is able to provide so much depth and breadth to the subject. For the historian, many of the general essays may not be historically specific enough. Others will lament the lack of comparison with the Spanish, French, and Dutch Caribbean. Yet, these essays provide important themes and issues that will allow for cross-cultural comparison. This volume is well organized and conceptualized (although it does not include the index listed in the table of contents) and will be an important reference for years to come.

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An essay on slavery and abolitionism : with reference to the duty of American females

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Guest Essay

End Legal Slavery in the United States

By Andrew Ross ,  Tommaso Bardelli and Aiyuba Thomas

The writers, members of the New York University Prison Education Program Research Lab, are the authors of “Abolition Labor: The Fight to End Prison Slavery.”

Today we celebrate Juneteenth, the day when word of the Emancipation Proclamation reached the farthest outpost in America. Many people do not realize that Emancipation did not legally end slavery in the United States, however. The 13th Amendment — the culmination of centuries of resistance by enslaved people, a lifetime of abolitionist campaigning and a bloody civil war — prohibited involuntary servitude “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.”

In the North, that so-called exception clause was interpreted as allowing the private contracting of forced prison labor, which was already underway, and in the ex-Confederacy it gave rise to the much more brutal system by which freed men and women were routinely arrested under false charges and then leased out to plantation owners and industrialists to work off their sentence. Some historians have described this convict leasing system as “worse than slavery,” because there was no incentive to avoid working those people to death.

Over time, courts accepted that all people who are incarcerated lose the protection against slavery or involuntary servitude. The legacy of that legal deference is a grim one. Today, a majority of the 1.2 million Americans locked up in state and federal prisons work under duress in jobs that cover the entire spectrum, from cellblock cleaning to skilled manufacturing, for wages as low as a few cents per hour or, in several states, for nothing at all. And though members of Congress denounce imported goods made with prison labor in places like China’s Xinjiang province, the offices of many government agencies in Washington and elsewhere are stocked with furniture and supplies made by prisoners in this country. In fact, federal agencies are mandated to purchase goods from federal prisons, just as state or municipal agencies, including public schools and universities, often must consider sourcing from state penitentiaries. In many states, prison-made goods are freely available on the open market and shipped overseas.

Labor that people have no meaningful right to refuse and that is enforced under conditions of total control is, unquestionably, slavery. It’s a different model from the chattel slavery over which the Civil War was fought, but by all norms of international law, it is a violation of fundamental human rights.

The nation that deigns to teach the rest of the world lessons in liberty should ban this practice on its own shores rather than integrating its products into the economy. For those who want to work while serving their sentence, we should guarantee fair pay for their labor.

The prisoner rights movement of the late 1960s and early ’70s called for raising prisoners’ hourly pay. One of the top demands during the 1971 Attica uprising was to “apply the New York State minimum wage law to all state institutions.” More radical Black nationalists saw the nation’s overcrowded penitentiaries as akin to modern slave ships and argued that even if they were to offer prevailing wages, collective bargaining and workplace protections, they would still be instruments of racial capture and control.

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Slavery Effects on Enslaved People and Slave Owners Essay

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Introduction

Effects of slavery on enslaved people, effects of slavery on slave owners, works cited.

Slavery had many negative effects on the enslaved people as discussed by Douglass in the book, “ Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass” and McPherson in the book, “ What they fought for 1861-1865” . Reflecting on the life of Douglass Frederick and written in prose form, the narrative defines the thoughts of the author on various aspects of slavery from the social, economic, security, and the need for appreciation of human rights perspectives.

On the other hand, the book, “ What they fought for 1861-1865” is vital in understanding history of America and how wars change the social and political systems. Thus, this analytical treatise attempts to explicitly compare and contrast the views of Douglass and McPherson on effects of slavery on enslaved people and slave owners.

Across the first six chapters, Douglass explores several instances when slavery created an unequal social and economic environment between the slaves and those who enslaved them. To begin with, unlike the white children, Douglass and other blacks were not allowed to know their date of birth.

The children of the slaves were separated from their mothers by the slave owners at a tender age. The female slaves were subjected to sexual abuse by their owners and the children, out of these sexual exploits, were forced by the law to become slaves (Douglass, 13).

The slaves were subjected to vicious attacks by their mean masters. For instance, Aunt Hester was violently whipped by the Captain in what Douglass described as a hellish encounter. Besides, Mr. Gore, who is a ranch foreman, promptly shot a slave called Demby for refusing to vacate the creek after enduring physical attack by the mean and proud supervisor (Douglass, 31).

The slaves were never given beds and had to survive on bare minimal allowances consisting of a single piece of linen, pork and hardly enough corn. The freedom of speech and expression were not part of the master-slaver relationship. For instance, Colonel Lloyd was very mad at the honesty of one of the slaves that he had to sell him for speaking the truth.

Same as Douglass’ views on the effects of slavery on enslaved people, McPherson’s book defines the American conflict as greatly contributed by the inhuman treatment of slaves. He states that the “confederates fought for independence, for their property and way of life, for their survival as a nation” (McPherson, 27).

McPherson captures the memoirs of the soldiers and their resentments on brutality, sexual harassment, and denial of freedom of expression as the underlying factors which inspired them to go into the battle field.

McPherson underlines the ideological commitment and patriotism of the soldiers as a result of deep convictions to seek independence, freedom, and basic human rights for the slaves. Reflectively, “a large number of those men in blue and gray were intensely aware of the issues at stake and passionately concerned about them” (McPherson, 4). The author represents human interaction and belonging to a particular ideology as elevating visions of human society as free of slavery.

Due to unstructured relationship between the slaves and their masters, harmony balance was threatened by sudden changes in the social systems as influenced by the capitalist oriented slave owners. This brought questions on how people need to stay together and to attain their needs equitably, without involving in overindulgence, selfishness, and myopia.

Many soldiers endeavored to comprehend the revolutionary implications of the conflict as it continued to evolve in an ordinary arena of ideological expression within their scope of view (McPherson, 31).

Understanding the position of the slaves, in the then human society, requires critical analysis of cognitive values attached to practices, beliefs, and social dynamics which controlled and aligned the society towards astute of simultaneously interacting functions.

State of anarchy as a result of the conflict brought threat to the peaceful coexistence as a result of life interference brought about by slavery. Unlike Douglass who lived through the experience, McPherson adopted the passive voice in reporting the thoughts and views of the soldiers on slavery (Henretta and Brody, 21).

Douglass reflects on cheap labor, abuse of power, exploitation of humanity, expansion of profits, and entertainment as the benefits that slave owners had. To begin with, the slaves were treated as a commodity and provided cheap and abundant labor to the slave owners operating as a human exploitation cartel.

Captain Anthony, Gore, and other slave owners become very successful since they expanded their farms by exploiting the free labor provided by the slaves. The slaves were also objects of entertainment, sexual exploits, and part of assets which would quantify a slave owner’s wealth. Douglass, Demby, and other slaves are reminded of their position as servants of the powerful slaver owners (Douglass, 21).

The author identifies the need to expand dominance as factor which influenced the slave owners to buy slaves for their expansive ventures. Douglass is successful in linking the social, economic, and cultural elements of the slave owners to the establishment of a tight system of selling and buying slaves at will, irrespective of age or choice.

The growing interest from both ends of the divide spurred the slave trade relationship. This trade was protected from external interferences by the laws that slave owners and other agencies quickly created, especially when a situation demanded for such (Douglass, 21).

On the other hand, McPherson highlights the great economic leap experienced by the slave owners who capitalized on weak laws, influential organizations, and intimidation to reap maximum benefits, without having to incur any major costs of production. He explores the social class structure and how economics influenced the nature of the relationship the soldiers had with past experiences.

The author is successful in establishing the basic elements of social class structure as determined by the ability to organize unwilling human beings as commodities of sale in the form of slaves (McPherson, 23).

In unison, Douglass displays the ungratefulness and cunning nature of the slave owners towards their slaves despite getting free labor and maximum returns (Douglass, 31). Excessive harassment by the slave owners spilled into conflict as the soldiers were determined to restore their lost right (McPherson, 13).

The authors display a ferocious literature that identifies the aspects of racism and stereotyping in the early society of America as a result of slavery and slave trade. Slavery is presented as having imprisoned the blacks and half casts who are traded in the labor market as a commodity. The unfair treatment of slaves by the slave owners inspired conflict as the soldiers were determine to restore their rights and those of the slaves.

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass . New York, NY: Harvard University Press, 2009. Print.

Henretta, James, & Brody David. America: A Concise History. New York, NY: Bedford, 2009. Print.

McPherson, James. What they fought for 1861-1865 . New York, NY: Anchor Books, 1995. Print.

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IvyPanda. (2019, May 2). Slavery Effects on Enslaved People and Slave Owners. https://ivypanda.com/essays/effects-of-slavery-essay/

"Slavery Effects on Enslaved People and Slave Owners." IvyPanda , 2 May 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/effects-of-slavery-essay/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Slavery Effects on Enslaved People and Slave Owners'. 2 May.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Slavery Effects on Enslaved People and Slave Owners." May 2, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/effects-of-slavery-essay/.

1. IvyPanda . "Slavery Effects on Enslaved People and Slave Owners." May 2, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/effects-of-slavery-essay/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Slavery Effects on Enslaved People and Slave Owners." May 2, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/effects-of-slavery-essay/.

• New research exposes the role of women in America’s slave trade

In the bondage of others they saw their freedom

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T hey didn’t know how bad it was. That was how James Redpath, a northern journalist who toured the South in the 1850s, explained white southern women’s support for slavery to his readers. He reckoned that women were shielded from the “most obnoxious features” of the trade—rarely witnessing the auctions and the lashes doled out as punishments on plantations—and were oblivious to the “gigantic commerce” that it had become. Over time historians came to agree that slavery was the business of men.

Research published last month shatters that narrative. Economists at Ohio State University analysed data from the New Orleans slave market, the biggest of them all, to quantify women’s involvement. They found that women were buyers or sellers in 30% of all transactions and 38% of those that involved female slaves. By matching names to census records they show that it was not just single or widowed women who dealt in slaves because they lacked husbands; married ones did, too.

These are the first hard numbers building on a growing body of qualitative work by Stephanie Jones-Rogers, a historian at the University of California, Berkeley, showing just how instrumental women were to the slave economy. In the travel logs of foreigners she uncovered descriptions of southern belles bidding at the slave markets dressed in their finest silks and “glittering in precious jewels”. And in interviews conducted by the federal government in the 1930s she found that former slaves frequently reported belonging to the “mistis” and told stories of being beaten by her with stinging nettles or coming home to find their child missing and the mistress counting a “heap of bills”.

For the ladies of the antebellum South, slavery was more than business—it was their ticket to economic freedom. Coverture laws compelled women to relinquish property and money to men when they married, but exceptions were made for slaves. As with furniture and clothing, a bride could hold on to the humans she owned and take them with her to her new husband’s estate. Fathers hoping to secure their daughters’ futures gave them slaves at baptisms, birthdays and engagements.

As grown-ups, women used slaves to establish financial independence. In cities like Charleston and New Orleans they put them to work selling cakes or dresses and pocketed the profits in secret. Some ran slave brothels. The mistresses then used the cash to reinvest in the slave market. But unlike their husbands, who often bought fit men to work the fields, women bought more women, who were cheaper but paid dividends later on when they reproduced.

On the eve of the civil war Southern women came to understand that the Union army threatened to strip them not just of their material wealth but of their independence. As men went off to battle and Congress passed the Confiscation Acts of the early 1860s, which authorised the government to seize slaves, women panicked. Before the war, half of the South’s wealth was in slaves. The fall of the Confederacy left many Southerners destitute. Freed slaves later recounted giving their former mistresses grits and potatoes to subsist on after emancipation.

It would be decades before the women of the South gained the right to control their earnings, own property, take custody of their children and vote. Ms Jones-Rogers contends that their fight for segregation into the 20th century was fuelled by the sense of power they had known and lost. In the subjugation of others they had tasted freedom. ■

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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “The second sex”

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The Historical Context and Lasting Impact of Black Codes in Post-Civil War America

This essay about the Black Codes explores the post-Civil War laws enacted in the Southern United States to control newly emancipated African Americans. Emerging after the Confederacy’s defeat, these laws restricted African Americans’ freedoms, enforcing vagrancy laws and limiting property ownership. Despite federal efforts like the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment, the legacy of the Black Codes persisted through Jim Crow laws, entrenching racial inequality and economic disenfranchisement. The essay highlights the enduring impact of these laws on contemporary racial disparities and the ongoing struggle for racial justice.

How it works

Following the Civil War, the Southern United States witnessed a seismic shift with the emergence of the Black Codes, a set of laws designed to exert control over newly emancipated African Americans. These statutes cast a long shadow over Reconstruction, leaving an indelible mark on America’s social and economic fabric.

The Black Codes emerged in the tumultuous aftermath of the Confederacy’s defeat and the abolition of slavery by the Thirteenth Amendment. In response to the dismantling of their slave-dependent economy, many white Southerners sought to reassert dominance over African Americans.

The Black Codes were their tool—an attempt to maintain social order akin to slavery under the guise of freedom.

While specifics varied by state, the overarching aim of the Black Codes was to restrict the freedoms of African Americans. Vagrancy laws, for instance, targeted unemployed African Americans, subjecting them to fines and forced labor if unable to pay, effectively reintroducing involuntary servitude. These laws also limited property ownership and occupational opportunities, stifling economic independence and perpetuating cycles of poverty.

Legal discrimination further entrenched these injustices. African Americans faced biased judicial systems, often barred from juries and denied equal protection under the law. Such systemic bias ensured that African Americans remained marginalized and without recourse to justice, deepening their disenfranchisement.

Federal responses such as the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment aimed to counteract these injustices by guaranteeing citizenship and equal protection. However, the end of Reconstruction in 1877 saw a resurgence of white supremacy with the onset of Jim Crow laws. These laws institutionalized segregation and further marginalized African Americans, perpetuating the legacy of the Black Codes well into the twentieth century.

The enduring impact of the Black Codes is profound, contributing to persistent racial disparities in American society. By codifying racial discrimination and economic disenfranchisement, these laws entrenched a legacy of inequality that continues to shape contemporary challenges. The civil rights movement of the mid-twentieth century challenged this legacy, yet the fight for racial justice remains ongoing.

In conclusion, the Black Codes represent a pivotal chapter in post-Civil War American history. Designed to restrict the freedoms of African Americans, these laws underscored the deep-seated resistance to equality in the South. Understanding their historical context and enduring repercussions is crucial for addressing systemic racism and advancing social justice in the United States today.

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The Historical Context and Lasting Impact of Black Codes in Post-Civil War America. (2024, Jun 28). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/the-historical-context-and-lasting-impact-of-black-codes-in-post-civil-war-america/

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PapersOwl.com. (2024). The Historical Context and Lasting Impact of Black Codes in Post-Civil War America . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/the-historical-context-and-lasting-impact-of-black-codes-in-post-civil-war-america/ [Accessed: 30 Jun. 2024]

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"The Historical Context and Lasting Impact of Black Codes in Post-Civil War America," PapersOwl.com , 28-Jun-2024. [Online]. Available: https://papersowl.com/examples/the-historical-context-and-lasting-impact-of-black-codes-in-post-civil-war-america/. [Accessed: 30-Jun-2024]

PapersOwl.com. (2024). The Historical Context and Lasting Impact of Black Codes in Post-Civil War America . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/the-historical-context-and-lasting-impact-of-black-codes-in-post-civil-war-america/ [Accessed: 30-Jun-2024]

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