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Development of Slavery 1607-1750 From the time frame of 1607 to 1750, the development of slavery changed in many ways. Slavery, in the British colonies, changed drastically because of economics, social connotations, and geography. Economically, slavery fulfilled the need for different cash crops such as tobacco in the south, and rice in the Carolinas. Before the late 1670’s, indentured servants were relied on to carry out the labor needed to produce cash crops.
The institution of slavery almost instantly developed between 1607 and 1750 because the source of labor shifted its roots from indentured servants from Europe to slaves from Africa was founded on a religious base with the objective of converting more people to Christianity and slaves were easily seen as property. Slavery expanded and developed between 1608 and 1750 because the source of labor changed from indentured servants to cheap and reliable slaves. Indentured servants many white and European began to realize the unjustified system of labor in the colonies so they began to revolt against their masters. (Document 5) Plantation owners were upset with servants who thought dependently so they switched to a different source of labor, slaves mostly from Africa, in hopes of enforcing more restrictions and buying slaves for cheap. Evidently, this thinking became popular among plantation owners because eventually, the system of slavery overtook the indentured servants.
In the Preface there is a brief description on the history of slavery. It is described, that slavery began in the 1600’s with the enslavement of Africans. Many of the founding fathers also had slaves themselves. Because of the large demand for cash crops like tobacco, and cotton, slavery flourished in the south. It is also described that during the American Revolution many Americans disagreed with slavery, because it went against with the promise of the constitution that all men are created equal.
Ever Since, in the United States, the slavery system had been ongoing until
Slavery has been present in almost every country, culture, and people since ancient times. The conditions may not be exactly the same, but people were still “owned” by others, not having a say in their own lives. Slavery has been controversial from the very beginning, some believing that every human should be equal and others believing some humans are inferior and deserve to be enslaved. In the 1800’s there were many writers and speakers trying to convince others to rid the United States of slavery. Two of these abolitionist writers were Harriet Beecher Stowe and Frederick Douglass.
There is no doubt that the institution of slavery is detrimental to slaves as they are brutally tortured, severely whipped and punished, and also killed if they dare to rebel or disagree with their slaveholders. Not only slavery is extremely terrible to the slaves, but also it dehumanizes the slaveholders and turns them into evil monsters devoid of any human feelings and sentiments. In Douglass’s slave narrative, he shows how slavery affects the slaveholders like Captain Anthony who was a savage beast “hardened by a long life of slaveholding” and he enjoyed whipping and torturing the slaves (Douglass 5). Moreover, Douglass highlights on how slavery affects the slaveholder’s character and turns him/her into brutal torturers.
During the American Revolution, slavery was viewed as a normal part of life. Very few questioned the lifestyle, as slavery was considered to be crucial in the development of the colonies. Founding fathers, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Hancock owned slaves to labor on their households and fields. Even Benjamin Franklin, the pioneer of many modern inventions and a major political figure, owned two slaves, named George and King. He lived with these slaves and the belief that they were inferior to him until he traveled to Africa in 1763.
A lot slaves achieved their freedom throughout the Revolution without formal emancipation. This topic had split the nation. There were two views to this reform one being the Northern and the other being the Southern. The Northern side was more for technology and industry unlike Southern which was still an agriculture society.
In some places there were limits to how cruelly saves could be treated but it was very difficult to enforce these limits. There were several slave rebellions but they were eventually crushed and slavery continued. Although slavery was becoming important in the colonies, nevertheless it was disappearing in European countries who were in fact the colonial powers. Most forms
In the one slavery appeared to be absolutely essential, while in the other it became deprived of utility. “Defenders of slavery argued that the sudden end to the slave economy would have had a profound and killing economic impact in the South where reliance on slave labor was the foundation of their economy.” (“The Southern Argument…”) In the North opinions in favor of emancipation grew in strength during the Revolutionary war period. The abolition societies became more robust, with specific emphasis on Pennsylvania.
The American Revolution brought independence to slaves, colonists, Native Americans, and women. The Revolutionary War made the United States and France allies go against Great Britain. France made a choice to assist the United States military until they received independence from Great Britain. The Revolution had a huge part in slavery, such as bringing conflict between slavery and liberty because the North prohibited slavery. The South did not believe that slavery should be abolished.
Slavery has been a big part of american history. Of course slaves are human but as our history shows, they were treated as if they were animals, inhumane to be exact. Slaves were treated unfairly and were forced to do things they did not want to. For example in the Roots: What’s your name “Kunta Kintei” Kunta was forced to change his name to Toby and when he fought back to save his identity he was hung up by his arms and whipped repeatedly until he accepted the name his master gave him. This just goes to show how slave were not treated like humans, they were forced to give up their identities and become the people their master wanted them to become.
During the Revolution, slavery existed as a part of one’s+ daily life in every state. Slaves formed not only as a part of the economic ladder but as the social structure as well. For White Americans, slaves were an essential to their understanding of freedom. Slavery allowed the abolition of the poor that were dependent on the political nation. If slavery was to be abolished it would be challenging since, “the persons who [made] all the laws in that country are persons who have slaves themselves” as told by Adam Smith when addressing slavery from the republican view.
Slavery was practiced throughout the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries, and African-American slaves helped build the economic foundations of the new nation. The invention
The age of revolution did have a positive effect on the institution of slavery; this is sustained in Ira Berlins work. ‘Blacks viewed the war in terms of their own interests and concerns. Perceiving what they regarded as an inescapable inconsistency between the ideals of the Revolution and the institution of slavery, they redoubled their efforts for emancipation, their methods including freedom suits, petitions to state legislatures, and military service.’ In this context one could reject the notion that ‘The Age of Revolution reinforced slavery in the United States’, because the age of revolution gave slaves something to fight for politically and physically. The idea that free blacks or slaves had no emotion or intelligence started to fade, they tried to take emancipation into their own hands and build a case using political non-violent methods such as petitions to legislatures.
