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Paradox Of Slavery

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In the light of two prominent newspapers in Massachusetts during the 1760s there was a great paradox of the citizens view on freedom and slavery. To understand this paradox, the newspapers will chronologically show how the citizens of Massachusetts believed in freedom from Britain was important but neglected to give the blacks their freedom. It is important to note that every time people mentioned slavery it was not for the slaves, but the “political slavery” with Britain. Through analyzing these newspapers and reading secondary literature on these matters, one can recognize the paradox of liberty. The slave advertisements, reading Mrs. Macaulay’s History and the discrimination during the Stamp Act. By doing this one can get a full view of …show more content…

For example, the Massachusetts newspapers have been printing slave advertisements since 1704, and almost every article in The Boston-Gazette and Country Journal and The Boston Evening-Post were advertisements of runaways or who were selling slaves that day. These things were very common, and the newspapers would make a lot of money through these advertisements. Honestly, they newspapers made so much from slave trade, that they were in competition with one another to see who got the most ads. The point being made is that the entire country was selling and reselling slaves like horses until the next shipment came in. This practice had brainwashed society into thinking that was how it was and allowed slave trade to become the multi-billion business that controlled the economy of Massachusetts and many other colonies in that time as well. It was literally due to the slaves that gave room for the middle class to become elites. Whether that sounded cruel or not, it was simply the way it was for generations, which no one found strange. Even though the Revolutionary War spoke so many times about liberty, freedom, and justice for …show more content…

The author spoke so highly for this cause yet did not see or speak of the slaves’ contribution at that time. The rebellion of the Stamp Act was one example where Caucasians and the Coloured found common ground to fight for liberty. Unfortunately, the thought of abolishing slavery did not begin during this Revolutionary War, but these rebellions began to form a spark in the blacks’ mind that one day they would walk

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