Perspective On Slavery

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Jenna Robinson Mrs. Smith American Heroes, 7th hour February 4, 2016 Perspective on Slavery Slavery, during the Civil War, can be defined as a person who is the property of another. This means that an individual is serving entirely under the domination of another person. The Civil War was started over the division between the North and the South and their perspectives on slavery. There were emotional, economic, and constitutional feelings that impacted slaveholders, slaves, abolitionists, and Northerners. Each of these groups had a variety of reactions towards slavery. Many people thought that slaves were quite happy in slavery. In the History of Mary Prince, it states, “They don’t want to be free.” However, Mary Prince has a different opinion. …show more content…

They did respect the Constitution but did not believe that the Constitution applied to slaves because they were not “All men”. According to the Universal Law of Slavery by George Fitzhugh, It states, “He the negro is but a grown up child, and must be governed as a child…” Additionally, slavery provided such a positive impact on the economy in the South before the Civil War. The South was known for cash crops; such as tobacco, cotton, rice, and sugar cane. The work of the slaves was as field hands. The expense to planters for housing, food, and clothing was considerably less than what they produced as revenue for the harvest of these crops. Slaveholders emotionally feared that the slaves would …show more content…

Economically, an abolitionists neither gains nor loses due to slavery. However, some abolitionists would have to be from wealth to help support freedom of the slaves; such as, the Underground Railroad. The Abolitionist Movement discusses the most famous abolitionist Frederick Douglas came from nothing, he was born a slave. Emotionally, abolitionists do not support support slavery because they morally find it wrong with the concept of slavery. In contrast to the slave holders, abolitionists truly believe the Constitutional view, “All Men are Created Equal.” In the North, slavery was looked down upon because, “It is wrong for one human being to own another". According to Slavery: The three points of view, Nixon Barnes talks about evil slaveholders and how he considers it kidnapping. His beliefs were based on African American people being taken from their families and homes and then sold to a life of labor. Economically, the North didn’t rely on slave production as much as the South. Northerners used industrialization to produce more than Southern states. Furthermore, like the abolitionists, most Northerners supported slaves being