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Slavery Before The Civil War Essay

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In the 1800’s slavery was a lifestyle in the southern parts of America. White Americans saw African Americans as inferior beings to them, this was especially seen when they used their power to harshly and constantly abuse in order to keep them working. Slavery was more profitable in the south because of the ideal climate and large amount of land for farming, so having slaves farm and grow cash crops led southerners to become very rich. The Northern economy was more based on manufacturing, so they did not need slaves as much. As years progressed tensions began over keeping slavery in the United States and started the civil war. Northerners won over the 4-year battle which led to the abolishment of slavery.Although African American slaves before …show more content…

They were denied many important rights, but were able to have some such as the ones to own property and marry. The black codes also ensured that they could be used as cheap labor by many racist plantation owners. Many states required African Americans to sign yearly labor contracts, with the punishment of being arrested or fined if they didn’t. This is similar to the treatment of slaves before the civil war because of the discrimination against them, depriving the African Americans of their rights and making sure they were inferior compared to the white …show more content…

She states that although they were kept under slavery and did not have independence, as slaves they did not have to pay debt, put them into jail, and had more good food to eat and more clothes to wear. As a freedman, slaves started to starve and they had to make money on their own by doing whatever they could. This living condition was different from being a slave because freedmen had to provide their own resources, compared to being a slave when everything was given for you in the payment of working. This shows how former slaves finally left as humans, even though they had their shares of struggles with living independently. The problems of being left without supplies were much more difficult for Annie Davis, as she states that she loved life a lot better back then. The treatment and conditions now, though, are much more different anyways, with the lack of supplies and the humane treatment of African Americans. Although unprepared, they had their start of being free as it progressively became better for them, through things such as the freedmen’s bureau that provided them with shelter, clothing, and medical services for them. The point of view of this document, a former slave, helps prove the thesis because Davis states that life was a lot different then compared to now with all the differences, with much more freedom to do their

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This includes poor women as they escalated on the political scene during the war, allowing more women to take on new positions within the state and federal governments. On the other end of the spectrum, African-Americans were increasingly hostile to the idea of fighting and/or working for the Confederacy, which would eventually lead many African Americans to flee plantations. This damaged Confederate society as well as accelerated the end of the war. Addressing past historiographical authors and works, McCurry notes that “developments in the C.S.A. are of little significance in the drama of emancipation it plots,” and this speaks to the boldness of McCurry in expanding the story to include new voices. Building upon this, the author makes excellent use of sourcing, choosing to rely principally upon primary source

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After the abolition of slavery in the 1800s, colonies in the Caribbean and Pacific islands needed a new source of labor for their industries. They found the labor that they needed in indentured servants. Although indentured servitude solved the labor problem, it was an unfair system. The major cause of this change in labor was anti-slavery movements and finally the emancipation of all slaves.

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Before the American Civil War, we struggled with the concept of slavery based on our economic and moral differences. People who lived in the North believed that slavery should be abolished since they did not grow crops that needed an abundance of slaves. Moreover, they thought that slaves should be treated like all human beings based on the constitution. On the other side, Americans who lived in the South thought slavery should not be abolished as their crops demanded twice as much work than the ones in the North; therefore, they needed much more workers working in their field and that’s where slaves came into view. They also thought that Africans were inferior because of their skin color and origin.

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To What Extent Were Southern Slaveholders Justified in Comparing Slavery in Favorable Terms to Northern Factory? Compared to slavery, working in a factory seemed much greater and simpler than working for someone without getting paid. When you think about it, is it actually better than slavery? Families would force their own children to work in factories to make money to support their own family. In 1819, people, starting at the age of 9, had to start working in factories (Doc 15).

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Additionally, agony was dealt with and misery happened behind the scenes of the slave’s lives, similar to Tom Robinson and the “Scottsboro Boys” in which both were African-American and how

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The slaves rejoiced and sang about their newly found freedom. However as soon as the reality of freedom sunk in they became sad. Booker compared the idea of freedom with that of a 12-year-old child being turned out to the street to begin caring for themselves. They now had the responsibility of caring for their families and children. When every everything had been provided for you or at least the bare minimum and now nothing would be provided for you except opportunity, it would be quite a shock and responsibility all at once.

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Have you ever wondered how life was for the slaves in the South? Slaves in the South suffered through many consequences. For example, they suffered through many whippings with cow skin if they didn't obey their master, they also got separated from their family mostly the fathers, so, they can be sold to a very mean slave owner. Even if they were living a miserable life on the farms, they had their own culture and they managed to even get married in the farmland or where they worked. Not only did the slaves live on the farm.

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Davis says, “The former slaves’ economic status had not undergone a radical transformation – they were no less impoverished than they had been during slavery. It was the status of their personal relationships that was revolutionary.” African American men and women were legally emancipated by the late 1800’s; however, their minds were still colonized with thoughts of enslavement. Living conditions weren’t improving by much, at least not in the economic sense, but through the music they were able to personally decolonize their minds, and express their true emotions and desires. Part of this helped create a new black consciousness that influenced women along with men to travel and explore.

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At that time African Americans were not treated equally. Often during this time, they did not have the same opportunities as the Whites. African Americans mainly has jobs that were not appealing. They mainly worked as maids, waiters, rail road workers, and farm workers, just to name a few. These jobs were not what most people dream of.

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Slavery as you know is still a thing today. In different countries such as China, India, North Korea, Russia , Nigeria etc. As it is illegal, it is still going on today, just without the government's knowing. African Americans were most discriminated against even though they were many different races. They were used for different things also so much as plantation workers, in factory workers, working on farms etc.

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