The Antebellum Period was a prominent era between 1812 and the beginning of the Civil War. Antebellum is a Latin word meaning “before war” which in this case signified many events that have led to the civil war. In this era, we can see many groups of people deemed as the “Other”. By that I mean, individuals or groups who were outside of mainstream America. They have taken advantage of the economic, political and social aspects during this era. If no advantage was achieved then they were subjects to oppression by society or the upper class Americans. With the much advancement in American society such as the Industrial Revolution and the Manifest Destiny, impacts have been made towards African and Irish members of this land. Manifest Destiny, in my opinion impacted African slaves more than Industrialization would have impacted the Irish immigrants during this time. These are …show more content…
For instance, we can look at the forms of oppression slaves had to endure. When the importation of slaves to the United States seized after 1807, plantation owners saw the opportunity to rather protect the “limited” quantity of slaves by not beating or killing them. As precious as they were to the economy, owners couldn’t take any risks. Slaves were therefore provided with shelter in cabins, more clothing, and a better diet. The better diet was in opposition to the meals they lacked during the voyage on slave ships and working in the fields. Economically wise, we cannot see any slave filling up their very own pockets with money other than the plantation owner or their own owners. During this period we start to see gender roles take place in the slave’s work duties. Men and Women worked in fields almost equally picking cotton and other grains in various parts of the south. Many even built roads to allow the transportation of goods to reach one place to the other.