Slavery started in the United States in 1619 to increase productivity in agriculture. They helped build the economy of this nation, because they weren 't paid to do work, they were forced to. The whites found this very convenient. If only they knew the consequences it would cause to America in the future.
The most important event in American slavery during the 1820’s was the Missouri Compromise. Before 1820, political strain grew between the slave and free states. Since the United States had eleven slave states and eleven free states, any new state would cause unequal representation in the Senate. The North, also known as the Union, wanted all new states admitted to not have any slavery. The South, or the Confederacy needed all new
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A year before 1820, the U.S. annexed East Florida, which used to be a refuge for fugitive slaves. Also, Virginia banned all mulattos and blacks, including the free ones, from assembling for educational purposes and made it illegal for them to be able to be taught how to read and write. In South Carolina, slaves, and even free blacks were required to wear identification tags. In that state, there were penalties for anyone introducing any written anti-slavery documents and later on, Denmark Vesey organized an immense slave uprising. About forty slaves, and Denmark Vasey were executed while the others were sold out of the state. There was also good news for those that were anti-slavery. For instance, Pennsylvania passed an anti-kidnapping law so that the free blacks couldn 't be found and sold into slavery. Liberia and Mexico became refuges for the slaves escaping from America. In 1827, Texas required that one tenth of any slaves inherited to be freed but also allowed slaves to be sold.
Slavery led up to the Civil war many years after the Missouri Compromise and nearly split up the nation. President Abraham Lincoln announced his Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves, in 1863. Fortunately, slavery ended in 1865 with the ratification of the 13th