The Pros And Cons Of Abolishing Slavery

Indentured servants, were by all accounts, the main source of labor in the seventeenth century. The labor force was mainly needed for the newly discovery of the cash crop that was tobacco. It was a plant that need a lot of man power to be harvested and transported to port to be shipped back to England. “At first they turned to their overpopulated country for labor, but English indentured servants brought with them the same haphazard habits of work as their masters.” Indentured service being described as haphazard is an understatement; uprising.

Northern and Southern opinions on slavery differed greatly and caused a major divide. While the South fully supported slavery, the Northern citizens were abolitionists set on dissolving the act. Northern Whigs were major abolitionists before and during the Civil War. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 forced all African-Americans in the US to become slaves if they were found by any slave owner, even if he was not their own. This law applied to the entirety of the country, thus making free African-Americans subject to slavery and inhibiting the Whigs from legally protecting any remaining Northern African-Americans (Document M).

Slavery was a big part of our nation’s history. The North and the South had different opinions of slavery which led to the Civil War. The first arrival of slaves was in 1619. A Dutch ship brought twenty Africans to Virginia and they were sold. It spread to the thirteen colonies and, by 1776, almost 600,000 slaves lived in our country.

After the Emancipation Proclamation the North now had a unifier, the emancipation of southern slaves. As the Civil War continued it became less about securing the Union but instead the liberation of slaves, this was supported by the majority of Northerners as they were strongly anti-slavery from before the war. Once the War was over and the reconstruction of the United States began three amendments were added to the Constitution highlighting the rights freed slaves now possessed. The 13th amendment banned slavery in any recognized American territory, the 14th gave citizenship to all freed slaves and their children, and the 15th gave freed male slaves the right to vote. These amendments constitutional overthrew the previous system of racial

The founders still allowed slavery to happen during the American Revolution. The founders were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton. They had a variety of personal beliefs regarding different political and social problems during the Revolution. The founders believed in deism which started to develop during the Enlightenment, and the founders became influenced by deism since it changed their mindsets on different issues. In addition, they believed that everyone was created equal and deserved the natural rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

On February 1, 1895 President Abraham Lincoln approved the 13th amendment to the U.S Constitution which abolishes slavery. This celebrated as National Freedom Day. How would your life be different if you were not free? If I wasn’t free I will not be able to do what I will want to do.

In the post-Civil War South, the economic situation that followed the emancipation of slaves and therefore the loss of the labor force, forced the South to find a suitable replacement for slavery. This also meant enacting laws designed to keep former slaves tied to the land. The economic system, which replaced slavery, was sharecropping. To keep the former slaves tied to the land, however, laws such as the black codes ensured a steady stream of workers to harvest the crops. Furthermore, vagrancy laws, which were designed to punish vagrants by making them harvest crop for a plantation owner, were passed.

In the nineteenth century, white Americans relied on free labor from black slaves heavily. The supporters of slavery used economic, legal, and religious arguments to defend slavery. Many people began to question whether slavery truly was moral or not. Abolitionists had their opinions on slavery, but southerners used economic, legal, and religious arguments to justify themselves as the correct ones. These apologists were including information about economic prosperity, the property rights, and Christianity religion.

According to the article, “Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania” (1790), the Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery was passed on March 1, 1780. It was the first attempts to begin abolishing slavery. The given act forbidden further imported slaves into states and required slaveholders to regularly register slaves to establish any children born in Pennsylvania “free persons” regarding the specific conditions. Stated in the passage, African-Americans were able to vote but many whites preventing most. Unfortunately, they were unable to use their voting rights because whites did not allow it to happen.

America was no longer a society with slaves, but especially in areas of the deep south, had become a slave society. Paternalistic value embedded in the deep south slave society culture was arguably the cherry on the cake of an unattainable compromise. Americans referred to the abolition of slavery as unconstitutional, necessary to life and permanent. This thought is expanded upon by David Wilmot as he argues, “I ask not that slavery be abolished. I demand that this Government preserve the integrity of free territory against the aggressions of slavery against its wrongful usurpations”

Slavery in The Civil War The American civil war from 1861 to 1865 divided many people in the United States, even turning brother against brother. There were also great amounts of bloodshed and was one of the bloodiest wars in the US and left a heritage of brief and bitterness. And the basis of this war, slavery, slavery is usually very cruel and has been around since early man. Their were two sides to this war, the North and the south.

Throughout United States History, there have been many situations that have limited civil rights. Some of these actions were the Espionage and Sedition Acts, the Executive Order 9066, and the passage of the USA Patriot Act. These actions were very controversial at the time and caused a lot of commotion between Americans and officials. Some people did not agree with them changing our civil liberties and were upset about it while others were fine with them changing our rights.

Background: To understand the history of slavery in the United States the historical background needs examining. How did the slaves get from Africa the new country? Why were the people brought here? What purpose did slavery serve?

Tensions rose across the country from those in support support of slavery and those opposed. Many states wanted to outlaw slavery while others adamantly defended it because it was the main institution with a high and consistent revenue. Ultimately, the disagreements over slavery are what lead to the Civil War. The country divided into an “Us versus Them” situation which lead to both sides having growing support for their views and making the groups less susceptible to an agreement. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which freed slaves from confederate states.

The Southern and Northern states differentiate on many issues, which ultimately led them towards a Civil War. There stood deep social, economic, and political disparities between the North and the South. These modifications stemmed from the understanding of the United States Constitution on both sides. In the end, most of these disputes about the rights of states directed to the Civil War. There existed reasons other than slavery on behalf of the South 's breakaway.