Slavery Dbq

Slavery ended in the US only after the implementation of the relevant reform that helped people to realize that the country progress was not possible without the abolition of slavery

In the 17th century, the Americans started practicing the culture of slavery in the country. Most of the slaves belonged to Africa, and they were mainly used for the cultivation of tobacco and cotton plant. Moreover, they played an important role in strengthening the economy of the U.S. states. However, they did not have a right to liberty, equality, and education that made them inferior to whites. This situation tore the nation apart and resulted in a bloody civil war that claimed the lives of 620000 soldiers. It is imperative to mention that slavery ended in

the U.S. only after the implementation of the relevant reform that helped people to realize that the country progress was not possible without the abolition of slavery that spread hatred, immorality, and inhumanity among people.
In the U.S., slavery started when white locals brought the African people to the North American in 1619 in order to use them as labors for the production of tobacco crops. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Americans colonies and states continued the practice of slavery. Consequently, the blacks played a vital role in strengthening the economy of a new nation. In 1793, with the evolution of the cotton gin machine, slavery became crucial to the South’s agricultural growth. However, the treatment of slaves in the US differed from time, condition and place. Mostly, urban slaves in the northern states enjoyed the better working environment and more liberty as compared to their counterparts in other regions of the country. With the development of slavery culture, the number and importance of slaves progressively increased in the country. However, they had to face more rigorous laws and punishments than ever before. Similarly, their white masters treated them in a brutal and inhuman way. Lashing, executions and sexual abuse were ordinary, and slaves did not have a right to educational opportunities. Moreover, they did not have access to quality health care, their fellow slaves used to give them medical aid in time of need. These circumstances forced American-African people to start the struggle for freedom.
After the American Revolution, numerous settlers (especially in the North, where servitude was generally insignificant to the economy) started to protest against the sufferings of dark slaves and compared it with their own persecution by the British.

In 1844, 65 women from Philadelphia signed the Anti-Slavery Petition and presented it to Congress for the abrogation of slavery (“Anti-Slavery Petition”). Nevertheless, after the independence war, the new American Constitution indirectly acknowledged the right of slaves and considered them 3/5 of an individual for the purposes of representation in Congress and charging tax. In the mid-19th century, with the modernization of America, the colonists in North stirred up a great discussion over the slavery institution that ultimately divided the nation. However, in 1850, Senator Henry Clay made “an attempt to seek a compromise and avert a crisis between North and South” (“Primary Document in American History”). An important factor that was responsible for this war was the conflict that existed between the people in the North who were supporting the abolition of slavery and owners of slaves in the South. However, when the fight erupted, President Lincoln asserted that the main objective of the war was the protection of the Union. Moreover, in the initial years of the war, President Lincoln endorsed the anti-slavery movement in order to back military

strategy.
In August 1861, President Lincoln acknowledged the First Confiscation Act approved by Congress, which asserted that slaves fleeing to Union lines would be treated as contraband that meant their masters did not have a lawful right to possess them. However, before the approval of this act, leaders of Union had to refuse blacks who wanted protection in the North and sent them back to their slaveholders in the South. After getting legal recognition as contraband many slaves fled the South. Afterward, the Union inducted the escapees in the army services. The Congress passed the Second Confiscation Act that gave authority to the president to hire blacks for the Union army. Consequently, only those people got liberty that fought for the Union, it implied that freedom was not a right but a reward for escapees.
In 1863, President Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation that granted liberty to slaves in the allied states of the U.S.

(“Emancipation Proclamation”). However, the Proclamation neither implemented in slaveholding states that remained faithful to the Union nor in rebellious states vanquished by the Union army before its issuance. In spite of that it had profound significance. In 1864, a slave woman named Annie Davis wrote a letter to the president and inquired him "Will you please let me know if we are free" (“Letter from Annie”). She belonged to Maryland that was not free at the time; however, the state rewrote its constitution in November 1864 and abolished the slavery. With the Emancipation Proclamation, the nature of the struggle between North and South changed into a war to abolish servitude. Finally, the Union won the Civil War, and it ended in 1865. Shortly after the war, Congress made the thirteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution that declared slavery unlawful in every part of the country and freed African-Americans people. Furthermore, the Bill of Rights 1866 granted equal rights to American-African people (“Act of April”). After 13th amendment, this act gave some fundamental economic rights to

blacks.
In the past, slavery was a common practice in the U.S. Many colonists enslaved African people and used them for the cultivation purpose. However, with the modernization, people in the North realized that the country progress was not possible without eradicating the slavery institution. Later on, the differences between North and South resulted in a horrible civil war that claimed the lives of millions of people. At last, the victory of the Union over rebellious states ended the culture of servitude in America. Afterward, Congress ratified the 13th amendment and gave freedom to every slave. Abolition of slavery is an important factor in the progress of the nation.