Slavery In North America

The Development of Slavery in North America

The development of slavery in the Americas began as early as 1500, after the arrival of the Spanish, and first centered around the Caribbean. However, a lucrative triangle trading system between England, Africa and North America greatly increased the slave trade during the 1600’s (Foner, 38). At the time, slavery was driven by market forces, and largely defined by geographical necessity. Landowners had large plantations, located in areas with small populations and did not have access to the cheap labor necessary to cultivate lucrative crops like tobacco and sugar. They needed slaves to economically survive and prosper. Later, in the American colonies of the south, the entire economic and social structure

depended on the institution of slavery. Ideologically, slavery was not compatible with the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence. Slavery went against the values and morals of many colonial Americans, but anti-slavery voices were disregarded in the interest of unity and economic prosperity.
Slavery existed in Africa before the arrival of Europeans but the Spanish were the first to bring slaves to the New World to cultivate sugarcane. While the Spanish were responsible for many atrocities against the indigenous peoples, many were uncomfortable with the brutality of the treatment against both Indians and slaves. Bartolomé de Las Casas, a Spanish historian and Friar Missionary, was one of the first Spanish settlers in the Americas wrote about the injustices of Spanish rule, and believed that “the entire human race is one.” (Foner, 54). His complaints led to the New Laws, in 1542, which prohibited the enslavement of Indians. However, he still supported African slavery, showing that even amongst religious progressive Europeans, slavery was an accepted practice.
Between 1607 and 1700, over half a million English people came to the North America (Foner, 73). The English arrival in North America ushered in a new era of slavery. Some English arrived in the colonies as indentured servants, under fixed contract to provide labor for their transport, with no liberties until their obligations were over. In the North, Protestantism and related Puritan ethics dominated the colonies, which emphasized hierarchies and fate. To them, slaves were predestined to be slaves, although many disliked the practice. The economies of the Southern colonies were often completely dependent on labor intensive crops, like tobacco. As a result, the desire for slaves, the cheapest labor possible, increased. In the seventeenth century, ideas about the morality of slavery were not fully developed. Africans were almost seen as aliens, or almost a completely different species of human.
For much of the 1600’s, slavery was slow to develop and laws about slavery were not firmly established.

Some slaves enjoyed small amounts of freedom, and some became freemen. Anthony Johnson arrived a slave, and ended his life as a plantation owner. Slavery, particularly in the South, gained traction at the end of the 1600’s, when a social and economic elite joined forces and movements like Bacon’s Rebellion solidified power in the hands of white landowners. The institution of slavery accelerated into the 1700’s, when slaves became the primary source of labor in the South, promoting economic growth through the exportation of cash crops like tobacco. The anti-slavery movement, and slaves desiring freedom and running away from their owners also intensified during this time period (Foner,

95).
The economics and logistics of slavery contributed to its establishment as an institution in the United States. Slavery was part of a three part trade system between England, Africa, and North America. Slavery was facilitated by the triangular trade routes that crossed the Atlantic, sending sugar, cotton and tobacco to England, manufactured goods and rum to Africa, and then slaves to North America. Most Western African rulers took part in the slave trade, in exchange for valuable industrial goods, including guns, from England. The middle passage, which was stage two in the triangle trade, was the dangerous and inhumane voyage across the Atlantic. It fed three distinct systems of slavery throughout North America, which were organized differently depending on the crops grown. The Chesapeake colonies were relatively small, based on tobacco, and had close slave-master relationships and interaction. Further South, in South Carolina and Georgia, rice and indigo were more important, and required more land and slaves, so the plantations were much larger and the interaction between whites and blacks. By 1779, half of the population of South Carolina were slaves.
Although ideological and moral debates existed since the arrival of Europeans in North American, the development of slavery in the colonies was largely dependent on economy of scale and the types of crops and economies that existed in each geographical area. Tobacco, rice, and other crops required large plantations and a labor system that could cheaply cultivate the land. Large scale cultivation of crops required a large labor force. This created a unique society and economy in the South, and its existence was dependent on slavery. In the north, slavery was much different. Since the North had smaller farms, and more industrial factory work. As a result, slavery was less common, and smaller in scale. Slaves often worked in homes, or skilled labor, which offered them the opportunity to interact with whites, and have a larger degree of relative freedom. However, throughout the 1700’s slavery became more formal and institutional, with many laws in place and a rigid social division between blacks and whites. This created a social division between Americans who supported and benefited from slavery, and those who fought against the injustices, immorality and hypocrisy associated with living in a “free” country that enslaved other humans.
The United States was founded on declarations of the importance of freedom and equality. The Declaration of Independence is rooted in anti-slavery ideas. The Founding Fathers used the concept of “slavery” as a political term, used to protest England’s authoritative rule (Foner). Moreover, America was about a new way of life, associated with religious and economic freedom. Enlightenment philosophers like John Locke were influential, and proposed that all men had inalienable rights, and were born equal. Early Americans believed that England was a “kingdom of slaves,” ruled by “masters” like King George, while they celebrated freedom, equality, and democracy. Ideologically, this was schizophrenic, because Americans were systematically imprisoning and exploiting other men for profit. On the other hand, freeing the slaves would be depriving their owners of property, which would be another form of tyranny. The framers of the Constitution and early American political leaders were aware a divisive split existed regarding slavery between the North and South, but largely ignored the moral issue of slavery when drafting early governmental documents like the Constitution and original Bill of Rights. America was fighting against England, and wanted to be as united as possible. Slavery was a divisive issue. The Founding Fathers concentrated on more practical concerns, but ignoring slavery only perpetuated it, setting the stage for the Civil War.
Ultimately, slavery was the standard in the United States because it allowed many white landowners to get rich, which was one of the primary interests of the Founding Fathers.

To a plantation owner, slaves were seen as a commodity or resource to be exploited, like tobacco or sugarcane. To many northern politicians, who may have been morally against slavery, it was not an issue worth splitting up the United States. It sustained the Southern economy, which relied almost exclusively on agriculture. However, it also went against the foundations of American democracy. As early as the 1770’s, there were signs that Americans were deeply divided over race. There was resistance against slavery and blacks were sometimes able to negotiate or buy their way out of slavery. During the American Revolution, General George Washington accepted black recruits and five thousand African-Americans served during the war. Some slaves gained freedom by serving in place of their owners. Over 100,000 blacks logically chose to fight with the English, and 15,000 fled for England after the war. In the North, the push for emancipation started early, almost immediately after the Revolutionary War, but this would turn out to be a very slow process, and instigate a division that would split the country in

half.

Work Cited
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012.

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