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The development of slavery in Colonial America
History of slavery in the 1600s
The development of slavery in Colonial America
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Slave resistance in the 18th century had a huge impact on the abolition of slavery. Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence which was written in 1776, once wrote this famous phrase that, “all men are created equal.” In America, equality of humanity was long desired, sought after by slaves, and abolitionists since the first African slaves were brought over by ship to the Virginian colony in 1619. Much felt that slavery should not exist, that it should not be allowed, and they wanted it abolished. Resistance was shown in many ways that we would all just naturally think of like rebelliousness, faking a sickness, or working at a slow pace just to name a few. Some significant people like the Quakers and Olaudah Equiano, as well as significant rebellions like the Stono Rebellion in 1739 and Gabriel's Rebellion in 1800, all had a substantial impact on the success of the abolition of slavery.
The start of the abolition and resistance of slavery came during a time of a growing awareness of moral issues, such as liberty and equality, this period is called the Enlightenment. Another compelling reason for slave resistance was the increased public awareness of the horrors of slavery, such as the terrible conditions that Africans had experienced on the slave ships.
Early opposition of slavery started with religious figures or groups and courageous individuals. One of the first religious groups who were against slavery were the Quakers, in the late 1600's (Bailey, p.147). They felt very strongly that their morals could not allow them to
support or agree with this type of trade. They immediately began debating the slave trade using religious writing's as their arguments as to why they felt this way. Unfortu...
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...re profiting nicely from their slaves, who had much to lose from the abolition of slavery. Although the anti-slavery movement might not have been “perfectly virtuous” as some older historians have stated, most, if not all, of the abolitionists were driven by moral concerns. Perhaps more accurate would be to say that moral, political, economic, and religious reasons all played a part in the abolition of slavery, but that it was the persistence of those of the moral persuasion that eventually ended slavery.
Works Cited
"Petition of a Grate Number of Blackes" to Thomas Gage, May 25, 1774
Bailey, Richard. “The Christological Writings of Maurice Creasey: A Response,” Quaker Religious Thought 120.1 (2013).
Olaudah, Equiano. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Yassa, Written by Himself. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995.
Olaudah Equiano’s spiritual autobiography follows him across his remarkable journey. His narrative follows his spiritual and physical period of enslavement, conversion to Christianity and ultimate escape from the life as a slave. Also, it succeeds with a spiritual rebirth and ultimately, his physical freedom and independence. Equiano finally gains his liberty and begins to develop his character as he converts his religion and becomes a faithful man. Equiano immerses himself and is allowed to blend into Western society.
One of the larger abolitionist groups, The American Anti-Slavery Society, opposed the Acts of 1793, claiming them to be unconstitutional. They, like many, believed that each state had the right to legislate in regards to its policies on abolition and aimed to convince the South that slaveholding was a heinous crime in the sight of God. The Society also endeavored, in a constitutional way, to influence the Congress to put an end to domestic servitude and prevent its extension into any new state to enter the Union.... ... middle of paper ...
Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. Edited by Angelo Costanzo. Orchard Park, NY: Broadway Literary Texts, 2004.
In the 1820's, the abolitionist has not attracted many followers because there seemed to be no way to abandon slavery without another revolution. As the constitution stated that states can allow slavery, though the Northerners did not want slavery, they felt it was not their responsibility to fight against with it. State leaders such as John Adams who was against slavery, were scared to speak out against slavery as they fear to lose the support from the slave owners. During this critical period, people need a radical hero to facilitate the American Revolution.
John Brown is one abolitionist who stands out amongst the rest and has been noted as one of the most important men in the process of abolishing slavery. It was Brown’s work that sparked the revolts and fighting that would occur between the North and the South after his time. Brown can be considered a hero on account of his actions in Kentucky and Virginia. After the Turner revolt, the topic of slavery took over American politics (3,91). Congressman David Wilmot suggested that legislation prohibit slavery in new territories that were conquered from the victory in a war with Mexico (3,91).
There are many aspects contributing to the rise of slavery and decline of indentured servitude. The beginning of slavery started when Columbus invaded Hispaniola and enslaved the Arawaks . This was the first time people thought to enslave people against their will for labor. Hard labor and diseases nearly killed off their race, essentially concluding that they were no longer available candidates for labor. Indentured servitude was used as bait to lure people into enslavement and eventually began to fade due to multiple historical events, such as The Bacon Rebellion . African Americans became an easy target because they were less prone to diseases and their bodies were capable of such intense and difficult labor. As slavery began to rise in popularity certain laws were passed through Congress that supported slavery.
In early nineteenth century there was the antislavery movement which was a failure. This people who were fighting for antislavery did not have a great support. They were nice gentle people who argued with an expression of moral disapproval but did not participate in an exert of activities. Organizations were formed to help support the freeing of slaves but these organizations did not have enough economical support to help with the thousands and thousands of slaves reproducing in America. They were able to free some slaves and tried returning some of them to their home lands in Africa but that was a failure because the amount of money need it to ship the Africans back to Africa was a high cost compared to the economical support that they had. There was even resistance from some Afr...
The Growing Opposition to Slavery 1776-1852 Many Americans’ eyes were opened in 1776, when members of the Continental Congress drafted, signed, and published the famous document “The Declaration of Independence” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By declaring their independence, many of the colonists believed that slaves should have the same rights as the whites had. Abolition groups were formed, and the fight to end slavery began. In 1776, Delaware became the first state to prohibit the importation of African slaves. One year later, in 1777, Vermont became the first colony to abolish slavery (within Vermont’s boundaries) by state constitution.
The abolishment of slavery was not an overnight occurrence and many events led to the increase of support to do away with slavery. Even though the preceding events before the abolitionist movement of 1830 did have support, they only had a minority and did not connect the nation as a whole like the revolution did. The revolution of 1830 had a greater impression on the entire nation than the movements prior to 1830 because of William Lloyd Garrison and the various ways he transformed abolition, the influence of black abolitionists, and the advent of abolitionist politics.
Olaudah, Equiano. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Yassa, Written by Himself. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995.
By 1860, the slave states had approximately four million slaves making up approximately one-third of the South's population. However, opposition to slavery began as early as the 1700's by religious leaders and philosophers in North America and Europe who condemned the practice, arguing that slavery was contrary to God's teachings and violated basic human rights. During the Revolutionary War, many Americans came to feel that slavery in the United States was wrong because they believed that protection of human rights was one of the founding tenets of the United States, and slaves were not accorded rights. Slavery was likely opposed more rapidly in the North in part because fewer people in the North owned slaves. Northern abolitionists began organized efforts to end the practice of slavery in the 1800's. But much of the American South, believed that slavery was vital to the continuation of its livelihood and lifestyle and therefore defended the institution of slavery.
Some of the persisting goals of antislavery activism were legal emancipation, aid to runaway slaves through vigilance groups and the Underground Railroad, civil rights for freed blacks in the north, and education, suffrage, and economic advancement for African-Americans. Perhaps the most unifying ideal of the anti-slavery movement was that the racial basis for American slavery could be undermined by promoting Christian values, education and economic progress among free blacks to show that they were capable of succeeding as individuals in an integrated American society. Richard Allen, leader of the A.M.E. church, stated the case for black progress as an answer to the justifications of slaveholders: “if we are lazy and idol, the enemies of freedom plead it as a cause why we ought not to be free.” In addition to the connection between abolition and economic and social progress, most abolitionists worked for the assurance of civil rights and legal protection for free blacks, who lived in an anomalous condition of “freedom” without citizenship and with constant threat of discrimination, violence, and abduction to be sold into slavery.
This movement in the United States was an American push to end slavery in the country that valued individual opportunity and considered "all men were made equivalent" (Historynet). After some time, the abolitionists started to become more impatient in their demands, and the slave owners felt accustomed from the responses therefore encouraging controversy that ultimately led to the American Civil War.
Douglass writes, “We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and to the future” (115). Resistance was necessary not only to overthrow colonial oppression by the British, but slave oppression by their masters. Douglass makes the metaphor of oppressed slaves to the oppressed colonies to correlate the two through resistance. His main purpose behind the speech is to encourage his mostly white audience to resist slavery and join the abolitionist movement, much like the Patriots resisted the Crown and joined the revolutionary movement. Resistance was important to freeing the slaves. Douglass himself is a key example of resistance. He escapes slavery and becomes a famous figure who speaks about
As a result of the abolitionist movement, the institution of slavery ceased to exist in Europe and the Americas by 1888, although it was not completely legally abolished in Africa until the first quarter of the 20th century. While the abolitionist movement's greatest achievement was certainly the liberation of millions of black people from servitude, it also reflected the triumph of modern ideas of freedom and human rights over older social forms based on privileged elites and social stratification.