The Pros And Cons Of Slavery

Referred to as the “peculiar” institution, slavery has been a ubiquitous presence throughout the history of the United States, with industrialization acting as its powerful, economic engine. The institution itself has metamorphosed as the demand for labor and productivity has increased, even while civil rights measures have become more prevalent over time. American society’s preconception of slavery has often involved the images of masters, shackles and plantations; nonetheless, the contemporary implementation of this institution often involves CEOs and wardens (masters) paying menial wages to their workers (economic shackles) in corporate-owned factories and prisons (plantations). Since a slave is defined by Merriam-Webster as, “one who is completely subservient to a

This institution was, in essence, a legal labor contract that was designed and enforced by the Virginia Company. It was intended to provide established, American colonists with a steady labor force of European migrants who were desperate to cross the Atlantic, yet lacked the financial means to do so. Under the terms of the contract, the owners of the means of production would own the labor of these “indentured servants” for a period of years until their contract debt was paid. It was an extremely profitable arrangement, largely because of the burgeoning international demand for colonial cash crops such as: tobacco, indigo, and rice. The institution of indentured servitude had further economic implications according to Davis W. Galenson, “once the legal basis of the institution had been laid down it could also be used to improve the functioning of markets for credit for other purposes” (1984:7); specifically, an owner of an indenture contract could use the labor of an indentured servant as collateral for other goods and services in the