The Vagueness of the Emancipation Act of 1834

985 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Slave revolutions in the Caribbean

The Vagueness of the Emancipation Act of 1834

The Emancipation Act of 1834 changed the course of history and the lives of many people in Great Britain and her colonies. However, despite its careful preparation by the British Parliament there were several flaws in the Act.

The Act of Emancipation addressed many issues in order to bring about the much-desired abolition of slavery as smoothly as possible. The Act consisted of three main clauses: from August 1st 1834 slavery would be abolished and pronounced illegal in every British colony; a transitional apprenticeship period would come into effect for the emancipated slaves; and a grant of a substantial amount of money would be paid to the planters of the British Caribbean colonies to compensate for their losses. In addition to these clauses there were several minor ones: the period of apprenticeship and the interaction between the planter and the apprentice would be supervised by Stipendiary Magistrates hired by the British Government; the apprentice had to work submissively for the entire period and all attempts at escape were strictly forbidden; apprentices had to work for three-quarters of the week and overtime was to be rewarded with wages or provisions; the planter had to continue supplying his apprentices with the standard allowance they had during slavery; all slave children under the age of six and those born to slave mothers would be free; children who were destitute might be apprenticed until the age of twenty-one; the apprentice was allowed to buy his freedom before his contract was over and the planter had to accept his due payment whether he wanted to or not; in the case of voluntary discharge the master was still responsible for the care of aged or in...

... middle of paper ...

... the transitional period of apprenticeship than on the overall welfare of the slaves. In other words when the Act of Emancipation was put into effect in 1834, the slaves would not have had many reasons to celebrate since for a further four to six years, they would be tied to the plantation that represented all the things that they wanted to get away from when their freedom was obtained. The proposals of the Emancipation Act of 1834 were also quite indistinct in defining the actual authority of the planter in the workings of the apprenticeship system. One can formulate the assumption that the vagueness of the Act itself can be attributed to the fact that the interests of the apprentices after their release was not of the utmost importance to the majority of the British Government. Therefore the end result appeared to hold no real freedom for the 'emancipated' slaves.

Show More
Related

  • American Changes between 1825-1850

    397 Words  | 1 Pages

    In early America, between the years of 1825-1850, America was rapidly changing and reforming the way people lived. Societal problems and major discrepancies that had previously been overlooked began to rapidly gain awareness. The main idea of the reforms in the United States at this time was the relatively new sense of democracy. Reform sought to maximize these benefits in light of Democracy and for this reason came up with many changes in which greater good can be found through freedom, justice, and equality of all people.      In addition to extending social and political equality for women and the means to economic affluence for the poor (through education), a number of reforms also extended to various oppressed groups of freedom and justice. Abolitionists in the North sought to emancipate slaves in the cotton-cultivating South through the use of moral suasion as revealed by Patrick Reason’s engraving showing the deprivation of the Negro race in regards to their rights as humans, and later, political freedoms.

    Read More

  • The Impact of the Fugitive Slave Law on Abolitionism

    1112 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Impact of the Fugitive Slave Law on Abolitionism. In his first draft of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson accused the King of Britain of violating the sacred human rights of life and liberty by promoting slavery as a means of economic development. While Congress omitted this section from the final document, it does show that slavery was an issue for the American nation from its inception. So, while it may have been established by its mother country, the roots of slavery are laid deep in American soil.

    Read More

  • The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863

    1543 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 during the civil war, as main goal to win the war. Some historians argued that it was based on feelings towards slaves because not only it freed slaves in the South; it was also a huge step for the real abolition of slavery in the United States. While other historians argued that it was a military tactic because it strengthened the Union army, because the emancipated slaves were joining the Union thus providing a larger manpower than the Confederacy . The Emancipation Proclamation emancipated slaves only in the Confederacy and did not apply to the Border-states and the Union states.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Emancipation Proclamation

    770 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lincoln 's decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, was to up the North 's support so they wouldn 't go to the confederate side. Not only a change in North war, but a change in the slavery, like granting the slaves their freedom so they wouldn 't have any more slave revolts which would cause even more chaos in other words another war. "The Emancipation Proclamation granted freedom to the slaves in the Confederate states if the states did not return to the Union by January 1,1863. In addition, under the proclamation, freedom would only come to the slaves if the Union won the war." Abraham Lincoln president at the time, the northerners also known as the Union, the south also known as the confederates, and slave states still in

    Read More

  • Status of the Black Man: How the Civil War Changed It

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although the Civil War is celebrated as the time of emancipation, emancipation was not the primary issue at stake. This leads to wondering how the Emancipation Proclamation and the 14th amendment actually affected the life of the average black. If emancipation was a side effect or an afterthought, what did it really mean? Truly, although blacks were legally freed after the war, they were in many ways still enslaved to the white man. But although the majority of whites in the South did desire and often succeed in keeping the “freedmen” under their control, some few truly did desire to see blacks succeed in the world. Also, the status of blacks during the war was intriguing; for the North, blacks from the South and Northern blacks were treated the same. And that same was inferior to the whites of the North.

    Read More

  • Benefit Of The Emancipation Proclamation

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation; as the country headed toward the third year of the civil war. This proclamation stated: “that all persons held as slaves are, and hence forward shall be free,” however this only applied to the states that were no longer part of the union, leaving slavery untouched in other states. However the Emancipation Proclamation was needed to benefit African Americans.

    Read More

  • Debating the Role of African American’s Regarding Race and Reunion

    1746 Words  | 4 Pages

    2. Newly freedmen occupied the roles of trench diggers, and amounted to the status of no more than property: able to aide and respond to the efforts of the Union forces without question. Men, Women, and Children would share the obligations of advancing the Union struggle for restoration and reunion. Under this personal theory the slave is in fact still considered property but falls under the duties of complying to the authority of the Federal Government. The new supply of labor for the North benefitted the Slaves slightly but was more of a counter tactic that would be necessary for the victory of the war...

    Read More

  • The Civil Rights Movement: The Struggle Continues

    1177 Words  | 3 Pages

    President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 freed slaves in the Confederate states. But it did not guarantee anyone an education, a job, or a place to live. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution made slavery illegal. The Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments were passed later, and they were supposed to give blacks all their civil rights, especially the right to vote.

    Read More

  • The Cause Of The Civil War The Second American Revolution

    1831 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was in fact “proclaimed” there was still slavery in a new name. Just because, slavery was no longer permitted, it did not eliminate the ability for sharecropping to exist. The Emancipation Proclamation did not even free all slaves, meaning slaves in the borderline states were not free. The only slaves that were free, were the slaves that were in the states that went against the Union. However, it can be observed that there was a technological and medical revolution.

    Read More

  • the development of slavery in America

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    There were very few vague laws on slavery, but it was always a permanent servitude. At first slaves had limited rights, and were allowed to own land, after their period of slavery was over. They were allowed to marry and have children. The slave kids that were born while they were enslaved were not considered to be slaves, but to be free under the law. Indentured Servants helped the colonies increase their population.

    Read More

  • The Long Struggle for Civil Rights

    2179 Words  | 5 Pages

    All African Americans thought with the creation of civil rights, they would be free to do what all Americans could do. In the context of civil rights, emancipation means to be free from slavery. The process took much longer than they expected. Many fled to the North to gain their freedom, which was rightfully theirs. Legal slavery was removed from the North, but the population of slaves between the first emancipation and the end of the Civil war doubled, from roughly 1.8 million in 1827 to over four million in 1865. It was very difficult for southern farmers and those who owned slaves to immediately give up a lifestyle they were accustomed to and remove their slaves. White southerners viewed African Americans as their workers. They have lived with this mindset for so long, causing their transition to be challenging compared to the transition of the slaves in the north.

    Read More

  • The Emancipation Proclamation: The Confederate States Of The United States

    1247 Words  | 3 Pages

    "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other," said by Abraham Lincoln. In 1860 President Abraham Lincoln swore to keep slavery out of the territories, as a result the states in the south seceded and founded a new nation, the Confederate States of America. The government and most of the northern states refused to recognize the validity of their secession. They feared that the United States was going to drift apart and not be unified. They wanted to preserve the union at any cost. The civil war began

    Read More

  • Essay On The Abolitionist Movement

    1671 Words  | 4 Pages

    Also known as the Second Great Awakening, the Abolitionist Movement swept through the colonies in the early 1830’s. This was a movement to abolish slavery and to give blacks their freedom as citizens. Many men and women, free and enslaved, fought for this cause and many were imprisoned or even killed for speaking out. If it were not for these brave people, slavery would still exist today. The Abolitionist Movement paved the way in eradicating slavery by pursuing moral and political avenues, providing the foundation for the Underground Railroad, and creating a voice for African Americans.

    Read More

  • The Emancipation Proclamation And Its Consequences

    1688 Words  | 4 Pages

    During his election campaign and throughout the early years of the Civil War, Lincoln vehemently denied the rumour that he would mount an attack on slavery. At the outbreak of fighting, he pledged to 'restore the Union, but accept slavery where it existed', with Congress supporting his position via the Crittendon-Johnson Resolutions. However, during 1862 Lincoln was persuaded for a number of reasons that Negro emancipation as a war measure was both essential and sound. Public opinion seemed to be going that way, Negro slaves were helping the Southern war effort, and a string of defeats had left Northern morale low. A new moral boost to the cause might give weary Union soldiers added impetus in the fight. Furthermore, if the Union fought against slavery, Britain and France could not help the other side, since their 'peculiar institution' was largely abhorred in both European nations. Having eased the American public into the idea, through speeches that hinted at emancipation, Lincoln finally signed the Proclamation on January 1st 1863, releasing all slaves behind rebel lines. Critics argued that the proclamation went little further than the Second Confiscation Act and it conveniently failed to release prisoners behind Union lines. Nevertheless, Henry Adams summed up public reaction to the Proclamation as an 'almost convulsive reaction in our favour'.

    Read More

  • Slavery and Abolition

    1581 Words  | 4 Pages

    The term slave is defined as a person held in servitude as the chattel of another, or one that is completely passive to a dominating influence. The most well known cases of slavery occurred during the settling of the United States of America. From 1619 until July 1st 1928 slavery was allowed within our country. Slavery abolitionists attempted to end slavery, which at some point; they were successful at doing so. This paper will take the reader a lot of different directions, it will look at slavery in a legal aspect along the lines of the constitution and the thirteenth amendment, and it will also discuss how abolitionists tried to end slavery. This paper will also discuss how slaves were being taken away from their families and how their lives were affected after.

    Read More

More about The Vagueness of the Emancipation Act of 1834

Open Document