Growth+of+Slavery+in+the+1800's

By Ryan S.


 * Growth of Slavery in the 1800's **

The 1800's were the age of great suffering in America. About 25 years earlier, this wasn't even a nation. But over that period of time slavery will take a turn for the worst. Slaves in the 1800's were used merely as farm workers. They were in the fields picking cotton and tobacco, day and night. At the slave blocks, slaves prayed that they would be bought by a kind and generous owner, but most were treated with cruelty. Any laborious job you can think of, African American slaves had to do it. These men, women, and children were put into a world of merciless consequences and were made to do the worst of things imaginable. In the 1800's, the slaves had had enough of life threatening hardship; they decided it was time to escape the clutches of slave-owners for good. They developed a intangible or invisible set of pathways northward into freedom. Some of the most famous African Americans were those that passed along this hidden journey; Harriet Tubman, Fredrick Douglass, and hundreds more.   Slavery before the Civil War was one of the most controversial issues in America at the time. Many northerners began to feel that slavery was immoral and sinful. These abolitionists pushed for African American freedom by forming an anti-slavery movement all across America. But the Southerners did not pay attention toward the abolitionists' feeble movement. Major Congressional arguments concerning slavery include the three-fifths compromise, Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, and the Dred Scott Decision. These conflicts divided the nation in two and would later be a large spark that led to the Civil War. Southerners believed that slavery would help them economically, even though most Southerners did not own slaves. Most Northerners were abolitionists at the time and would do anything to stop slavery from reaching as far as the Western Frontier and in the East. Eventually, this argument will lead to two forces clashing against one another for four years, the Civil War. Friend vs. friend, neighbor vs. neighbor, brother vs. brother. The bloodiest war in American history. After two years of fighting Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves from their enslaved homes. Unfortunately, very few slaves actually gained their freedom. But most importantly, blacks were now allowed to enlist in the Union army. The Union benefited from greatly Lincoln's Proclamation; many black men will then sign themselves into duty. They fought together like brothers for a purpose only to abolish slavery.

Between the years of 1800 and 1899, slavery had taken an up and down roller coaster. At one time, everyone thought slavery as common and minded only their business. Make blacks work at farms, industries, whatever. But as people started to realize is that the possession and control of another human being was immoral, they spoke up. And nonetheless, it was a major factor in a catastrophic war in our nation. But the thirteenth amendment was passed, that all changed. Slavery throughout America would now be outlawed forever, on December 18, 1865. This was the turning point for blacks in America. They now could not be owned by another person, only themselves. By the end of the 1800's, blacks were a small part of society unlike the regular white man. But they had rights, they could vote (fifthteenth amendment), and most of all, they were proud to call themselves Americans.

This picture depicts a African American family in the south. This was a rare thing to have in the 1800's, a close family. Most families were either split up by buying and selling at the slave blocks. Slaves also hoped for kind and generous slave-owners, that would not get up set with the slaves; thus, a less chance of getting separated.

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