Runaway Slave Research Paper

In 1854 Abraham Lincoln gave his Peoria, Kansas speech opposing slavery stating the Kansas Act had a "declared indifference, but as I must think, a covert real zeal for the spread of slavery, I cannot but hate it. I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because” it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world”. Abraham Lincoln became the sixteenth President of the United States in 1861. Growing up in non-slave territories as a child and disapproving of slavery, Lincoln had little support in the South. With the country moving forward into a new capitalist society through modernization, new workers would be needed. The South, dependent on slave labor that Lincoln opposed begin to

What does it mean to be a slave? Ask any human being, and they will state that they too have been a slave. Being a slave to addiction, to a slave in a relationship, a slave to anxiety, a slave to work, maybe a slave to mental illness, and a slave to one's self-being. Sure, there may be moments in one's life that makes them feel like they have no other choice but to give in. However, there are some things that these people have that is a privilege, the right to say "no," the liberty to decide, and the freedom to act on decisions, to prohibit the temporary entrapment of, obstacles. African American slavery twisted the definition of what it was to be a slave. It meant that one is a product, and a tiny element apart of a more significant something,

How was the life of African American slaves in the south? The life of the African Americans was very hard. Slaves were used and tortured. These events were terrible or horrible. In the south, in 1860 there were about 400,000 slaves kept in households. Almost four million African Americans remained slavery. African Americans were living in bad places. Slaves extended their own culture, fellowship, and community. They joined Americans and Africans as an element to create a new culture (433). Communication and being together is important in their lives.

White historians in the past described the relationship between slavery in the American South and the rising political power and economic growth of the United States as i.e. timely unrelated. Furthermore, white historians believed that slavery had no impact on America’s modern economy or industrialization. Perhaps slavery wasn't considered a “modern” institution because to acknowledge it as a modern act in society would be to recognize it as something commonplace in that specific day and age.

The working and living conditions of the enslaved Africans in the New World were inhumane. It was brutal, degrading, and stripped the slaves of their humanities. They were met with harsh physical abuse such as whipping, beating, shackling, mutilation, branding, imprisonment, and even sexual abuse. Slaves were usually beat if they were disobedient, but some were beat by their owners to solely assert dominance. The barracks that the slaves were kept in were tightly packed and securely locked down to prevent anyone from escaping, usually with barbed wire at the top. Slaves received hardly any food and water and were malnourished, some even dying from this.

Slavery is fundamental to the economy. It can be said that slavery is as old as civilization. It started in the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia, 1619, to aid in the production of such lucrative crops as tobacco. The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 solidified the central importance of slavery to the South’s economy. African-American slaves helped build the economic foundations of the new nation. White slave owners did not understand or allow the practice of African traditions and customs. Slaves were forced to find new forms of expression.

On September 22, President Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that as of January 1, 1863, all slaves in the slave states “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” As a result, although many aside freed slaves that stayed on the plantations, the ones that left found themselves with no alternative way to earn a living. As Frederick Douglas stated in his autobiography; “free from the individual master, but the slave of society” (Tye, 20).

“ Over a period of the Atlantic slave trade, from approximately 1526 to 1867, some 12.5 million slaves had been shipped from Africa, and 10.7 million had arrived n the Americas” (1). Now fast forward to before the time of the Civil War and think of how many more African Americans that have gotten kidnapped and brought to the Americas. That is a lot of African American people that were turned into abused slaves that had to work day and night for whites.

In paragraph three of his speech, Lincoln (1863) stated, “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish.” He pleaded to the people and called to each person’s emotions to bring forth and influence the decisions, which lead to the nation’s progression. Lincoln also provoked the logical aspect as he reminded the audience that they direct the nation’s government and hold responsibility for its

From 1775-1830, America saw its slavery institution expand. One major factor that contributed to the growth of enslaved African Americans was the increase in agriculture in the South. Cotton, a long standing staple crop of the southern states, was a very labor intensive crop to harvest. Because of this need for labor, many plantation owners and farmers continued to purchase slaves. In addition to the fact that cotton was very laborious to pick, plantation owners wanted more and more land to plant the crop on because it was such a success. As more land was obtained, more slaves were needed to work the land. In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. This invention sparked an increase in the number of enslaved African Americans in the South

Following the Civil War President Abraham Lincoln knew that something needed to be done in order to gain back, some, normalcy in America. In his speech at Gettysburg, Lincoln described how all men are created equal and have been since America was formed. President Lincoln hinted, to get back to some form of normalcy, men needed to be considered equal again. As the North and South fought against one another, the belief of equality was tested. With one part of the country supporting slavery and the other against it, equality was questioned if it would be around by the end of the war. As the speech continued, President Lincoln shared his thoughts on the government and its people. What he was trying to get across and hint at, throughout the whole

The peace and personal security of the people were endangered, Lincoln was saying that no it’s not his people to interfere with slavery owners. A free man be not in any can case surrendered as a slave. And might not be well at the same time to provide by law, for the enforcement of that clause in the constitution.

“The world has never had a good definition of the word Liberty, and the American people, just now, are much in want of one. We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing.” Abraham Lincoln was born on February 14th, 1809 in a small town called Hodgenville, KY with a mission of equality. Abraham Lincoln changed Americans view on the decision toward slavery. Additionally, male slaves were captured in Africa, and forced from their native land leaving their wife and children behind. Likewise, if families were captured during this time, women and children were treated the same way. Slaves were then chained together by their legs, wrists, and around their throats, and forced to walk sometimes as much as six hundred miles to the coast. Slaves where then placed on a ship for as long as eight weeks headed to America. Slaves were piled into cramped spaces below the ship, and the heat and smell was over whelming. Once the ship landed slaves were sold to a slave owner. Slaves would have to make some hard decisions during their stay if they wanted freedom. For example poisoning their owner, suicide, or the slave would set the plantation on fire and then run away. Slaves just wanted to be free, given the right to vote, and a better life for their children. By 1960 there was an estimated 4

Imagine being told hideous stories growing up as a child, living in fear of being captured, taken away from your family, beaten, and even killed. Yes, this may sound like a Hollywood horror movie script, but was actually a harsh reality for children involved with the slave trade. In the year 1807, the United Kingdom passed a Bill that had abolished the slave trade within the British Empire. This Bill did not abolish slavery itself, but lead to the British Navy’s missions of intercepting slaving ships along the coast of West Africa (Burroughs). A photograph taken in the year 1869, shows around 95 slave children that had been rescued from a slaving vessel and brought aboard the Daphne one of the many British Navy ships (Sulivan). In the photograph none of the children are smiling, or show any signs of joy from being rescued from such a cruel fate. Giving the photograph an eerie atmosphere while staring into the signs of pain, sadness, and uncertainty that rest upon the children’s faces. Being so young, the now liberated slave children may have been mentally influenced, or broken by the slavers and the cruel sights that they may have witnessed or had to endure. Depicting the children as hopeless, mentally broken, with an uneasiness in their hearts of what is

“A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free” (Phillips, 1993). These are the words spoken of a candidate running for the US Senate in 1858 and the speech was regarded as too radical for those times and the candidate was not nominated to the senate. When asked why didn’t change the subject of the speech, he simply replied “I can’t.” This candidate later became our 16th president and his name was Abraham Lincoln. We will review how Lincoln used his traits as a leader, use of adaptability, demographic diversity, and accountability. Lincoln was a visionary leader and an ethical leader and this essay will explain how he used his ethical and visionary traits to free slaves