Slavery in the 1800s

In the 1700’s and 1800’s, the planter elite class of the American South conspired with both federal and state governments and other whites to institutionalize slavery in order to protect their economic and social power and way of life. Their efforts were generally wide spread, simple, blatant and generally very effective.

During the 19th century, so known “peculiar institution” of slavery dominated labor systems of the American South, also dominated most production in the US and led to a boost of the economy of the New Republic. By the 1850 's, US had become a country segregated into two regional identities, known as the Slave South and the Free North. While the South maintained a pro-slavery identity that supported and protected the expansion of slavery westward, the North largely held abolitionist views and opposed the slavery’s westward expansion. Until the 1850 's the nation uncertainly balanced the slavery subject between the two opponents. However, the acquisition of the Louisiana territories in 1803 by the Jefferson administration doubled the size of the US and the victory in the Mexican-American War extended the territory to the Pacific which quadrupled the area of the US. Ultimately, the territorial expansion led to the spread of slavery. In this essay, I will describe some of the reasons for the expansion of slavery including its influence in national politics, and consequences such as political debates and crises of 1850’s.

Throughout the 1800’s, slavery was a very widespread and common thing in all of the United States. In Tennessee, though, there was a large amount involvement in slavery. Almost all the African Americans living in Tennessee were slaves, and about ¼ of all people living in Tennessee were slaves. Throughout the entire state of Tennessee there were more than 275,000 slaves, and they made up ¼ (25%) of the population. 25% of white families owned slaves, and while these families made a large portion of the population, most families owned a small number of slaves. There was one person in Tennessee who owned more than 300 slaves, 47 people owned more than 100 slaves, and more than ¾ of all slave masters held less than 10 slaves.

When thinking about the past and older times your brain will most likely jump to the colonial times and the era of the Civil War. During this time people were evolving and the world was becoming more advanced in technology and other areas. Nonetheless, all the good that happened during these times could not outcast the war and tragedy; and there was lots of it. The time period for this was around the 1600s to 1865. In that long stretch of period lots of events occurred that would forever alter the course of history and how our world is shaped today. Not many of these events were positive though. However, among all these events and the chaos in the world, there was one very “popular” debate that kept popping up no matter the time frame. This

Slavery had always been a big issue in the 19th century. The south believed that slavery was essential for the development of the southern economy. As seen in document one, there is a strong controversy about the rights of slaves. Northerners had stated that they, “deny the authority of Congress, of a territorial legislature, or of any individuals, to give legal existence to slavery in any territory of the United States.” (Document 1). Southerners, on the other hand, believed that, “all citizens of the United States have an equal right to settle with their property in the Territory, without their rights, either of person or property, being...impaired...” (Document 1). The ongoing quarrel on the rights of slavery leads to continuous tension between the two divisions of the country. The North, which depends strictly on manufacturing and industrial factories, disapproves of the usage of slavery

Unquestionably, the scourge of slavery has left a dark imprint on African-American history. However, some envisage its nefarious consequences only in terms of those who survived enslavement. Those who, quite frankly, should know better either downplay or outright ignore this terrible event that still causes sizable shock waves in our culture today. An alarming number of people conflate the end of slavery with the end of oppression. While those who were literally enslaved and later emancipated bore the brunt of slavery, the first free generation of children surmounted tremendous obstacles, some of which African-Americans must still face today. Utilizing “Beloved” by Toni Morrison, “The Ghosts of Slavery” by Linda Krumholz, and “Raising Freedom’s

In the second half of chapter 3, the new colonists were looking for ways of labor, rather than working themselves. While many English colonists wanted to force native Indian labor, they were unsuccessful in doing so. Instead they looked back into another source of workers that were used by the Spaniards and Portuguese: enslaved Africans. If it was not for the enslaved to produce products for elite whites, then Jamestown would still be struggling economically and not be able to give England a big profit. By the 1700s one of every eight person was a black person from Africa.It was also seen to settlers as an investment in purchasing slaves rather than servants, because slaves were never freed. Mortality rates had begun declining in the late 1680s, planters could reasonably expect a slave to live longer than a servant’s period of indenture. The two main crops that slaves worked on in the field were tobacco and sugar.

Slavery in the 1800’s on plantations was a very big deal. Slavery was common in South Carolina due to the plantation based economy. Women and men were constantly being auctioned to other slave owners to work in fields (“U.S History from 1812-1914”). Slaves were usually separated from their families due to slave auctions. Whenever they arrived to the fields they were treated inhumanly. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation stated that, “Slaves were often punished for taking breaks while working. Women slaves were also used for cooking, housework and childcare.” Not only were slaves separated from their family, they were also treated very poorly. Because of the mistreatment , it would soon lead to the Civil War.

In the early years of the 19th century, slavery was more than ever turning into a sectional concern, such that the nation had essentially become divided along regional lines. Based on economic or moral reasoning, people of the Northern states were increasingly in support of opposition to slavery, all the while Southerners became united to defend the institution of slavery. Brought on by profound changes including regional differences in the pattern of slavery in the upper and lower South, as well as the movement of abolitionism in the North, slavery in America had transformed from an issue of politics into a moral campaign during the period of 1815-1860, ultimately polarizing the North and the South to the point in which threats of a Southern disunion would mark the beginning of the Civil War in 1861 (Goldfield et. al, The American Journey, p. 281).

Hammond, in The Mudsill Theory, argued, when comparing slaves in the south to those in the north, that the southern slaves were well compensated without starvation, begging, or “want of employment.” He was trying to express the argument that were not unhappy and that there was no emancipation needed because slaves were prosperous. The sentiment of slaves as happy and free was a very common one in the 18th and 19th centuries. “The negro slaves of the south are the happiest and in some sense the freest people of the world. The children, the aged, and the infirm work not at all and yet have all the comfort and necessaries of life provided for them. They enjoy liberty because they are oppressed neither by care nor labor” (Fitzhugh paragraph 4). Finally, because black slaves were considered lower class citizens, they filled an important role in early American society. Slaves were relied upon to do menial tasks and because they were low on intellect and skill, they naturally occupied this low position in society. “Such a class you must have, or you would not have that other class which leads progress, civilization, and refinement” (Hammond paragraph 1). With this established role, it is easy to see that abolition would be difficult. In summary, the common perception that blacks were happy and well suited for their role as

Most African Americans were enslaved in the 1800s in America, especially in the south. This time period was also a time when women were not receiving adequate rights compared to men. Abolitionists, those working to end slavery, began coming together to fight the evils of slavery. Fredrick Douglass, a runaway slave, formed a new life after escaping by giving talks, working to abolish slavery, and writing a narrative of his whole life that he got published to help the movement to abolish slavery. In 1837, Sarah M. Grimke wrote, “Legal Disabilities of Women” which compared women 's rights to those of a slave. Sarah Grimke compared white American married women to slaves because she was infuriated with some laws that

During the colonization period on the US territory, England used racism to facilitate and legalize slavery. In 1705 Virginia Act established that slavery would apply to those people who were not Christians. Most of the slaves were black and were held by whites, although some Native Americans and free blacks also had slaves. In part due to success business around the tobacco in the southern colonies and the high demand for labor associated with it, the plantation owners turned to increase the importation of slaves into the late seventeenth century, a phenomenon no equally occurred in the north colonies. The south had a significantly higher number and proportion of slaves in the population. This method was emotional and physical all together.

The 1800s were a pivotal time for the United States. During these years, many different topics were up for dispute and compromises were being negotiated. Unfortunately, it was hard for all of the citizens to come to a complete compromise for the disputes. Some states had similar opinions, while others were in a deadlock. One of the biggest disputes during this time were over slavery. While other disputes only involved a few states, slavery was a dispute that caused unrest between two distinctive regions in the United States: the north, and the south. The northern states were all anti-slavery. These states were considered “free-states” and slavery was prohibited. The southern states were considered “pro-slavery.” This classification meant that this region was for slaves. For a small amount of time, there was a free/slave balance among the states. In 1819, this balance would be questioned and possibly be changed.

American’s who live in the 21st century know that slavery is terrible and also a touchy subject. But Americans used to rely heavily on slavery, how we perceive slavery in today’s society can either be the same or different from how others thought of slavery living within mid 1800s. People who resided in the northern region of American found slavery wrong as we do today. Americans who lived farther south however liked, and relied on slavery. In today’s world, we Americans almost all agree that slavery had been a negative factor of our country. But within the 1840s and 1870s, Americans had been divided by slavery. People that were against slavery created the union as the pro slavery citizens created the confederates. Today, we can see why people of the mid 19th century either supported slavery or rebelled against it by reviewing sources.

Slavery first began in the 17th century, but as time went on, the situation became worst to handle. Initially, Africans were enslaved and brought to North America. They were sold to colonists and were forced to work without making money. Slavery was permitted soon after and was most common on plantations in the South because of the fields. People began to recognize that it was wrong and considered putting an end to it while others did not wish to do the same which is what led to many social, economical, and political issues. The issue of slavery is the driving force for most of the political controversies during the 19th century for many reasons. Reasons such as the cause of emotional distress, lack of freedom, and the absence of safety.