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Slavery in the mid 1800's

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From the early stages of colonization, the institution of slavery would continually become established within the United States. This creation not only functioned as a system of labor, but also as a system for regulating the relations between the races. The North and South profited greatly at the expense of shackled and separated families, up until the early 1800’s as the idea of slavery became a topic to be repeatedly examined. Slavery was not only a practice of owning a person, but controlling and ruling over every action that they take in order to benefit at their expense. These black men, women, and children did not have the same rights as white Americans living among them. In fact, they had no rights at all and no freedoms. They …show more content…

Although they would not receive this freedom until 1864, blacks began to resist their master’s authority in many ways in the early 1800’s. The ways that a slave might rebel in this time were miniscule, and were all they needed to gain strength as a people united under this labor system. One way that slaves would resist their bondage was by running away. They did this by hiding in various places, such as a nearby forest or even another plantation where they might find another relative or friend. Some were lucky enough to get away for a while until they would most likely get caught and returned with much punishment. Another example of how African slaves would rebel would be to not work well, or by slowing down. By doing this, they would cost their masters more money. Similarly, labor unions would use this tactic in order to band together to bring about change in certain situations. Subtle ways in which slaves would resist their mistreatment would be to carelessly do their jobs. One might spit in their master’s drink, or misplace or break tools, and even fake illnesses. One might go as far as stealing from their master. They would take animals (for meat), produce, and certain luxuries of the owner. These were small ways that slaves could make a statement, parallel to the work of labor unions to this day.
Slaves also resisted by planning and organizing rebellions. A prominent one was known as the Stono Rebellion in 1739. It

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