preview

Words To Describe Slavery

Decent Essays
Open Document

Dangerous, complex, and unjust are just three significant words that can be used to describe slavery. Numerous components within slavery made the practice so interesting for those witnessing it, and so calamitous for those participating. Writing themselves passes, slaves would attempt to escape the horrors they faced every day. However, if owners caught their slaves in the action of plagiarizing a pass for themselves, they would be punished, beaten, or sold based upon the laws of slavery. If a master was dissatisfied with their slave for whatever reason, the master “‘...may sell [slaves], dispose of [their] person, [their] industry, and [their] labor; [the slave] can do nothing, possess nothing, nor acquire anything but what must belong to his master’” (Costly). Slaves were the property of their holders, and …show more content…

Masters traded their slaves to more laborious work forces as punishment, but this concept of slave trade gradually became disliked among the United States. In attempt to intentionally end slave trade, President Thomas Jefferson passed an act that to withdrawal citizens of the United States from any more participation in slave trade in 1808. However, after the act had been put into action “as many a million enslaved African Americans were sold within the United States” (“US Law Abolishing Transatlantic Slave Trade Takes Effect”). Citizens continued slave trade and ignored the law because they wished to use slavery and the trading of slaves to their benefit, and did not take into consideration the effects slave trade had upon the slaves. In some parts of the country more than others, slave trade was more popular. Hosting great slave opportunity, the United States held multiple large slave auctions. Additionally, an immense auction was hosted in Savannah Georgia by

Get Access