So just as I promised I will now give a full detailed summary of the dark history of slavery in the United States. I consider this to be America's most atrocious institutions in history, even more so then the wickedly cruel removal of the Native Americans. It's quite mind-boggling to me to consider that slavery such as this existed only 150 years ago. This barbaric treatment of humanity is no different than the slaves of ancient Egypt or Rome, forced to work until death. It's a topic I often avoid as it is very depressing, however think everyone should be well versed in this past. In order to seek enlightenment one must understand all aspects of history and reasoning.
For me my fascination with a historical topic is often derived from a movie I watch. When it comes to the topic of slavery, there's a few movies that stand out to me; Gone with the Wind (1939), Glory (1989), Amistad (1997), Lincoln (2012), Django Unchained (2012), 12 Years a Slave (2013), and Harriet (2019). These are all very good movies and I would consider 12 Years a Slave probably the heaviest when it comes to artistic, dramatic, and emotional quality. But this summer I've expanded my historical sources with more reading, which gives me even better insight into the era. I have recently read several classic books such as the Narrative of Frederick Douglass as an American Slave, Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington, and the famous iconic novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin (which I am half way thru and will later have a book review to come).
I always try to look at a controversial topic from both sides, but there can be no question whatsoever that slavery was completely immoral. And the South cannot take the entire brunt of the blame, since they did not establish it, yet were just the last to get rid of it. I suppose from the Southerners perspective their business was primarily in agriculture and long before the days of tractors and farm equipment, their labor force was their slaves. However the big question then comes why couldn't the southerners just pay their field workers and not own them like livestock. This ultimately leads to the sad truth of racism; by which still exists today this notion of white superiority.
It's funny how you often meet kind and mean people in all races, nations, religions, and creeds. Everyone has different ideological beliefs, and yet all people (no matter their gender, race, or beliefs) thrive for righteousness. There is a common human element of goodness in every person. But this notion of ethnic superiority is purely wicked, and has led to some of history's most darkest chapters (the Spanish Inquisition, the removal of Native Americans, Slavery, and the Holocaust). There can even be kind people (so-called "Christians") who believe their racist ideology is for the betterment of humanity, and still this is very misplaced. It's one thing to fear what you do not understand, but it's an entirely different matter to hate someone because they are different.
The Atlantic Slave Trade
Now human slavery has been around since the early pre-historic civilizations, ever since one group was able to conquer another. This method of forced labor proved to be more productive then killing their prisoners. All great ancient civilizations were built by the hands of slaves, as far back as Egypt, China, Greece, Rome, even the Mayans. The conquest and utilization of African slaves began to boom during the Age of Discovery in the 1500s. The reasoning for this was due to the sudden need for a labor force in the booming colonies. Even though the Spanish conquerors had enslaved the natives, they still needed more workers. Portugal was the first European nation to raid African settlements in the Canary Islands and use them as slaves.
By the mid 1500s both Spain and Portugal had conquered many tribes along Western Africa and established the Atlantic Slave Trade. It should also be noted that many African nations worked with the Europeans to sell off slaves to them. Most of these acquisitions came from the coastal regions of Congo, Angola, Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea, Senegal, and Cameroon to name a few. The majority were sent to the Caribbean Islands and Brazil. Nearly 2 million due to the miserable conditions of their journey; chained and packed-in tight within the ship's cargo hold. Of the 12.5 million African slaves shipped to America only 388,000 were sent directly to North America.
Britain arrived to the northern colonies with slightly less cruel methods than the Spanish and Portuguese had. They were first willing to compromise with the natives and utilized a system of indentured servants, which were basically prisoners from their homeland working for their freedom. However by the mid-1600s as their settlements grew, so to did their need for more laborers. In 1641 Massachusetts became the 1st colony to authorize slavery, and soon after other colonies followed suit. The early trade began with the more established Caribbean islands, but by 1672 the Royal African Company was established as the primary British/African slave trade into the colonies.
By 1710 Virginia had become the most populated slave state, with 42% of the slaves in America (Maryland was 2nd with 14% of the nation's slaves). By 1730 colonial merchants began to challenge Britain's monopoly on the Atlantic trade, and soon established a domestic slave trade. In the north these slaves worked as house servants, laborers, craftsman, and in the shipyards. In the south the conditions were far worse as most slaves worked in the hot labor-intensive plantations. The laws did not protect the slaves, only that they were the property of their owner, no different than livestock. Each owner had different methods of treating their slaves (some fairly while some cruelly).
Slave Trade after American Revolution
At the outbreak of the American Revolution, the slaves found themselves in a unique middle-ground, similar to the Native Americans, on whose side to favor. At the time slavery had become lest popular in Europe, and Britain promised to free all slaves who fought on their side. However in 1781 General Washington replicated this offer to any slave who fought with the patriots. So the slaves fought on both side, while others saw the conflict as a great opportunity to escape. By the end of the war the British evacuated America with nearly 20,000 freed African slaves (some were relocated to Nova Scotia, the Caribbean Islands, and to England).
Furthermore despite the abolitionist fervor in the north, the south held a stronger grasp of the federal government much thanks to the Three-Fifths Compromise. This clause in the US Constitution counted slaves as three-fifths of a human being, who although did not have the right to vote still were to be counted as such in the population census. This clause gave southern Congressional representatives the upper majority of political affairs, especially since their represented slaves could not vote. In the nation's first 50 years most presidents, Supreme Court justices, and prominent federal authorities came from the south.
By 1808 the importation of foreign slaves had become unconstitutional however this increased the domestic trade, specifically in the south. Since the children of slaves, were also considered the property of their owner, they were often separated from their parents and sold. Many slaveholders would encourage their slaves to reproduce so that they could continue to make money off of them. By the 1830s Virginia remained the capital of American slavery and soon began sending thousands to the Deep Southern states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. These states offered vast land with a rich climate that boomed in cotton. These southerners also did not hesitate to exploit the attractive female slaves, and would often sleep with them or sell their services in brothels. New Orleans became the thriving metropolis of the southern slave trade.
Abolitionist Movement
By the mid 1700s, anti-slavery fervor had become quite public throughout Britain and America. For many years prior to the revolution, the Quakers were one of the first Christian denominations to condemn this institution. They simply considered the enslavement of another human being as unjust and un-Christian. Soon after many other Christian denominations and prominent thinkers took to this belief, that challenged the legal institution. At the onset of the American Revolution, writers such as Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, and Samuel Sewel made their opposition well known thru the publication of widespread pamphlets.
As runaway slaves became more frequent from the 1840-1850s, the south was able to push for the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850. This essentially required that all escaped slaves (in the north or the south) be returned to the authorities and returned to their masters. This was a very controversial federal law, and further demonstrated the congressional power the South held. In response to this many runaway slaves moved to Canada, while the abolitionists heightened their outcry. Harriet Beecher Stowe's published Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1851 and quickly became the nation's best-selling book. President Lincoln who was also an abolitionist would later give credit to this book for starting the Civil War.
Colonization Movement
The group was founded by prominent Quaker abolitionists such as Robert Finley and Henry Clay. In 1820 they were able to establish a colony in West Africa, later known as Liberia, with the intent to relocate all African Americans to their homeland. However the movement was not very popular among blacks and other leading Abolitionists. The blacks felt it would be imprudent to uproot from where they were born and raised. The abolitionists, such as William Lloyd Garrison considered the entire project a fraud, that was not solving the problem yet rather sending it elsewhere. Only a few thousand blacks partook in this project and emigrated to Liberia. Later movements led by Marcus Gravey revisited this concept of returning to live in Africa.
The Underground Railroad
I remember about ten years ago, Philip, Shawnna, and myself went on a historical interactive experience pertaining to the Underground Railroad at Conner Prairie in Noblesville. The setting gave quite a realistic perspective on the fear these slaves must have felt as they were breaking the law while escaping for their freedom. I think it was also around this time that I realized that the legendary "underground railroad" was not actually a railroad. It was a system of safe-houses and routes scattered throughout the northern states that helped slaves escape. These safe-houses were organized by abolitionists who gave the runaways shelter and resources as they moved further north or were able to secure their freedom.
However the most iconic figures of the Underground Railroad was no doubt Harriet Tubman. She actually went into the battlefields various times and helped over 70 slaves escape. She escaped herself from Dorchester Country, Maryland in 1849 and was able to find refuge in Philadelphia thru the Underground Network. Throughout the 1850s she returned to slave territory make 7 trips to save her family and friends. Considering that she was a wanted fugitive and was risking her own freedom to help others escape makes her one of the greatest true heroes of all time. She was often referred to as the Moses of the black people, and rightfully so. She later became an outspoken leader of the abolitionist movement and associated with other leading figures such as Frederick Douglas and the radical John Brown.
Slave Rebellions
Ever since the institution of slavery was enacted there were countless cases of resistance and rebellions, quite naturally so. However most cases were quite minimal and never ended well for the slaves. This was mostly due to the impossible odds the slaves faced against their oppressors. They were quite often physically abused and threatened by whippings and beatings. Furthermore they were rarely educated and encouraged to be illiterate so as not to get smart on their owners. This setting made for no chance whatsoever of an organized rebellion, however there still were several instances of uprisings, which surely happens when your life is at threat.
Perhaps the most significant of the slave revolts was that of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. The famed white abolitionist felt he was called by God to lead this slave uprising, and it could only be achieved thru violent means. He thus organized a raid with 22 insurgents (white abolitionists and black-slaves) on the Harpers Ferry Armory, with hopes to seize the weapons and arm more soldiers. While he was successful in seizing the fort, he was not reinforced by his slave army and thus became trapped in the engine house. At this point General Robert E. Lee arrived to the scene and quickly suppressed the rebellion. John Brown was later captured and executed however this tragic scene later became considered as the dress rehearsal for the Civil War to come.
The Emancipation Proclamation
The period after the Civil War is known as the Reconstruction Era, mostly so for the south. It's not so much that they were repairing damaged buildings, yet more so repairing their way of life. Slavery in the south was legally replaced by convict leasing, peonage, and sharecropping. This basically offered the slaves pay and freedom to still live and work on the plantations. A good majority of the slaves moved north in the Great Migration seeking an entirely new way of life. Even despite the new legal protection of black Americans they still endured heavy persecution in the years to follow. It was not until 1870 that they got the right to vote and legal protection from the KKK. In 1965 segregation came to an end and the Civil Rights Act was passed. Still to this day black American's are facing the wickedness of systemic racism.
Famous Slaves
- Sojourner Truth (1797-1883): Escaped slave from New York, she became the first black person to win a court case against a white man. This brought her instant fame and recognition and with that she became a leading abolitionist, writer, and public speaker. Her greatest claim to fame was her speech, "Ain't I a Woman?", delivered at the women's convention Akron, Ohio 1851.
- Dred Scott (1799-1858): Was famous for suing the federal court for his family's freedom in 1857. Although Dred lost the case, 7-2, the Dred Scott vs Stanford case became a defining event leading to the Civil War. This case ruled African Americans could not claim citizenship which intensifying the tension between the pro-and-anti slavery bases. Following the publicity of this case, Dred Scott was later sold and freed however died a year later due to tuberculosis.
- Nat Turner (1800-1831): Escaped slave from Virginia who led the largest slave revolt in American history. In 1831 he led a rebellion of nearly 160 slaves in Southampton County, Virginia. His band killed nearly 65 white citizens, many of which were women and children. He was later captured and executed which led to further black massacres throughout the region in response to this uprising.
- Solomon Northrup (1807-1875): Free-born African American from New York who was kidnapped and traded into slavery in Louisiana. For 12 years he unjustly served in the fields unable to contact his family in the north. After finally achieving his freedom he published a narrative in 1853 regarding the unjust experience. The book became a popular abolitionist writing.
- Frederick Douglas (1818-1895): Escaped slave from Maryland who went on to become one of the first prominent African American writers and statesmen. He published his biography as a slave in 1845 which became a bestseller, a groundbreaking insight into slavery. After this Douglas became a leading abolitionist and social activist for the remainder of his life. He gave many speeches and published three biographies in total, detailing the cruel injustice of slavery. He later became a statesmen for the federal government before his death.
- Harriet Tubman (1822-1913): Escaped slave from Maryland, she was the definitive hero of the Underground Railroad, often referred to as the "black Moses". She made 7 daring trips into the slave states and guided over 70 slaves to freedom. She later became a leading abolitionist, and associated with Frederick Douglas and John Brown. During the Civil War she served as a scout and led a regiment of black soldiers. After the war she continued her service of social activism for blacks and women's suffrage.
- Booker T. Washington (1856-1915): Born into slavery in Virginia, he achieved freedom at the age of 9 thanks to President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Few years later after he excelled in higher education and became an activist for black rights. He fought against the disenfranchisement and Jim Crow laws that segregated many blacks from fair opportunities. He is often most associated with his Atlanta Compromise, that sought to compromise between white authority yet fair education and protection for blacks. While many activists later saw this as a submission, Booker considered it a necessary step to further progress.
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